| In
This Article:
The brick-mould trim is
removed from an entry door and the unit is unscrewed from the
framing. |
Related
Articles:
|
| Skill Level:
2 (Basic) |
Time Taken:
45 Minutes |
By
Bruce W. Maki,
Editor
One of our clients asked us to remove an exterior door in the
garage of their almost-finished new house. Their masonry contractor
needed to pour a new concrete floor over the remains of the original
floor because the contractor's employees made some enormous mistakes.
They neglected to compact the soil next to the house where
the dirt had been excavated and back filled. Portions of the first
concrete slab settled about 6 inches within a month of being
poured, causing sections of the garage walls and roof to sag.
The contractor later cut out the center part of the floor, jacked
up the sagging structure and poured new footings where the old
sections had settled. At the time of this writing they were
preparing to pour another floor over top of the old. The home owner
rented a vibratory compactor and ran it repeatedly
over the soil.
Needless to say, the local building department is not happy and
the contractor could lose his license. To add insult to injury, this
contractor just happens to be the neighbor of our client.
 |
This is the outside of the door. It is a little
unusual because the door swings out instead of in,
but the process of removing the door is the same.
First we pulled the removable weather-stripping gasket from
the grooves in the door jamb. |
 |
 |
The weather-stripping comes out easily. It is a good idea
to remove this strip when painting a door frame.
We removed all but two of the screws that held the
jamb to the structure. If nails had been used we would have
used a cat's claw nail remover tool, which rather
mangles the wood. |
 |
 |
A chisel was used to carefully pry the brick molding away
from the door jamb.
Some people use a putty knife to create a thin gap and then
use a chisel. |
 |
 |
Then we used a flat pry bar to remove the brick molding.
Note that the three segments are joined at the corners. We
left the pieces connected to each other. |
 |
 |
With the brick molding removed we used a pair of
carpenter's pliers to pull the nails. Pneumatic-driven nails
like these are best removed by pulling them all the way
through from the back side. Trying to hammer them back like
conventional nails is futile because the thin brads bend too
easily.
The door with the brick molding removed. |
 |
|
The rest was easy. Just remove the last two screws...
...and lower the door to the ground |
 |
 |
Notice the greenish piece of wood at the bottom of the
doorway. That is a piece of treated lumber that the framing
carpenters glued to the concrete floor. This board prevents
the wooden door jambs from contacting the concrete and reduces
the chances of moisture soaking into the wood.
Another view. |
 |
Once the masonry contractor returns and pours the new floor,
which will be at a higher level than the old floor, the door opening
will have to be raised about 4 inches and the door
re-installed. Raising a door opening is nothing but a pain in the
neck. Doing it right the first time is so much easier.
|
Tools
Used:
- Cordless Drill/Driver
- Chisel, Pry Bar
- Carpenter's Pliers
- 6' Step Ladder
|
Materials Used:
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