Pre-hung door-dumb question

elscorcho · 05-22-2008, 12:29 AM

I have come to the conclusion that I have to replace the storm door on my back porch. The door itself measures 31.25" wide-am I correct in assuming that I need to buy a 32" p/h door? Is there any "wiggle room" as far as width is concerned on these doors? The door itself cannot be any wider than 31.25 as its a very tight fit as it is.

I appreciate any thoughts on this-

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 05-22-2008, 06:53 AM

Take all your measurements and go down to your local supplier with your information. They should be able to help you figure out which of their doors will be suit your door.

joed · 05-22-2008, 09:29 AM

If you are buying a prehung, take the trim off the inside. Measure the opening between the studs and make sure your new door including the casings will fit into that space.
If not buying a prehung then you will need to buy a 32" door and have it cut down to the correct size to fit the existing casing.

elscorcho · 05-22-2008, 11:02 AM

Thanks fellas, I appreciate the input.

There is no "trim", as this is a screen porch leading out to my deck. The opening measures about 31.5". Given those dimensions, I would have assumed the door was made to fit the opening, but heres the kicker. I replaced the original door a few years ago, with an aluminum storm door that I took out of another house. The fact that it fit right in leads me to think its an "off-the-rack" pre-hung door-I mean, what are the odds that two different houses would have the same "oddball" sized door?

At any rate, I've got all the pertinent dimensions and I'm heading out this afternoon to Lowes, Menards, etc to see how their in stock doors compare. I'm assuming that these pre-hung storm doors must have some adjustment to compensate for door openings that are out of square, etc.

Once again, thanks for the input. I wish this site had been around 20 years ago-it would have saved me a lot of $$ and a ton of time!!!

sevver · 05-22-2008, 11:08 AM

Sounds like a 30" door to me. 30" door, 3/4 inch jamb, 3/4 inch jam is 31 1/2".

elscorcho · 05-22-2008, 11:17 AM

Thanks sevver, I was wondering about that. The thing is, the door itself measures 31.25" ?

sevver · 05-22-2008, 11:20 AM

Are you getting a new door? Does the existing rough opening have a door jam in it, or is it just that, a rough opening with possibly a 32" door cut to fit in it? If you need to get a new door and want a prehung, then what you need to be concerned with is the rough opening. If you want to get a new door only, then you still need to know the opening it is going into, and you won't be getting a door frame.

elscorcho · 05-22-2008, 11:51 AM

What I am hoping to get is a pre-hung storm door. The room is a screen porch, with just a 31.5" rough opening between the 4" x 4" 's

I'm heading out to Menards with a tape measure. If worst comes to worst, I can always make the opening smaller with 1x, but enlarging it is out of the question.

sevver · 05-22-2008, 11:56 AM

That is what I thought. You got it right, you will need to see what the opening size is for the door you are going to buy, and adjust accordingly using 1x wood. Don't forget about the height too.

elscorcho · 05-23-2008, 12:20 PM

!!!!!

Well, I'm back from Menards, and this is what I'm left with.

According to Andersen doors, the rough in range for a 32" p/h door is 31-3/4" to 32-3/8". The range for a 30" p/h door is 29-3/4" to 30-3/8". My opening is 31-1/2", so by building it out with 1x's, it would put me in the market for a 30" p/h. Trouble is, all of the 30" doors are "special order" (translation $$$$)

Heres the twist-after careful measuring, I've discovered the door that is in there now is in fact a 32" p/h. It was always a little snug as far as opening and closing, but it was in there and has been for almost 10 years.

I'm thinking about buying a 32", and trying to shoehorn it in there. I may have to remove some material here and there-(yes I am a cheapskate and a glutton for punishment!!) but I'm pretty sure I could make it work.

So I'm curious-what would you guys do? Keep in mind that the price of a special order 30" door is about double the price of an off-the-rack 32", not to mention lumber, paint, etc to make it work.

sevver · 05-23-2008, 12:29 PM

I would get the 32" door. Doesn't sound like anything that an assault with a belt sander would not fix. Ill you need is a 16th inch on each side. Just think, you won't even have to cut the top section.

elscorcho · 05-23-2008, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sevver

I would get the 32" door. Doesn't sound like anything that an assault with a belt sander would not fix. Ill you need is a 16th inch on each side. Just think, you won't even have to cut the top section.

Kind of what I was thinkin'-As soon as it stops raining here, a sandin' I shall go!!

Thanks for the input sevver-I really do appreciate it.