Installing the Front Door

Thought I would show the step by step process of hanging an exterior door, at least it’s the way I do it, which may not be the fastest (certain of that), but it works. WARNING! May be boring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation is the key. I’ve seen (and have had to repair) too many door thresholds that had rotted out, along with the framing below it. I made sill pans from aluminum flashing. Since I can’t afford a proper metal brake, I bought a vice grip tool with extra flat and wide jaws to work with sheet metal. These were attached with roofing nails along the edges of the ends that fold up onto the rough opening sides. The sub sill itself holds the pan in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the sill pan and sub sill installed and then painted. It’s very important that this sub sill is level. If not, shim it before securing it. I just used my nail gun with 16 penny framing nails, but made sure I only nailed it under where the door sill would rest so they are hidden from view and from moisture.

Note that this is not how doors are usually put in these days. Usually, the walls are only built with 2x4’s or 2x6’s and so you can just set the pre-hung door into the opening without any sub sill. However, due to my wide walls (about 10-1/4” thick), I had to go this route because I couldn’t get pre-hung sills and jambs wide enough. But actually, this is a lot sturdier and water resistant. (Of course, it is overbuilt. Big surprise.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rough opening ready for the door and the door ready to be installed. For this 36” door, the rough opening was supposed to be 38-1/2” wide and the standard 82-1/2” high. I think I ended up with a little narrower than that, but that’s ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before lifting the door, lay it exterior side up and remove the nails (usually two of them) used to hold the door in place during shipping. To help locate the door 1/2” in from the framing to match the sheet rock, I installed two boards on the door face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like so. These, along with 1/2” spacer installed on the framing itself (see below) will hold the door plumb with the wall and exactly 1/2” out so the sheetrock ends flush with the door frame. Before lifting the door in place, run several beads of silicon (not latex) caulk on the bottom of the threshold provided.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lift the door into place and install the spacers I mentioned above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice how the interior door jamb rests 1/2” in from the framing. Also notice my extra-special helper making sure that door doesn’t run away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the outside (exterior) plumb the hinge side of the frame. If done correctly, the only two surfaces that need to be checked for level and plumb are the sub sill and the hinge jamb. If the door itself is warped (as many are that come from the big box stores), take it back. It will never work right.

Place a shim, one from the inside (this is where your helper comes in handy) and one from the outside. Place this first shim just at the top of the top hinge. Nail a galvanized casing nail through the jamb and into the framing. I usually nail it just above the shim. Every time I try and nail through the shim, it splits it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repeat this, making sure the hinge side of the jamb is plumb (up and down) with shims at the top edge of the middle and bottom hinges. At this point, the door is secure. I then go inside and remove the bracing and check the gap between the door itself and the jamb to ensure it still looks even. Then, I get the great satisfaction of opening the door and having it close easily, without binding, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, go back outside (it’s easy now that you can open the door) and shim and nail the latch side. Don’t force the shims, just put them in with enough force to stay in place until you nail above or below them. However, if the jam is bowed, this is a good time to straighten it up using the shims. Just follow the gap between the door and the jamb, as seen on the inside until it looks the same from top to bottom. I install three sets of shims on the latch side, with the middle one between the dead bolt and knob holes.

Then, from the outside, add additional shims on the bottom of each hinge and nail below these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using a nail set, hammer in the nail heads to just below the surface of the jamb. These will be puttied later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve seen and used many approaches to removing the shim excess, from a utility knife (works pretty good if the blade is new), from a hand saw (I often dislodge the shims when I do it this way), to a wood chisel and hammer. If you have one of these Fein tools (they’re pretty pricey) or similar, its a breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now with the door installed, screw in the dead bolt and knob catch. Then, install the dead bolt and knob themselves. Now, if all went well, you can swing the door closed and it will latch on its own—a great feeling.

You can’t see it here, but I also installed a solid piece of wood between the jamb and rough framing so that the wood lies behind the dead bolt latch and extends down to the knob latch. This just gives more support and allows you to drill through the dead bolt latch hole so the throw will extend past the jamb into this extra piece of wood.

