carpentry question: replacing a front door

[circles]

It looks pretty straightforward, but I know nothing of such things. Buy a pre-hung door of the right size, and have someone pop the old one out and the new one in? Barring unforeseen problems, it looks fairly simple. It's a 'regular' front door. Anything to look out for?

 

[Deafsoundguy]

Is this a serious question and the picture as the challenge?

Okay assuming it’s a serious question, if you have never done that before at your (our) age, I would recommend having someone else do it.

Yes prehung door. You will need a whole new pack of shims. I’d use screws and not nails and fill screw holes. With screws you can back out the screw if the door isn’t sitting right. To get it perfect is harder than it looks like and one needs to get the screw/nail placement just right. It’s a real trick to get a door in perfect and have the small gap equally around the door to door frame. I’ve done it about 50 times. And remember that the frame needs to be exact in regards to at least one side, (usually the front ) so your trim can be perfect all the way around.

If you’re mechanically inclined or wood builder kind of guy go for it, but I wouldn’t suggest it if you’re not.

 

[Baelzebub]

It looks pretty straightforward, but I know nothing of such things. Buy a pre-hung door of the right size, and have someone pop the old one out and the new one in? Barring unforeseen problems, it looks fairly simple. It's a 'regular' front door. Anything to look out for?

View attachment 563452

Def pre-hung and definitely get someone else to do it.

 

[circles]

Thanks folks! I got what I needed to hear. Buy one, have someone install.

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Or hire the installer and have them buy the door.
2x4 depth or 2x6?
RH or LH swing?
Brick moulding or something else?
Need new drip cap?
Hows the old thresdhold, any rot?
Need new interior casings?
Baseboards still line up with new door jambs?

 

[Guy Incognito]

^^^^ above.

This one.

I've hung a handful of doors but the best door I bought I had nothing to do with.

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Hanging doors is oddly challenging to seemingly most carpenters.
They may not realize it though?
Ive hung easily over 1000 doors as well as observed doors others hung and find far too many are improperly done resulting in the door not fitting in a year or a month.
Carpentry used to require years of training but in the 21st C it only requires a pickup truck, van or Hinda Civic.
Dismal I tells ya!

Now that my back is shot (hanging steel doors ate partly the cause) I do maintenance at a seaside hotel property.
Top local carpenters rebuilt two buildings and gut rehabbed the rest. Those damn doors keep having fitment problems.

Buying exterior doors is also surprisingly risky.
Many are so poorly made that they fail a variety of ways in a year or two.
Ive restored 150 yo houses with all original doors still working, or repaired the old doors for another 100 years of service.

 

[wooders]

If you know nothing of such things, find someone reputable to do it. Get them round before you order anything.
A door is a door. Different ironmongery, different materials etc, but it's still just a door.

 

[s5tuart]

I'm quite good at most jobs around the home, including plumbing and electrickery but I've never got a door as good as I'd like it. Front doors are even more challenging.
If I needed one I'd get one of those steel security doors and have it hung by the company I bought it from.

 

[JamesE]

That's a beautiful door!

 

[simoncroft]

I've hung a few doors, but I'd never do a front door though. They're usually much heavier than internal door, and if you mess it up, you could have a security risk while it's sorted. More likely, the seal won't be as good as it could be, meaning cold and draughts can get in.

 

[circles]

I'm gonna get some dude to do it. Personally, I have no talent, knowledge or tools to perform such a task.

 

[Impulsive guppy]

Your job now will be to spec it out.
What kind of lockset, peep hole or camera, insulated, steel or wood, etc.
get a lockset re-keyed to match the other doors.
I like the handles that are like a flipper instead of traditional.

 

[Boubou]

Nobody will replace Jim Morisson

 

[Stratafied]

If you have no experience, yes hire a carpenter. I’m a retired carpenter. You could fly me out and feed me , but it’s cheaper to find a local carpenter . Do your homework, lots of butchers out there.

 

[Miotch]

When I hung the current front door on my home, I discovered termites and ended up jacking up the second floor and tearing out 12-feet of wall, installing all new studs, plates and, or course, the door. This actually made installing the new door a bit easier, because I could frame it perfectly for the door. I basically framed that section of the house around the new door. Another one of those "OMG" moments in a homeowners life.

 

[circles]

When I hung the current front door on my home, I discovered termites and ended up jacking up the second floor and tearing out 12-feet of wall, installing all new studs, plates and, or course, the door. This actually made installing the new door a bit easier, because I could frame it perfectly for the door. I basically framed that section of the house around the new door. Another one of those "OMG" moments in a homeowners life.

This. This is what is in the back of my mind in this 60 year old house. Often when I peel back a layer to do something, it reveals issues. I call this a Frankenstien house due to each generations of unrelated modifications. I'm thinking/hoping this should be pretty straightforward though.

 

[El Gobernador]

My house is 130 years old. Fixing one thing leads to fixing six. LoL

 

[Neil.C]

We're having a composite front door fitted as they are all the rage over here. Sledgehammer proof- and no more maintenance!

Same as this but different glazing.

 

[Seamus OReally]

My house is 130 years old. Fixing one thing leads to fixing six. LoL

Mine is pushing 70. There’s always something. But I’m having someone else paint the outside this summer.