Next, I run two screws through the latch side of the frame, through the shims and into solid wood. Then begin shimming the door to hold it securely in place. Inside, I check the sill for level and the jambs for plumb. Driving a couple of roofing nails through the fin, holds the door in position temporarily. So I've asked my friend Jeff to give me a hand lifting it into place. Now even though the sliding panel has been removed, this door is heavy. Now, important thing is, I want to put the bottom of the door in first and then tilt it up, so that I don't disturb these beads of caulk down here. Well, I'd say it's time to put this door in. On top of the foil tape, I put down three beads of silicone that will form a weathertight seal at the bottom of the door sill. I put back the sill support I removed earlier and nail it in place. I put down a second strip on the threshold, then apply it along the entire opening, again making sure to wrap the corners. At the corners, I make two small cuts - then fold the tape over the edges. I press the tape firmly in place, making sure to run it at least six inches up the jamb. This foil tape has a butyl rubber adhesive backing. The next step in preparing the opening is making it absolutely water tight. And - excellent.Īfter measuring the opening, I find that it's just a bit too large for the new door, so I nail on strips of plywood to reduce it to the correct size. Now I have to do a few things to prepare this rough opening for the new door, and the first one is to make sure that the sill down here is level and that the sides are plumb. Be patient and look for any hidden fasteners, screws or nails, because even one of them can keep the frame from coming out easily. Now your door might come out differently. Well try is the operative word here.Īfter a lot of hammering, I finally discover one final screw hidden up inside the latch plate. With everything removed, I try to tap the frame free. Next, I take out the fixed door panel and sure enough, there are more screws down the right side of the frame. I pull off the sill support just to be sure there aren't any screws through the bottom. In my case, the frame is attached on the left side and along the top. The trick is to find all the screws and nails, securing it to the framing. Sliding doors are installed in different ways. I find a few nails through this plastic fin, which the tiger's paw makes short work of. With the nails out of the way, the wood trim pries off easily. Then it can be removed with a flat bar or hammer. When the opposite end of the tool is pushed downward, the buried nail is pulled to the surface. This terrific tool called a tiger's paw has sharp tines that burrow into the wood and grip the shaft of a nail. So I know that right behind this is where that nail is and that's where I'll start my digging. I'll put it here on the casing, the trim, move it around and uh, here we go. So what I want to do is locate the nails, the face nails right here, and to do that, I'm not gonna use this but I'm gonna use this. It's kind of sitting behind the siding or shingles on this and the door frame over here. I want to remove this piece of wood trim, but I can't get a pry bar behind it. Well, I have an interesting problem or maybe I should say challenge right here. On the outside, I remove the screen and cut through the caulk at the edges of the exterior trim. Anything I can take out of the frame now means less weight to handle when it comes time for removal. Then, I drive a putty knife into the scene and pull the casing away, just enough to insert a pry bar - then work the molding free.īy taking off this strip at the top of the frame, I can remove the sliding door. In order to prevent damage to the surrounding wall, I'm using the utility knife to cut through the paint and caulk around the edges of the door casing. So what I've decided to do instead, is to replace these doors with ones that have the window treatments actually inside the glass. Now we thought about putting up a shade or mini blind, but you know, I've got two children and two dogs and I thought that they would probably take their toll on them, plus every time I want to go in or out, I've gotta raise and lower them. So, my wife and I have decided we've really gotta do something to give us some privacy. That we're actually on stage in here and people walking by on the outside, can look right in and see what's going on. However at night, I get the feeling sometimes that we're the ones that are the view. You know, one of the things that I really like about my sliding door here is that I can sit in the kitchen, read the paper and take in the view at the same time.
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