You’ll also note that I nail another set of nails on the inside of the jambs about in the same places as I first nailed the outer jamb. Set all these nail heads below the surface of the wood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here it is, installed. And here’s the “cottage” starting to look like a house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After I installed the doors, I finished the sub sill by cutting a piece of 2x lumber to match the groove I cut in the first part of the sub sill and with the front edge sloping down and extending out to the sides beyond the door frame. These extensions will support and act to finish the door trim when installed. Notice the jamb extensions complete in the above pictures. These put the outer edge of the exterior jamb about an inch out from the house wrap. This is in anticipation of the 1” white oak siding I’ll be installing. The jambs will tie into these siding boards. Then, the 3/4” trim boards will cover the end of the jamb (except for an 1/8” reveal) and cover the jamb to siding joint, hopefully forming a water tight seal (after caulking the edges with latex caulk, of course).

There. That’s it. Now was that so boring? Don’t answer.

Garden and Roof

We took a bit of time and planted our garden. It was late (10th of May), but with all the rains, it was the soonest we could do it. We planted beets, bush beans, squash, lettuce, carrots, some watermelon seeds we had left over from plants that grew in our yard a couple years ago, tomato plants, and some old corn seed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We planted the beans and beets in the raised beds. The blackberries are doing fine. The squash was the first to come up. Everything but the watermelon and corn has come up.

Back to the house: Me and my helper started putting up the roof decking, but then he had to work at another job and I didn’t know if I could do it alone. Connie and I picked up the sheathing and as you can see, she did great. Just look at those muscles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, after a few sheets, I was feeling overwhelmed. It didn’t seem this hard the last time we did a roof (but that was 20 years ago). Connie solved the problem by insisting I hire a roofer. I found one and he did a wonderful job with finishing the decking and the roof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, we decided to go with shingles (Heritage architectural 30 year) rather than metal “ag” panel. Here’s the rationale: 1) metal is not cheaper than shingles, after you figure all the metal trim, contrary to what I originally thought; 2) metal is not maintenance free, even though it has a 45 year warranty (you will definitely need to tighten or replace the screws within 10 years); 3) insurance companies do not readily replace metal, even with hail damage, or dents, but they do readily replace damaged shingle roofs; 4) it’s easier to hide imperfections in the roof, such as out of square, with shingles; and 5) I really think shingles look better.

If I could afford standing seam, at $180-200 a square, I’d go with that, because that really is superior. But I can’t, so heritage shingles was the way to go for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there it is. We stained and put on the fascia board and trim on the rake before the shingles went down. Next is to finish the sheathing and house wrap, in preparation for the doors and windows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, we also finished the door and window bucks and cut the sheathing around the edges.

Trusses and Roof Decking Started

Last week, we finished the wall framing and put up the roof trusses. We’re now working on the roof decking. Roofs are hard! That’s my official position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first truss. We hired Art, who owns a sign company in town. He also lifts trusses on the side. I considered doing this step by hand, but decided against it when I thought through it. It was worth the $285 he charged me to come out and set them in place. We have two gable trusses and 14 common.

Before putting up the first gable truss, we installed long 2x4’s to the east side of the house extending up above the top plate to give the gable something to rest against.

After putting up the first four trusses, we stopped and braced them with a) a diagonal from the top tip of the gable truss to the bottom of the fourth truss, b) two diagonal braces from the bottom corners of the gable truss to the top ridge of the fourth truss, and c) a “rat run”, which consists of 2x4’s nailed across the top of the bottom cords of each truss. You’ll also notice the 2x4 blocks we put between each truss near the top to ensure proper spacing. These were 22-1/2” long and we used the same size blocks to space the bottoms of the trusses before nailing them to the top plate.

