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Installing An Exterior Door

Exterior doors are made out of some different materials. Whether the door is steel, wood or even fiberglass researching the different types of doors is a huge advantage. Some of the things to look for are energy efficiency, durability, and manufacturers warranties while you are at the store picking out your door. Price is also a big factor when choosing a door, almost everyone wants to get the most they can for the money so spend the extra money on the features you are looking for.

Installation

Installing this door is not difficult and for first timers I would recommend another person helping. Let’s assume you have done your home work and have the door home. Remove the old door carefully so as not to damage the area around the door on the interior as well as the exterior. Check the rough framed opening for level on the hinge side and also the floor. It doesn’t have to be perfect just relatively close you have some adjustment when installing. At this point I like to trial fit the exterior door in the opening to be sure it will go in easily. If the door fits nicely pull it out and apply a generous bead of caulking across the opening on the floor. Now set the door in the opening, the trick is to set the door into the caulking without spreading the caulking around to try and get a good seal. Try to keep the door in the exact same place as the old door to save you some work on the interior and exterior walls. Check the door on the hinge side for plumb. If the hinge side of the door is level then you can tack a few nails in through the brick mold on the outside to hold the door in place. I like to use galvanized headless nails for this. If the door is not level that means the floor is out of level and you will need to shim one side or the other at the bottom of the jamb leg to bring the hinge side plumb before tacking in.

Once the door is plumb and tacked in, check to see how the door closes paying attention to the reveal around the door between the jamb and the door, it’s usually about a 1/8 inch gap. Use shims at the hinge locations of the jamb to adjust. Use 3" screws at the hinge locations to secure the door to the framing through these shims, usually 1 screw at the top hinge and one at the bottom is sufficient for an exterior door.

For the other jamb, shim as necessary most importantly by the strick plate and secure this jamb with either screws or the headless nails behind the door seal so they are not noticeable or exposed. Just push the seal back a little and fasten the jamb with these screws or nails through the shims and into the rough opening. Be sure to keep checking to make sure the reveal stays nice and even and the door closes properly.

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