I've always enjoyed installing residential entry doors. There's something about thinking and working in three planes that appeals to me. Production customers happy and feeling comfortable in their home environment makes me happy, too. Nothing can assess to the delight of knowing a job has been well done, finding and feeling a gorgeous and properly installed door control smoothly. In contemporary homebuilding techniques, most housing built here in the Salt Lake City area after the mid-1960's is 2x4 or 2x6 wood stick frame building with an covering veneer of brick, stucco, or some type of lap siding. Prior to that time, many, if not most, homes colse to here were built using four inch wide cinderblock (4"x8"x16") masonry walls with a brick covering veneer.
Thermal efficiency properties of new door systems have improved greatly over what was available forty or fifty years ago. New jambs allow for air-tight vinyl weather stripping and adjustable thresholds with vinyl door lowest sweeps. Low maintenance fiberglass or metal doors are sandwiched with foam insulation. And doors with windows come with thermal glass. Installing a new door in an existing older home has become a extremely desired remodeling upgrade.
Door Bottom
These days, installing a pre-hung entry door principles (including jambs) to new wood stick frame building is commonly pretty straight forward; you can just nail, or preferably, screw straight through the jambs to the framing studs behind. If adjustments are necessary, just pull the nail or back out the screw, re-align the jamb using builder's shims, and try again.
But what about retrofitting a new entry door principles in an older home built with cinderblock masonry walls? You can't use the same technique of just nailing straight through the jambs, the masonry will just deflect and bend a quarterly framing nail. Cut nails might perhaps work, but the chances for jambs alignment adjustments are slim to zero, while the chances of masonry cracks or half-moon hammer head marks in the jambs are roughly a given. Masonry screws need to be started in pre-drilled cinderblock holes, which can be drilled straight through the jamb, but I've never been satisfied with their keeping power alone, where the cinderblock is prone to crumble colse to the holes while adjusting screws and snugging shims tight. Feel has taught me to always insert plastic expansion sleeves in the cinderblock to properly fasten masonry screws.
I believe factory direct to masonry is the height of challenge for an entry door, where skills and patience for a carpenter are truly tested. You unquestionably only have one opportunity to get it right - screw hole mistakes in the cinderblock don't allow for incremental jambs adjustments. Here is where carpentry meets art, you must think and be creative. So, the delight of a properly installed door in this case becomes, at least for me, a real thrill.
On the initial site visit to quantum up the door, you're going to tap on the walls to see if they are drywall or plaster. Of course, you're going to check the concrete threshold step for level. Carpenters never assume anything, right? determination of the covering brick opportunity broad height from threshold to lintel will be noted. Any further uncertainty about whether a house was built with masonry walls can be at least partly resolved by measuring the covering brick opportunity broad width. A width determination slightly off by about one-half inch from the nominal brick opportunity is a sure tip-off that you're going to be facing the direct fasten to masonry challenge. Adjust your factory estimate accordingly for some extra labor.
I've learned by the hard way of Feel that it's vital to remove old existing jambs carefully. If directly fastened to masonry with cut nails, jambs discharge may break out the cinderblock unless the jambs are cut into short, manageable lengths.
An out of level concrete threshold step can be ground flat by a concrete cutting subcontractor, or the door threshold can be adjusted by unscrewing and repositioning in the jamb by the estimate out of level.
Any attached brickmold and casing must be removed from the jambs to make factory easier with shimming. Also, brickmold will probably have to be ripped in width to fit the broad brick opportunity width and height.
With the rough opportunity clean and prepped for the new door and jamb, move the principles into place as one with door hung on hinges. Temporarily shim the side jambs tight top and lowest ends in the rough opening. Temporary shims at the lowest hinge may also be required to straighten door sag. The top hinge will sag, just be aware that you will compensate for it later with shims and a screw to snug it when the door is installed permanently. Use of a level isn't necessary, just align the jambs flush with the interior plaster and shift shims to quadrilateral the door in the jambs with even spacing reveal. Tightly wedged shims will allow you to control the door carefully. Open and close to check the door touching the weather stripping evenly top to lowest for any inherent jambs twist. Adjust as necessary, even though jambs may not flush with plaster top to bottom. A good carpenter won't assume the original door was installed correctly, right? Check the brickmold reveal, you should have consistent and even measurements side to side and top to bottom. It's unusual to have brick out of plumb to any great extent. Adjust shims again as necessary. Index the jambs in the rough opportunity and the shims to jambs with pencil for reference when installing the principles permanently.
Remember, you only have one opportunity to get this factory right, so be outpatient - you will be rewarded with a satisfying outcome. When you're satisfied that the door principles is in the accurate position, drill straight through the thickest part of the hinge jamb with a quarterly drill at the hinges areas, and then further drill into the cinderblock with a hammer drill. Drill the assault jamb in the same corresponding locations, with the middle drilling positioned between the assault and deadbolt mortises. Countersink jambs holes to flush the masonry screw heads. It may be vital to remove the door from the hinges for this step, just remember to check the indexed jambs alignment to be sure nothing has moved.
Remove shims and then remove door principles from the rough opening. This must be done to install the plastic expansion sleeves into the holes drilled into the cinderblock. Then re-assemble door principles and re-shim into the indexed positions in the rough opening. At last, now fasten jambs to the cinderblock with the masonry screws, using shims at each screw location. Fine tune screw adjustments by wedging the shims to get the reveals colse to the door even. Adjust top and lowest jamb shims as necessary. Open and close door to check touching the weather stripping evenly top to lowest for any inherent jambs twist. Some small remaining jambs twist can be adjusted by persuading the jambs with a block and a hammer. Be careful. Now nail the shims constantly in position with a pneumatic nail gun shooting squarely into the cinderblock. Don't worry, the nails should sink into the cinderblock as long as they are the allowable distance and are nailed squarely and firmly. When in doubt, nail into mortar joints. Don't nail into the very hard brick. I try to hide any nailing behind the weather stripping whenever possible. Finally, protruding shim ends may be trimmed off with a dove-tail saw.
Squirt foam insulation between cinderblock and back side of jambs. The foam can help glue the jambs into place. Then all that's left to do is apply the frosting - trim of brickmold, casing, and a shiny brass doorknob. Stand back and feel satisfied knowing you've complete something out of the ordinary, and made the buyer happy.
facility of an Entry Door - Direct Fasten to Masonry
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