I have to replace at least one of my exterior doors at my house. The back door is wooden, complete double-pane glass, with no blinds. The wood at the bottom is starting to rot and I would like a door that is A)metal B) triple paned and C) built in blinds.

I figured I could buy the door, but I also thought about changing out the whole door (where the hinges attach and threshold). The exterior is wood trim around, which I figured I would have to remove.

Tried watching "This Old House" videos on replacing doors, but they mostly show fresh installs. Trying to minimize interior work, as I'm not sure I have the paint (or old paint) left by previous owners and I don't want to end up having to paint 3/4 of the kitchen...

Any one have tips/tricks/ how-to's? Or did it before and where they got the door? I've looked at Lowe's; just wondering if there are better places to look in Houston.

I figured I would start with the back door then move to the front door (leaded glass 1/2 wooden/1/2 glass door, replace with similar, but better door).

Thanks.

~egon

Home depot

We have installed several of these doors. Available in metal and fiberglass; I linked metal as you requested.

Agree with Milwaukee. It would be almost impossible to get hinges to line up within the required tolerances to replace and still get it plumb, level, and square. But moving a whole door and frame shouldn't be much different than starting with a new door.

Bought and installed the same one Dubi posted as my back door.

Prehung. That's what I was looking for.

I guess I'm concerned about once I rip the trim off and try to get the door out, the prehung shell won't fit or I'm trying to fill a 3" gap on both sides.

Obviously I will measure, but I assume they are mostly a 'common' size? House is 1987 building and I'm sure the door is a replacement of the original (at least the back door).

Part of the idea of changing the back door wholesale is to ensure it is more "kick in" proof (obviously not totally, but more than currently). I do have 4" deck screws holding the deadbolt plate on.


And on a tangent thought, any luck on good bottom sweeps? I have replaced the one I have now twice in 2.5 years of living here. Both from Lowe's. Didn't know if a new door would have 'better' rubber sweeps or is that more of a function of the door being A) out of square and B) opened a million times due to a dog and 2 little kids?

~egon

Doors are common size.

36" is typical exterior door. Measure and quit worrying!

Even 1967 is the "common" door.......

Quote:

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And on a tangent thought, any luck on good bottom sweeps? I have replaced the one I have now twice in 2.5 years of living here. Both from Lowe's. Didn't know if a new door would have 'better' rubber sweeps or is that more of a function of the door being A) out of square and B) opened a million times due to a dog and 2 little kids?

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We have replaced ours once in 7 years. I vote it is a zillion opens and closes with kids. They are cheap and pretend they are annual maintenance items.

I replaced one years ago. The difficulty I had was that the existing door was entrapped by the sheathing and sheet rock which wasn't apparent until the trim was removed. Don't remember what I did to get around that.

As stated, doors are standard sizes. Mine was an uncommon size, but still standard. I had to talk with the door person at Lowes and they ordered it for me and it didn't cost any more than one of the more common sizes.

New door will have rubber on the bottom to make a good seal. Only worry about a sweep when the new rubber wears out in a decade.

You use pretty significant screws to install the prehung door frame to the framning of the house. You can use as many as you think you need, but that just means more work smoothing before painting.

Pro tip: Doors are referred to as right hand or left hand. Open your door, stand in the open frame and put your back against the frame on the side the hinges are on. If it opens left, it is left handed. You can probably guess how the right handed works.

It opens Aggie right?

1. Do you have an overhang or porch over the door to protect it from rain? If not, you will want to make sure you are getting a door with rot resistant jambs, the lower section is a composite material to keep it from rotting from rain/ moisture. Not a bad idea to have even if you do have a porch. Also, doors from Lowes and HD are cheaper, some of them for a reason. I've seen some installed and water leaks into the door from the glass unit, rotting the wood that the door skin attaches to. Again, Lowes and HD aren't always the best source for doors. They have their place, and if protected from the elements, they can perform ok.

2. You aren't going to get a triple pane door glass off the shelf, at least not in the south, I'd venture to say. Double pane with interior blinds are fairly common. You might be able to order one through a vendor.

