How To: Install an Exterior Door

Time Allowed

1.Measure- 1.5 hours

2.Travel- 1-2 hours

3.Install- 3-6 hours

Door Installation Ordering Checklist

1.Material- steel fiberglass  other _______________________________________ 

2.Build width-    2-6    3-0   other- _______________________________________

3.Build height-    80”   other-     _________________________________________

4.Wall Thickness- 4 9/16” 6 9/16” _________________________________

5.Jamb Material- wood or composite______________________________________

5.Color- white other             ________________________________________

6.Direction of swing-     left right   ____________________________________

7.Panels- bottom full 1 2 4 6 8 ________________________________

7.Door lites-   no  ½    ¾      full panel lites   ____________________________

8.Internal blinds-      yes no     _______________________________________ 

9.Grids-  no    internal     external    how many?  ___________________________

10.Hardware brand or quality- __________________________________________

11.Hardware color- chrome stainless brushed-nickel brass brushed-bronze black white other     

  ______________________________________________

12.Hardware style-  knob  lever formal _________________________________

13.Extras- dead bolt   spring hinges  door closer panic bar __________________

14.Slab replacement only- no yes, precise measurements of all hinges and latches

__________________________________________________________________

15. Threshold- regular ADA _________________________________________

16. Exterior trim material- vinyl brickmold, primed pine brickmold, vinyl trim boards other

__________________________________________________________________

17. Exterior trim color- white clay other __________________________________

18. Interior trim material- primed pine varnished pine varnished oak other

___________________________________________________________________

19. Interior trim profile- Ranch Colonial Colonial Bead Craftsman other

___________________________________________________________________

20. Interior trim color- _________________________________________________

21. Trim finish sheen- gloss semi-gloss satin flat __________________________

22. Jamb extensions- no yes, dimensions-________________________________

23. Jamb extension materials and finish_____________________________________

Additional Installation Materials Needed

1.Shims- regular composite _____________________________________________

2.Color matching 2.5″ hinge screws-________________________________________

3.Low expansion door and window foam  ___________________________________

4.Solar Seal-   white   clear     brown       ___________________________________   

5.Aluminum filler strip(exterior header, in brick)-   no   yes, size and color-________

6.Interior jamb extensions-   no   yes, size and material ______________________

7.Interior trim-   no     yes, size, material profile _____________________________

Existing Door Removal

1.Remove new door from the vehicle or trailer and lay it on a large piece of cardboard, flat on the ground, out of the way, where no tools will be dropped onto it. Confirm that there are no scratches whatsoever on any part of the door or jambs.

2.Carefully remove interior door casing. Nails can be pulled through the back side with a channel locks pliers or clipped off on the back side with a side cutters.

3.Carefully remove the interior jamb extensions. Store interior trim in a safe place.

4.Cut around the door trim caulking on the exterior wall of the house.

5.Unscrew the existing door from the framing.

6.Remove the door from the opening.

7.Clean the opening in preparation for the replacement door.

New Door Installation

1. Make sure that the spray foam will be warm when you need it. If necessary, place it in a pail of warm water.

2.Check floor level, hinge side plumb, and wall plumb. Make sure that the distance from the highest part of the floor where the sill will be resting, to the lowest part of the header, is at least the exterior dimension of the height of the finish jambs. If the sill needs to be adjusted, determine how that will be accomplished. Will it need to be cut down, shimmed up, filled with thin set mortar, or some other method?

2.Place the door. Set it in from the outside, resting the brickmold or the nail flange against the exterior wall.

3.Shim up hinge side to level. If the hinge side is the high side, continue with the process. The latch side of the door will be adjusted later. Open the door. Install one 2.5″ screw in the top hinge center hole to keep the door from falling outwards while continuing with the installation.

4. Step into the building. Insert a couple of shims, pointed ends together, between the bottom hinge area of the finish jamb and the doorway framing. Continue to insert the shims until you have the door moved into the correct position from side to side. Install the second 2.5″ screw into the bottom hinge center hole to hold it in the correct position from side to side.

5.Now drive or back out the top long hinge screw until you have the hinge side jamb plumb and tight against the wall. Once you have the top hinge positioned correctly from side to side, move to the latch side of the door.

6.Shim the bottom side of the latch jamb up until it is level, if necessary.

7.Install lapped shims on the latch side of the door, at the bottom, behind the latch hole, and at the top, in order to create a perfect gap the whole way along the latch side of the door. Drive the 2.5″ screws close to the door stop strip where they will be covered up by the foam door seal (using a putty knife to protect the seal strip).

8.Now go back to the hinge side of the door. Remove the bottom long hinge screw, install the lapped shims in line with the screw, and re drive the screw snug. Do the same for the top and the center hinge positions on the hinge side.

9.Shake warm spray foam can and fill the gap between the door and the framing with foam. Do not fill more than 1/2″ from the surface.

7.Caulk around the brick mold with solar seal caulk if the door has brickmold trim.

8.Install interior jamb extensions, using shims and trim nails if necessary.

9.Install interior door casing trim

Clean Up-

1.Clean up tools and work area

2.Dispose of old door at your local door shop for glass, your neighborhood scrap man for metal, or by burning in case of a wooden door.