An Exterior Door with Lites - Installation

[jteneyck]

Here's a link to Part 4.                  [url=https://forums.woodnet.net/showthread.php?tid=7335041][/url]

My apologies, I forgot to take pictures of the actual installation process, so you will have to content yourself with my description and photos of the finished product.

Here's what the door looks like from the street.  I wanted to make it maroon to go with the shutters but the owner liked this color so that's what it is. 



Up closer with the storm door open:



We managed to remove the old frame and install the new one without having to remove the storm door.  The storm door was attached to the brick mold and that had been nailed to the door frame and to the studs, as it should have been, so by carefully cutting the old frame into sections and prying it loose from the brickmold the storm door remained in place.  Here's a closer view of the new frame against the storm door frame. 



I caulked the gap between them with WB caulk that turns clear when it dries.  That gap was larger than what I hoped for, nearly 1/4" in some places, because the storm door frame didn't sit flush with the inside edge of the brickmold.  I would have had to cut a rabbet in the outer edge of the frame members to get the frame to fit tightly against the storm door frame.  In hindsight, I wish I had done that, but I didn't have the means to do so at the jobsite and in the rush to get the job done I decided it would be OK.  And it is OK, but it caused some additional work to get the inside moldings flush on the door frame and wall because it pushed the frame proud of the wall on that side.  

At the bottom I installed a new adjustable sill. 



I cut the bottom frame legs off at 3.5° to match the existing white oak sill, and then cut a rabbet in the frame to accept the adjustable sill.  That angle was 8.5° because it slopes at 5°.  For some reason I still ended up with a gap of about 1/16" at the front of the adjustable sill.  I dealt with that by installing a few thin shims under it at the front and then a bead of silicone caulk.  The adjustable sill is screwed to the frame legs and the whole unit is installed as one piece, and then it was screwed to the white oak sill after the door was in place and plumbed.

Here's a shot at the lockset side.



It's a Wescott lockset, made in China (exclusively for Wescott according to the marketing nonsense).  It's OK, but certainly not Baldwin quality.  If you look closely you can sort of make out the Q-Lon weather stripping where the door meets the frame.  You also can sorta see the weatherstripping around the glass lites.  I really like the glass we choose.  It's called Minster.  I got it from Wolverine Glass in Wyoming, MI.  Six pieces of tempered glass ended up costing about $175 for the glass and an equal amount for the shipping. You also see two little brass latch plates on the edge of the frame near the lock set.  Those are for the storm door latch and deadbolt.  I had to set the door's lockset at 34-1/2" to the thumb latch in order to clear the storm door handle.  I would have preferred to set it higher, but that just wasn't possible.  Turns out it's fine at that height, even from the inside. 

The adjustable sill meets a seal on the bottom of the door.  It's sort of a half moon shaped ribbed rubber seal that slides in an aluminum channel, made by Pemco, and recommended to me by Joe Grout.  And this would be a good time to thank Joe for all his help in advising me on the good, bad, and don't even think about approaches to various aspects of construction and materials.  

This is the best photo I currently have from the inside. 



The color on the inside was to match the existing aged pine trim, which I reused around the door.  I have to say, it's just about a perfect match, which pleases me after all the effort it took to get there.  The tape at the bottom was to protect the new sill from the fresh grout I had to put in between the sill and floor tile.  To get the moldings to lie flat on the door frame and wall I plowed a 1/4" deep dado in them on the backside when I had them at the shop, leaving about 1/2" on each outer edge to nail through.  

I didn't weigh the door but it must be around 100 lbs.  It closes with a very satisfying swoosh - thud.  The swoosh came from making sure the two frame legs were exactly parallel to each other so that the door meets the lock side seal perfectly flush as it closes.  To do that we got the hinge side frame leg plumb and screwed it in place at each hinge location.  We only put one screw at the top hinge location on the lock side.  Then we set the door on the hinges, closed the door, and tapped the bottom of that leg until it was perfectly in plane with the door, then screwed it in place at the bottom and a couple of intermediary spots.  I used 3" GRK screws hidden behind the weatherstripping.  

I added a piece of 3/4" Baltic birch plywood behind the deadbolt and screwed the frame to it behind the weatherstripping; those screws went on into the stud.  Then 4" long screws secured the deadbolt escutcheon to the frame, the Baltic birch plywood, and then into the stud.  It's not the most robust escutcheon out there, but it should withstand a pretty good kick. 

All in all this one took a lot longer than I ever would have imagined, since it looks like a straight forward project.  I wanted the clean look of the inset panels with no moldings but I don't think I'll ever do another door that way unless the finishing process is dirt simple, which this one was not on the inside.  But construction of the door wasn't hard.  It's just that the components get heavier as you go and the door itself is really heavy.  And for such large scale woodworking, there's not much room for error.  However, nothing about it is more difficult than building inset cabinet doors so if you are comfortable with that you, too, can build a door for your house if that's something you've always wanted to do.  

Thanks for following along. 

John

[GNP]

Excellant job.

[Mags®]

Talk about lipstick on a pig... That house doesn't do that door justice. I was expecting this beauty to be on an arts and craft type of house. Regardless, great work on your part...

[Phil Thien]

Glad Mags said it.

Nice work.

[Tapper]

Nice work, as usual John!

Doug

[tag]

Nice build a long. Thanks for taking the time to post these threads.

[jteneyck]

Thanks for the kind words, all.  Yes, this is a modest house, built in 1957.  It's about 2 miles from my own fairly modest home.  The owner is a really nice guy who got my contact info. from the folks I made the arched French doors for earlier this year.  This project went from "I'd like you to refinish my existing door." to me coming back with "It's going to cost about XYZ $'s to refinish your door and install improved weather seals and sill, but I could build you a new door and frame of the same design for ABC $'s." to me coming back a little later with "How would you like this design alternative for the same $'s."  And him immediately saying "Oh, that's so much nicer.  Let's go with that." 

It was a nice project, I learned a couple of new things, it was close by, and I met a new friend.  All good.  

John

[Phil Thien]

You have to be happy with the final exterior finish, no? That just came out beautifully. Love that color.

[jteneyck]

You have to be happy with the final exterior finish, no?  That just came out beautifully. Love that color.

Yes, I like the color and finish on the white oak.  The GF Exterior 450 was very easy to use and dries to a nice smooth film.  That said, I think some shade of red would have gone better with the house.  I was thinking red stained white oak or natural Sapele.  But Sal was thinking this and it's his door so that's what I made.  He's really happy and I like happy customers.  

John

[Phil Thien]

Yes, I like the color and finish on the white oak.  The GF Exterior 450 was very easy to use and dries to a nice smooth film.  That said, I think some shade of red would have gone better with the house.  I was thinking red stained white oak or natural Sapele.  But Sal was thinking this and it's his door so that's what I made.  He's really happy and I like happy customers.  

John

I think the door color goes fine w/ the shutter.

Not a fan of the overhead door+trim color, though, I'd get that color-matched to the siding.