No More Need To Fear Installing Doors
Ray J. Walberg
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, and installing a door is a
sticking point for you, you now have no more reason to fear.
Figuring out how to do this will open up an entire new window
of opportunity for you. The reason being that a new door can
change the whole overall look and style to any room, as well as
enhance the exterior of your home. Plus, and many people love
this, by sealing more tightly shut can help decrease your
heating bill.
Basically there are three kinds of doors. There are doors that
act, as the entry to your home, there are interior doors such
as for bedrooms and the all important bathroom door, and the
combo storm/screen door. Replacing a door involves a few steps
that must be taken, and I’ll go over those for you now.
The most difficult door is probably the entry door and once
you’ve mastered this type of door all the others are pretty
much a simplified process, since the locks are usually either
much more simple or not even included.
Changing a combination storm/screen door will usually follow
the same procedure of the entry door, though sometimes it’s a
bit more complicated. If you’re unsure how to do it, look at
your manufacturer’s information for more instructions, or call
up and talk to a representative of the manufacturer, or the
store that sold it to you.
Remove the old door.
You have to remove the old door obviously to replace it.
You’ll have to open the door, and stick a wedge under the outer
corner so as to take weight off the hinges. Usually, the door
will have a hinge that contains a pin that you have to pop out.
Sometimes after years of paint or rust this is a bit difficult.
You’ll need something to tap it out upward to release it. After
the hinges have been taken off, you can take the door off the
frame.
You can either leave and reuse the same hinges or else take
them off and use new ones. If you use new hinges, just ensure
that they’re the same size as the old ones.
You may have to trim the door down to fit. You’ll want to cut
along the bottom using the old door as a pattern, or else just
leave a 1/8” clearance along the bottom and 1/16th along the
sides and top. If it’s going to be over carpet you’ll want to
go a bit more on the bottom like ¾” using a fine toothed saw,
or a block or jack plane.
Prepare new door for hinges.
To replace the door put the new door in the frame, put the top
and bottom pins into the hinges. Hopefully it will fit in
nicely and now you’ve got yourself a new door. If need be
you’ll have to install a new lock set to your door. Now you’ve
put in a new door, aren’t you proud of yourself?
About The Author: Ray Walberg is publishing mainly for
http://www.insidewoodworking.com
, a website with information
about power tools and machinery. Working on his publications
(e.g. http://www.insidewoodworking.com on woodworking ) he
affirmed his know-how on the topic.
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