Storm doors

[Mattzlaff]

I was thinking about doing some projects at my house and my mothers.

She desperately needs a new storm door so come days off I'm going to get her one. I want a to do a new storm door at my place so practice at hers will make mine superior haha.

She knows I'm coming to do it but she told me she can't afford a new door she's the sort of person who will feel really guilty and offer to pay me for it every time I speak to her.

So she used to have one but the hinges gave way and she scrapped the door but the rails are still on. Been living with out one for a while. Her threshold or sill or what have you is deteriorating on the inside part so I will need to replace this too. Not sure what sort of wood to use I assume pressure treated? I am going to her place tomorrow to measure and take off the old rails from the old door so I'll have measurements tomorrow. I'm a little worried since she's got an old house that when I start ripping stuff off I'll find more things to do. The trim around the door probably just needs new paint but when I pull the rails off I'll get to see it for what it's worth.

Anyone have previous experience with this?
What's a good door manufacturer?  I'm leaning towards doors from Lowes as they seem better and have better reviews.

I've got a sheet from DIY home depot telling me what sort of measurements and where from so I can size the right door. The current rails are 32x80 so a straight up the board 32 x 80 new door should be fine but I will still measure from bare wood to make sure.

Additionally The space where the deadbolt on the actual door seems to have been roughed up and is allowing the door to move ~1/2 inch when bolted up. This is an issue that I will investigate when I get there Does anyone have experience with this?

[zolotiyeruki]

You'll definitely want to fix the jamb so that the door closes and locks correctly.  That, IMO, is step 1.  If the door isn't latching right, it'll leave gaps where air can leak through, so take care of that first.  Unfortunately, you'll either have to replace the whole jamb on that side, or do some more fine work with hand tools to chisel out the damaged part and replace it.

[paddedhat]

Deadbolts usually come with two strike plates. these are the metal pieces with the hole in them that get bolted to the door jamb. One strike is the decorative one, the other is a thicker piece of metal that is recessed deeper into the frame, and sits behind the decorative one. The thicker one is secured with large, long, heavy duty screws, and is what prevents the door from being easily kicked in. A lot of installations result in the heavy structural plate ending up it the trash, and the only thing really doing the job is the decorative one, with a pair of silly little screws holding in in place.  So, in your case, there is a good chance that the decorative plate is loose, or that the jamb is split, because it was never done correctly in the first place. At this point it's a matter of fixing the the damage and doing the work correctly.  In my experience, the damage would have to be extensive before I thought about replacing the frame. I have managed to even use Gorilla Glue and clamps to rebuilt a door frame that blew apart when the door was kicked in. Good luck, and make your momma proud.

[Mattzlaff]

So there's a pretty beefy piece of metal installed into the door frame but the hole is a little too big from an older patch job one of her friends did...

Will probably do some quick work to it so that it seals properly. Got the door on order, the existing trim and sill looks great after I removed the old rails today so a little bit of TLC via wood filler and sanding and paint Monday will make it look nice and I have a buddy lined up Wednesday for install of the new door.

Now she wants me to look at doing the front door too, might start a sig gig outa this...