And here’s the part where I went wrong: The hoist guy came a little early and I was not ready. Feeling rushed, I failed to mark the top plates at 2 feet on center and instead decided to rely on the blocks for spacing. What I didn’t figure was that the trusses had nail plates at the corners right where we were placing the blocks for spacing and these nail plates were about a 16'th of an inch thick. Consequently, over the length of the building (30’), we gained an accumulated extra 2 inches of space between the trusses. This was a problem when we started nailing on the roof decking when we found the trusses were not exactly 2-foot on center. So, we had to start using nailers face-nailed to the top cord of the truss to compensate. Not the end of the world. After the roof is covered, and the sheet rock is installed, no one will know the difference. Just a word to the wise: Take the time to mark the top plates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the shadows cast by a trussed roof. We were about half way done here.

And another word to the wise: Put a reference mark at one end of each truss before lifting them into place. Because I couldn’t rely on the top plate of the back wall being perfectly straight (although we tried), I struck a chalk line the full length of the top plate five inches in from the building line. I then placed a mark five inches in from the end of the bottom cord of each truss to use to line up the truss right on the chalk line. I missed one of the trusses and mistook a dark spot on the wood for the mark and ended up placing one truss about a half inch in (away from the mark on top of the eave wall), so it was not lined up with the other trusses. I didn’t find this error until we were about done with the roof framing. Because I couldn’t live with knowing it was off, and because it would have affected the decking, shed roof, and fascias, we cut all the nails holding the truss in place and shifted it over to match up. I’m sure I’ve built this entire building twice with all the rework. Mark well and avoid this kind of mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had some good help. Here’s Bryce showing me his “owie”, which he courageously won involving a nail and a thumb (hey, that rhymes). Jason and Cameron (not shown here) were my other trusted and very much appreciated helpers. Just a note that Jason won his purple heart the next day when his left index finger got between a hammer head and the intended target. Ouch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s Cameron (on the far end of the last gable truss). Here we are putting up the last truss. On the advice of Art, who’s done this a few times before, we put the wall sheathing on the last truss before we installed it, which saved a lot of time. We also repeated the same bracing on this end as we did on the other end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next couple of days, we framed the shed rafters and ceiling joists over the front of the building (notice the change of pitch on the front), installed the lookouts (2x4’s extending from the first common truss, through a notch in the gable truss, and out past the building line to receive the “barge” rafters), the barge rafters themselves, the sub-fascia on the front and back of the house, and started putting up the roof decking.

I know I over-build and I know I’ve not done things as efficiently as a professional. That’s a given. I’m trying to improve, because it takes so much time and effort to do anything, I really need to cut down on as many steps as possible. That being said, I always install 2x4’s on the end of the rafter tails as a sub-fascia, and as barge rafters. Then, I install the trim boards, which are 1 x lumber, wider than the 2x4’s, and extend down past them about 3/4”. It is possible to use the final trim boards as the fascia and barge rafters, but I just seem to feel better with doing structural framing first. Maybe I’ll change my mind, given how much work it is putting up these pieces, but that’s where I’m at now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I rented a material lift from a neighbor to hoist the 4x8 sheets of roof decking. I was expecting (or hoping) to finish the roof framing by Saturday morning and then use the lift while installing all of the roof decking. But, surprise, it took longer than expected to frame the roof. We didn’t even get started on the decking until about 7:00pm. So, by the time we got two rows of sheets up on the back, it was starting to get dark. I only had the lift until Monday morning and I don’t work on Sunday (my Sabbath). The only thing we could do is frame some supports on the roof and lift as many of the sheets as we could. It was starting to get a little dicey putting up the front stacks, as it was getting dark, and Jason had to use a flashlight on his hand so I could see his signals. I finally called it quits after that, even though we still had about a dozen sheets on the ground. I’ll just have to lift those myself the old-fashioned way.

So, I feel some pressure to finish installing the decking, cut off the sheets ends, and order the metal. However, I will be looking for a good roofing contractor to possibly do the metal roof (that’s what Connie wants, since she said she’d rather the roof take longer and have me with her than finish the roof sooner and be alone). It’s starting to take shape.