Doors represent the privacy of your home. Explore the article to know how to install and replace doors.

Installing And Replacing Doors

Unless you live in Shani Shingnapur, a small obscure village in Maharashtra (India), where people depend on their deity for protecting them and thus, avoid using doors, you would need doors and windows for your homes. Doors are the materialization of the feeling ‘privacy’. Thus, doors are one of the most important factors, which make a home a safe place to live in. Doors give you the feeling of privacy and protection. If you think, installing and replacing doors is a tough job, you are in for a surprise. Installing and replacing doors is not that difficult. Nowadays, people even buy pre hung door units because installing of pre-hung doors is easier than other kind of doors. However, if you are a neophyte in the field of installing and replacing doors, it may be a little difficult for you, especially if you don’t know how to go about it. Nevertheless, you don’t have to lose heart, as there are some tricks by which you can make things easier for you. Read on the article to know how to install and replace doors. 
 
How To Install And Replace Doors
 
Removing An Existing Doors
  • First of all, you should take the door off the hinges or tracks.
  • Now you can remove the door casing on both sides.
  • You can cut through nails holding the jambs by using a saw.
  • If your door has a threshold plate, just cut it loose. 
Framing A Rough Opening
  • 2*4 or 2*6 lumber is often used for side framing and two 2*10 lumber make the header for a door. You should mark the outline of the doorway. You must make sure to remove any baseboards in the way.
  • You can chisel the existing wallboard or plaster away. It is better to cut away the wall studs in the new opening, below where the top of the framing header can be or remove them absolutely if the header reaches the wall’s top plate.
  • After that, you can remove the sole plate at the threshold. Use a reciprocating saw and cut two king studs to run the full length of wall. You can also use an existing wall, if possible.
  • The king studs should be scabbed by trimmer studs to support the header of the door. After that cut and fit the header on the trimmer studs and you can toenail the header to the king studs. 
Installing A Pre-Hung Door
  • You must set it in the opening and use shims on either side of the head jamb to press the unit firmly into the opening.
  • Now, you should make sure that the hinge-side jamb is at the same level as that of the strike-side jamb.
  • Shim the hinge side until it is completely straight completely and use a log level and shim behind the hinges. It is better to use a pair of shims in opposite directions to make a flat surface.
  • You can nail through the jamb, through the shims, and into the framing.
  • Now you must close the door and shim under the strike-side jamb to an extent that there should a gap between head jamb and the door
  • The area behind the strike-side jamb should be shimmed until it gets straight. Use the door itself as a guide, shimming until there is an even gap between the door and the strike-side jamb and you should shim and secure the head jamb.

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