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Who would I call to fix my front door?

Scouzer

Scouzer

Lifer
My front door is pissing me off. It fits like shit in its frame and it's drafty as all hell. It's drafty because it doesn't fit in its frame, the weather stripping itself is in pristine condition.

It's a standard wooden door, nothing special. Would this be a carpenter's thing? I don't know if the frame can be tweaked or does the whole frame have to be ripped apart?

Before you suggest anything, I don't do things myself.
 
You'll probably have to have the entire door and frame replaced.

If you have a specialized door shop in your area, they may be able to recommend a contractor to come look at the job. It's possible you could get by with just replacing the door...MAYBE...but if it's more than a few years old, it's usually better to replace the whole thing.
 
Own, but it's a condo townhouse.. I'm not clear if the front door is condo board responsibility since it faces the exterior.
 
Scouzer said:
The place was built in 2008 =\
Click to expand...

You say the door is a standard wooden door...could it have shrunk due to low humidity? Often, contractors either don't paint top & bottom of doors...and they develop problems from exposure to the weather.

IMO, replace it with a good quality fiberglass door. You should be able to get a GOOD quality fiberglass pre-hung door installed for under $1000/ (around here, install of a pre-hung door runs $400-$500) If you just want a plain door with no lights, (windows) you should be able to get one for about $200.

Do you have Home Depot/Lowe's in your part of Canuckistan?
 
BoomerD said:
You'll probably have to have the entire door and frame replaced.

If you have a specialized door shop in your area, they may be able to recommend a contractor to come look at the job. It's possible you could get by with just replacing the door...MAYBE...but if it's more than a few years old, it's usually better to replace the whole thing.
Click to expand...

WTF? No. If it's a new wooden door any carpenter should be able to add a ripping to the bottom of it, plane it, and shape it so it fits right takes like 2-3 hours. When I was growing up and working with my dad we did this job many times.

I guess if the door is a real POS it might not be worth fixing, but I would think most wooden doors would be.

OP, do you know a carpenter, or can someone recommend one to you?
 
BoomerD said:
You say the door is a standard wooden door...could it have shrunk due to low humidity? Often, contractors either don't paint top & bottom of doors...and they develop problems from exposure to the weather.

IMO, replace it with a good quality fiberglass door. You should be able to get a GOOD quality fiberglass pre-hung door installed for under $1000/ (around here, install of a pre-hung door runs $400-$500) If you just want a plain door with no lights, (windows) you should be able to get one for about $200.

Do you have Home Depot/Lowe's in your part of Canuckistan?
Click to expand...

I guess my biggest concern is whether it's actually the door, or the frame. Could the place have shifted so the door is fine but the frame is off kilter?

Prices in Canada for stuff like this are generally double the US... so I'm thinking $2000 to replace a door... :\

I have a Home Depot here.
 
Scouzer said:
I guess my biggest concern is whether it's actually the door, or the frame. Could the place have shifted so the door is fine but the frame is off kilter?

Prices in Canada for stuff like this are generally double the US... so I'm thinking $2000 to replace a door... :\

I have a Home Depot here.
Click to expand...

Are you asking if the whole house is shifting? Possible but unlikely, you would see cracks in the corners of your walls.
 
Blackjack200 said:
WTF? No. If it's a new wooden door any carpenter should be able to add a ripping to the bottom of it, plane it, and shape it so it fits right takes like 2-3 hours. When I was growing up and working with my dad we did this job many times.

I guess if the door is a real POS it might not be worth fixing, but I would think most wooden doors would be.

OP, do you know a carpenter, or can someone recommend one to you?
Click to expand...


If the door doesn't fit the frame, you're not going to be able to "enlarge the door" without making it look like crap.

It's possible that a good carpenter could remove the door trim and make the frame fit the door by shimming and such...maybe...
 
BoomerD said:
If the door doesn't fit the frame, you're not going to be able to "enlarge the door" without making it look like crap.

It's possible that a good carpenter could remove the door trim and make the frame fit the door by shimming and such...maybe...
Click to expand...

Well, I guess it depends on what your priorities are. I'd rather save $1,000 and have a piece added on to the bottom of the door. But there are definitely people out there that would not go for that, which I understand.

The other thing you can do is raise the saddle.
 
You can probably both buy the door and have framing/installation done by Home Depot. They have a pool of local contractors that will pick up work like that. However, it might be cheaper to buy the door there and just find your own person to do the framing/installation, as Home Depot will probably charge more as they need to take their cut as well as pay the contractor. Most window places will also install doors, as well as some general house-related service contractors.

I concur about the fiberglass. Not that much more expensive and insulates better. It will make a difference if your little part of Canada gets very cold.
 
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OP, is the door and frame parallel to each other? I just bought my house back in March, and noticed quite a bit of light leakage around the door. What the problem was, was the screws for the door hinges were loose, and just needed a bit of tightening. I might eventually have to get a couple longer screws, but that's easily taken care of.

If you're experiencing that, or you notice that your door seems angled compared to the frame, grab a phillips head screwdriver, and just snug up all the screws for the door hinges (door side and frame side). Shouldn't take but a few minutes, and you don't need to be a mechanical genius to do it.
 
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