reversing swing of prehung door

[Andrew Sasak]

My shed was built a few months ago with a prehung door that swings into the shed. I would like to reinstall the door to swing out. I would replace the hinges to prevent the pin from being removed. I've read other discussion describing how to do this between house and garage

.It seems that my case is a little different since the door is exposed to the elements and also it has a large steel threshold. (at least I think thats what its called; a piece of steel that I can step up onto when the door is closed and fits in the area between the door and the face of the building). Will the door perform as well when exposed to rain if I reverse the installation? It also seems that by reversing the installation the threshold would become unnecessary. Can anybody give me any insight into this?

[dpb]

...

For an exterior door, the threshold serves to shed water -- if you reverse the door, it leaves the interior side on the exterior and the slope is backwards so water will run in, not out. Whether the door itself will hold up to the weather depends on what the interior vs exterior surfaces are made of.

If it were mine and the casing was wood, not metal, I'd take the stop off and rehang the door on the other side leaving the frame in place so the threshold is still proper. Being as it's a shed, patching the former mounting holes shouldn't be a real visual stopper as a fresh coat of paint would cover many sins...

[Robert Allison]

.> It seems that my case is a little different since the door is exposed

Although it may not seem like it, the easiest way to do this is to remove the entire door and jamb and turn it around. This means pulling off at most, 6 pieces of trim and cutting some nails or unscrewing some screws. Remove the entire door as a unit and reverse it.

Now, having said that, here is why you should not do that. The threshold is made for the door to open in. It is designed to direct water to the exterior and if you reverse it, depending upon the type of threshold you have, it may actually encourage water intrusion. Whenever I have a door that will open out, I specify that at the door mill and they put on the type of threshold that is designed for that application. You can always remove the threshold while you have the unit out and replace it with the correct one.

You mentioned changing out the hinges for security hinges, good idea. You will also have to reverse the door latch hardware, of course.

Reversing the door to open out also adds considerably to the exposure of the door to rain and water intrusion into the door itself, unless you have a covered area. Make sure your door will stand up to this by giving it a good coat of paint on the exterior and the sides (edges) of the door. Pay particular attention to the top and bottom.

[Harry K]

.> It seems that my case is a little different since the door is exposed

Otheres discuss the operation's plus and minus.

Re: hinges. You don't really have to replace them although they are cheap enough so why not. You can turn any set of hinges into a security type by drilling matching holes and inserting a screw that mates up when the door closes. They can pull the pins but the door ain't coming out of the opening.

Harry K

[<moo]

hey thats a cute trick as long as it dosent jam a lot

also I dont think you want them swinging in because that means you lose space but

you can get security hinges that dont have removeable pins if they decide to cut them you will either hear them or they will give up and just pry the door lock off

thats why they sell insurance and make jails