How To Install A Pre-Hung Exterior Door

How To Install A Pre-Hung Exterior Door - Adding Beauty To Your Home At An Affordable Price

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If you have decided to replace the existing entrance with a new door unit, then the information I am going to provide in this article will be of great assistance to you.

EXTERIOR DOORS

Today it is easier than ever before to install a pre-hung exterior door unit. Notice, I did not say easy! In the days before pre-hung exterior doors, it took more time, more tools and specialized knowledge to install a door. Door units today can be purchased completely put together and so the term pre-hung was coined.

As a professional door and window installer with more than 20 years of experience, I have installed about every kind of exterior door unit made by most major manufacturers and have concluded that the process is much the same from manufacturer to manufacturer.

1. The first thing you need to do is evaluate the situation from the interior and exterior. Look at the existing exterior door appearance. Does the existing door frame have wood rot from years of rain or poor maintenance? When the door is in the closed position, is it air tight, or does it allow cold air to enter and warm air to escape? With the high cost of energy going higher every day this is a very important part of the equation regarding replacing or repairing the existing entrance.

Here is a tip, to get your correct frame size this is critical and needs to be correct. Carefully remove the existing interior trim around the door frame. After the trim is removed, with pen and paper in hand, measure the width, then measure the height from the under side of door sill to the top of the frame. This is your frame size. If this is new construction, you can use rough opening size; otherwise please save yourself a lot of aggravation and use frame size only.

2. Once this is done, take these measurements to your materials supply store or big box store in your community and match your frame size as close as possible to what they can provide you. Don't forget to order your pre hung exterior door unit with the proper swing as viewed from the exterior. Most door manufacturers recognize left or right hand door swings, as viewed from the exterior.

3. Is it a RH or LH hand swinging door? Is it an in swing, or out swing? Is it going to be prepared for a single or double bore to accommodate your newly purchased lockset installation? Is it a 4 9/16" or 6 9/16" jamb thickness? These are some questions you will be presented with once you arrive at your door provider store.

4. Don't forget the new lockset and the purchase of required material to complete your project. I always try to match and replace the interior trim with new trim whenever possible because it makes for a more professionally installed appearance. However, if you can remove the existing trim without damage and it is still usable, then pull the old nails out from the backside to prevent damage to the face side of the trim and reuse. Exterior pre hung door units can be purchased with or without exterior trim applied as an option.

Tools are necessary and I'm sure you have everything polished up and ready to go. Here are some tools and miscellaneous items I use to complete such a project: a claw hammer, finish nails or a finish nail gun to install interior and exterior trim, cedar shims, pry bar, circular saw, drill driver, miter box, reciprocating saw, caulking gun, one small box 3" screws, level, framing square, drop cloth, caulking, insulation, and painting products. Painting, Ugh, did some one mention painting? This is the final step and something to look forward to before breaking out the champagne and celebrating a job well done.

Reminder: take your time, think about the process before hand, and most importantly, remember to start level. If you start level and place the new frame as close as possible to where your existing frame was, (before it was removed), the rest of the installation will be a piece of cake. Good luck, you can do it!

How To Install A Pre-Hung Exterior Door

Article by: Richard Willis

EXTERIOR DOORS