3. Installing a door isn't one of the easier DIY things to do. You need to be mindful of shimming the frame properly, making sure the top jamb is square to the sides (could be part of the reason your sweep is tearing off, the gap between the door and threshold is too tight), making sure the frame is plumb both directions (seems obvious but takes some effort so the door closes against the weather strip on all sides equally.

4. Insulate the gap between the jamb and studs. Install trim and paint. Make sure you use a construction adhesive/ sealant between the threshold and the slab below to keep water from entering the house.

As stated, you can carefully cut the caulk between the trim and drywall and remove the trim and possibly get it to go back in the same place and not have to paint the walls. You can also remove the exterior trim now, and measure your jamb actual size, width and height as well as the rough opening size, cripple to cripple and slab to header. This will help when you order the new unit. Yes, things are standard, but all door unit sizes are not the same, and you may wind up with a jamb unit bigger than what you currently have. And if the unit is larger, your existing trim may not fit, which may or may not be an issue, if you are painting it or not.

Give me a call for a hand. I want to do this at my house, so I can learn on yours.

haha, same here

dubi said:

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Doors are common size.

36" is typical exterior door. Measure and quit worrying!

Even 1967 is the "common" door.......

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While the widths are usually common, on older homes quite often the rough opening is shorter because the old exterior doors used to have a 2x8 underneath with a separate threshold screws to it. These door blanks are frequently shorter in height than today's production units. I've had to cut out quite a few headers in my day because the new door unit is 1/2 to 1 1/2 taller than the existing framed height. This usually happens in houses built before 1970. Before doing anything always pop off the trim and measure your existing framing rough opening width and height to verify what you need to buy or order as a replacement

toolshed said:

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1. Do you have an overhang or porch over the door to protect it from rain? If not, you will want to make sure you are getting a door with rot resistant jambs, the lower section is a composite material to keep it from rotting from rain/ moisture. Not a bad idea to have even if you do have a porch. Also, doors from Lowes and HD are cheaper, some of them for a reason. I've seen some installed and water leaks into the door from the glass unit, rotting the wood that the door skin attaches to. Again, Lowes and HD aren't always the best source for doors. They have their place, and if protected from the elements, they can perform ok.

2. You aren't going to get a triple pane door glass off the shelf, at least not in the south, I'd venture to say. Double pane with interior blinds are fairly common. You might be able to order one through a vendor.

3. Installing a door isn't one of the easier DIY things to do. You need to be mindful of shimming the frame properly, making sure the top jamb is square to the sides (could be part of the reason your sweep is tearing off, the gap between the door and threshold is too tight), making sure the frame is plumb both directions (seems obvious but takes some effort so the door closes against the weather strip on all sides equally.

4. Insulate the gap between the jamb and studs. Install trim and paint. Make sure you use a construction adhesive/ sealant between the threshold and the slab below to keep water from entering the house.

As stated, you can carefully cut the caulk between the trim and drywall and remove the trim and possibly get it to go back in the same place and not have to paint the walls. You can also remove the exterior trim now, and measure your jamb actual size, width and height as well as the rough opening size, cripple to cripple and slab to header. This will help when you order the new unit. Yes, things are standard, but all door unit sizes are not the same, and you may wind up with a jamb unit bigger than what you currently have. And if the unit is larger, your existing trim may not fit, which may or may not be an issue, if you are painting it or not.

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Rot resistance jambs are a good idea. If you don't go this route then at the very least apply a true oil base exterior primer on the jambs from the bottom of the threshold to about 16 inches high. This step alone will add many years to the life of the jamb.

If you're in the Houston area go to Door Clearance Center rather than Lowe's/HD. 45 and Shepherd area.
Get a 3' level, some 3" screws, composite shims and a couple of buddies and you can do it.

Watching. I need to replace two doors at my mothers house.

cap-n-jack said:

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If you're in the Houston area go to Door Clearance Center rather than Lowe's/HD. 45 and Shepherd area.
Get a 3' level, some 3" screws, composite shims and a spouse couple of buddies and you can do it.

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FIFY

I helped hubby with all our doors.