Exterior Front Door Installation Guide For Your New Townhome
If you have just moved in to a townhome and
are excited to put your own touches on it, you may wish to get a new exterior
front door. Whether you are choosing a door because of damage to the old one,
or because of stylistic reasons, you need to consider the materials that will
suit your door needs best and which options are energy efficient before you
move forward with purchasing and installing new exterior front doors.
If you have exterior front doors on your
townhome that are satisfactory, you may wish to install a storm door or screen
door to allow airflow into your home in favorable weather. The steps for
installation of such a door are slightly different than the steps that it takes
to install exterior front doors, so be aware of this when gathering your
information.
Things You Will Need To Install Exterior Front Doors
Once you have chosen your door, bought it,
and brought it home its time to gather the tools and get ready to put your purchase
in place. Be sure you have checked with the president or manager of your
townhome complex. In some places you must buy exterior front doors only from
their approved set of choices. There are other townhomes requiring everyone to
have the same doors. Look for regulations against storm doors as well. If you
do get faced with these sorts of issues, you may have to put your renovation
plans on hold.
When you have the go ahead for your new
door installation, prepare to work by gathering a screwdriver, handsaw, drill,
hammer, chisel, pry bar, shims, measuring tape, and caulk. Then you can being
the job by removing the inner and outer trim as carefully as you can. If you
want to reuse these pieces, be sure to not crack them when taking them off to
install new exterior front doors. Cracks in molding not only will look bad, but
also will let in air and water.
Steps
To Get Exterior Front Doors Out And Replaced With New Doors
Take the old door off of the hinges by
tapping them out with hammer and a nail if necessary. Check the size of the
opening you are left with once again to ensure the door you have will fit. Use
the hammer and pry bar or chisel to remove the jamb, ledge and other pieces of
the doorframe. If your new exterior front doors are pre-hung you can then put
the whole contraption in place. Shim exterior front doors on each side to get
the new frame and door set plumb, level and square.
After you have used a measuring tape and level to find out if your door is positioned optimally, it is time to secure the frame in place. Make sure to leave the smallest opening possible, since all areas in the wall around exterior front doors need insulation. Screw the hinges into place after you have secured the doorframe to support walls using a drill and screws. Then you can open and shut the door, see if it works, and make hardware adjustments if necessary.
Do not skimp on insulation and caulk. Seal the crevices that you can around the door with insulation before putting the door molding on the outside and inside back on. When you have everything put back together, and after you are done painting any surfaces that may require it, caulk around the doorframe, exterior and interior trim. This is the finishing touch to installing new exterior front doors. If you have done everything correctly, your new exterior front doors will hang correctly and open and shut with ease. Again, be sure to get the ok from your townhome association before getting new exterior doors so that you do not do the work in vain and have to remove the unapproved door.
