Replacing Doors in Our Home
 

We have an older house built in 1953 that we rent out in Salt Lake City, Utah. The house is brick over cinder block and all of the windows have been replaced with vinyl double panes. The doors however have never been replaced. The rear door is an aluminum slider and the front is a standard wood door.

The most recent tenants moved out last month and I am looking to replace these two doors. I could attempt it myself but I really need to get it done and I suspect there may be complications due to the age of the home.

The front door is a 36" wide door (38" opening) but it's a little short at 80.5". The jam is 5 1/4" because of the cinder construction. I think this will be the easiest to replace since a minimum I can buy a new solid core wood door and cut it down to fit. I went through Home Depot thinking they would be able to get the job done quickly and they went a little crazy. They suggested a custom fiberglass 6 panel door. The total price was $425 and a two week wait for just the door! I called a local millworks and they quoted $284 for a pre-hung wood six panel with a 4 day wait.

The rear slider is the problem. It measures 80.5" tall but is 70.5" wide. The standard size is 71.5" so we're short by 1" and there is no room to change the opening. For a flush fin vinyl slider with low-e glass Home Depot wants $725. I've thought about doing a normal opening door but there isn't any room for it inside or out on the rear landing.

After all the installation charges we're up to a quote of $2200 for two doors!

Do you guys have any advice for getting these doors replaced and the house rented out? Do you think a wood front door would be nearly as good as a fiberglass unit? What is the best solution for the small rear slider?

Thanks for the advice!

Not sure why you can't change the opening for the slider using a wood filler piece secured with tapcons into the block/brick. Or you could split the differnce on either side and use a 1/2 backer rod to fill the gaps and caulking. Then break a couple pieces of flashing to cover the backer(you can rent a hand brake fairly cheap). Secure the flashing with tapcons to the block--typically a jamb would only have 2 breaks--a 90 degree and then a 45 or less for the kicker--pre-drill the metal so you don't kink it--use touch-up paint on the tapcon heads when done.

Get ahold of Denis (speeder) and have him do it! This is the type of work that he does for a living. He is on a tour of America right now, working at various places for a while then heading on to the next spot.

Last I heard he was in the upper MidWest and should be about ready to head West on the way back to SoCal, so stopping by SLC might work out.

Have Milt do it for you - It will be done right.....

I ordered my doors at a Millwork outfit. I could order any size I wanted, including the width of the casing. For an extra $80, they finished the door, casing and trim.

Setting doors is all about getting them plumb and using long screws to securely mount to the studs. Using a nail gun just won't hold up over years of use....

Thank you guys for the advice.

I wish I could get milt to do the work! I don't know that he wants to travel with his tools up to SLC for just a couple of doors.

I'll send a message to speeder to see if he can help me out.

Eric I think I get what you are saying. The photos might give you a better idea of what I'm dealing with. Basically the opening can't be widened at all due to the type of construction. The flange on either side is secured directly to the cinderblocks. At the top of the door a steel I-beam runs across but the height isn't a problem

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182548077.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182548096.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182548110.jpg

Milt is the man when it comes to doors/windows/building stuff, not sure if he works in Utah, though.

Thanks for the vote, Joe! I'm in Mpls. for a little while, not sure exactly when I'm coming home.

Re: Replacing Doors in Our Home
 

The old slider is nothing "custom." It is hard to tell from your photos, but I suspect you won't have a problem getting a replacement in the opening.

Your rough opening -- the block to block measurements once the old door is removed -- is what you need to determine. Remove some of that inside trim/drywall/plaster or whatever that is in the picture and see what sort of space you have behind the side channels.

The new door manufacturers will give you "rough in" sizes, but that normally will assume room for shimming. You may currently have shimming, or the back side of the aluminum channel has built in spacing. But odds are there is enough room.

Re: Replacing Doors in Our Home
 

On the issue of the "best solution" -- it might involve keeping the old slider.

If the track is not worn to shreds (it looks like the lower track needs a good cleaning), you can get new rollers and locking hardware and the door will work like new:

http://www.swisco.com/

Put in some French doors. They look better and are easily sized.

Home Depot is great for picking up a standard sized door on the spot.
For anything custom, you're better off going to a place that builds pre-hung doors. That's where the pro builders go. They can do a one-off size just as quickly as a standard door, usually for much less than Home Defect. Home Depot charges extra for the inconvenience factor. They just want to stock a bunch of doors, and watch people carry them away. A special order is not what they like to do.