Front Door replacement, new one is shorter

[DOZ]

Hi all,

Am replacing the front door in my 30yr old Neeta home in SW Sydney. I am going from a single door and sidelight to single door with sidelight either side. I purchased the door and sidelights from a hardware sale without consideration and have found the original door is approximately 4"'s higher than the new one.

I plan to fix the new door jamb lower to make up the lost height and fix the gap with replacement gyprock on the inside of the house.

The problem I have is the outside where the original door jamb is level with the eave lining. I was thinking to use a piece of meranti I have laying around to cover the gap but was thinking you guys/gals might have another/better idea?

Oh yeah, the doors etc are being painted black outside and white inside...

Cheers

Daniel

[mythagoz]

I can't comment on the door being too short, but a lot of manufacturers recommend painting exterior doors in light reflective colours to reduce the risk of heat absorption which may cause warping.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Good luck!

[DOZ]

I would prefer a lighter colour too, unfortunately my better half has decisions over the house as I have over the garage. This suits me, now where to mount that special support pole

[silentC]

What's the outside skin of your house? Brick, weatherboard, fibro, render, something else? Is the door well under cover, ie. is the bit you're patching likely to be exposed to the weather at all?

I probably wouldn't use meranti for an exterior application but if there's no chance of it getting weathered, it might be OK with a good coat of paint. I'd be looking for something more hard wearing though, like a bit of blueboard or something. Maybe a bit of colorbond flashing would do it.

[DOZ]

The house is brick veneer and the front door is sheltered at the entrance by a 1200mm eave. The original door is 7' (about 2140) high and the new one is 2040. The original door is stained with a veneer of some sort which has water damage at the bottom. I think the damage is more from the lack of drainage from the step than direct rain on the door itself.

The gap I want to close will be above, between the jamb and the eave, about 100mm. I have heaps of meranti(maple) I have taken from the pelmets above the windows which I thought would be ok since the door, frame and sidelights appear to be made of this.

Cheers

Daniel

[journeyman Mick]

Daniel,
just echoing what others have said about the colour of the door, you may want to tell your wife that the manufacturer will definitely not honour any warranty claims if you paint it black on the outside.

Mick

[silentC]

which I thought would be ok since the door, frame and sidelights appear to be made of this

Good point. Go for it!

[Carry Pine]

This may sound dodgy but...
We had a back door that was replaced with a door that was 45mm narrower. I added a strip and did a bit of sanding before painting. You can't tell that it's been added.
Would addind a striup ti the door work for you?
Carry Pine

[DOZ]

I have checked out a few newer houses in my area and most have finger jointed pine above the doorway, approx 100x20, so I am going ahead with using the meranti.

I thought about adding strips but I don't need to have a tall doorway as the back door is a slider anyway so furniture can come through there. I have new door jambs and mullions as the old ones were poorly cared for and have damage from inside (mopping/vacuuming the floor?).

Should be up by the end of the week, weather permitting.

Cheers

Daniel

[cac181]

hi,
with your door being too short, why to to the trouble of fixing new jamb etc. why not try fixing a second piece to either as 2" to both ends or 4" to the bottom.

we did this to a door, fixing a 2" section to the bottom with glue and nail. it was clamped until the glue dried. it was then planed, sanded and then painted. No one else was the wiser. they never spotted it.

on a set of fly screen doors the doors should have been 870 wide not 820. so here we put a 50mm stip don the side oposite the side with the hinges. this again was glued and clamed. looked great after it was also sanded back and painted.

so i would say instead or changing the jamb and then having to fix both the inside and outside. (i do like a good flushing job once it is done). try the extending of the door.

cheers

cath
cac181

[DOZ]

I appreciate the responses and ideas proposed. I had already bought all the required materials to replace door and jamb etc, mainly due to the fact I only had one sidelight and one door and have changed to twin sidelight/single door which meant I had to pull out the existing jamb due to the cutouts for hinges and the like.

The total cost of everything was cheap as it was from a hardware closing down sale. I got the 2 mullions for $20 (these are about $20/m) and similar price reductions on the doors etc.

I have completed the frame etc, just need to wait for it to stop raining so I can fit it, will post pic of solution then.

regards

Daniel