Sealing a Standard Doorway - DIY Chatroom

seal8682 · 08-28-2006, 05:19 PM

Hello, I am a college student and I live in a converted garage room, last year I was having trouble with rain coming in through a door that is in back of the room, it is old and raggedy and insects constantly come in, I would like to remove the door and install a wall where the doorway is. It is 6'1/2" x 2'1/2" x 5". I have no idea why the people who converted the garage installed the door but I never use it, if anybody can give me some tips on what I need or a procedure to install a wall where the doorway is, I would greatly appreciate it, rainy season is coming up and I would like to get the it done by then, again thanks to anybody in advance for any information

ron schenker · 08-28-2006, 07:07 PM

I would suggest you talk to the landlord first before you do anything. He may...
1) say no
2) volunteer to do it
3) pay you to do it
4) let you do it for free

Obviously option 2 or 3 would be nice
Either way, make sure you stress the fact of why you feel it's important to make this change

seal8682 · 08-28-2006, 07:28 PM

O.K. thank you for the suggestion Ron

, I just talked to the landlord and she was kind enough to give me permission to make the modification, since the agreement between me and my landlord was that I was to maintain my room at my cost since I am paying very little rent since she knows I am a student. I've already done some minor fixes in the room and it is much more liveable now than it was before. She was nice enough to offer to pay half of whatever the cost is to seal the doorway so now I'm looking forward to doing this. Thanks again Ron.

Zero Punch · 09-05-2006, 06:58 AM

If this is the second doorway into the living space it may be required by code as a emergency exit. I would check before closing it off. A replacement door may be the better choice.

seal8682 · 09-05-2006, 07:17 AM

Thanks for the reply zero, my landlord and I checked last week to see if it was alright with the city. Since it is actually the third door in the Room it is alright to seal it. I am thinking to seal the doorway I have to construct a frame of wood around the doorway for base and put crossing 2 x 4's for support, I just thought of this off the top of my head, so if anybody can tell me if I'm on the right track I'd appreciate it. Thank You

handyjoe · 09-06-2006, 08:31 PM

Just a suggestion, when you are putting in your door, why not add a keyless entry? I just added 1 to my garage door, and it works really nice. I got my keyless entry at www.thekeylesslock.com. So, now i got a question, say for example, my doorhole from deadbolt to latch is 3 1/2'', and I want to put a lock in there that's 5 1/2'', I drilled the hole on top, does that make my door weaker? and how would i make it so that my plate can fit?