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Exterior door install on a crooked wall

12K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  danielrg 
#1 ·
Let me start by first saying thank you to anyone who can help.

I was told when I bought the house that the previous owner was quite the "handy man":mad:. What I have learned is that he was not.

This evening I was going to install a new steel entry door on the back of my house. After removing the old door I realized why the old door never stayed open. The wall is extremely out of plumb, and the door was installed very poorly to mask this problem.

My thought was to make a new frame for the door that is plumb regardless of the exterior wall. The only concern I have is that the door would than be "sunk in" about 2 inches.

I am pretty confident in my abilities but am not really sure what to do at this point, but am willing to do what it takes to make it correct.

Can anyone give me any ideas to work with?

Thanks again
 

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#2 ·
You have a few options,

First it looks like that wall was framed for 2X4 if you went to a door frame for a 2X6 wall you could install it true and plumb using the larger frame allows you to have it be flush on one side one end and flush on the other side and end.

It looks like this may be a hallway if the door jamb is as close to the other wall as the one in the photo you could true up the wall, float out the sheetrock and texture on the inside to make the wall look plumb so the door does not look funny.

You could use a normal 2X4 door jamb frame and install it plumb and true then use the trim to flush the jamb to the wall and make it look good.

I can not tell what kind of siding you have , but you may be able to adjust that wall to be closer to plumb… BUT make sure to look at everything closely to see what it will effect if you do that.

Just a few ideas,

-Ryan
 
#3 ·
That's going to be a pain in the neck----I could tell you how to do that but I've got meat cooking in the skillet---

I'll be back---I hope you have patience and a table saw.----Mike---
 
#5 ·
without correcting the leaning wall the installation is going to be a bit funky.

Also you will want a door cased for a 2x6 wall in order to get a wide enough threshold.

The trims will also need a tapered blocking to get them flat to the wall.

Can you live with that?----I'll be back after work to check.
 
#6 ·
1 1/2 inches in 4 feet means with a 8 foot ceiling your wall leans out 3 inches at the top, that is not good. Hopefully the rest of your walls don't lean that much or you really do have problems. From what I see you are going to have to do some really good sealing on the bottom of the threshold to keep water out.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the input. I made a drawing to show what I think it is that you are talking about. I just want to make sure before I start tomorrow. I may wait and do this door last. I have two more to do that I know will not be crooked. Again I would like to thank you for your help.

This is the only wall that I have come across that is out at all. All of the others are pretty straight. This house was built in various stages from the late 1800's early 1900's (hand hewn beams with the the bark left on) to present, so every project has been a geat learning experience.
 

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#8 · (Edited)
Based on the dimensions you show, that means the wall will be 2 1/2" out of plumb at the top of a 6'8" door; a little more when you extend that taper to the top of the head casing.

The fix is going to be highly visible, there is no sugar coating for this one.
You willl have large wedges on both the inside and outside, just tapering in opposite directions; and a good chance that the opening is also twisted, so that the taper of the wedges may not be the same for both the hinge and latch sides of the unit.

Determine the widest dimension of the jamb before ordering the door unit, as you may need to order a non stock width.

The sill will need some extra support, and the exterior head casing will need a drip cap fabricated to fit.
 
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