Cutting a storm door

[Dustmaker]

I'm replacing a storm door and the opening is not a standard width. I have a 30 1/4 opening and the smallest standard width door is for a 32" opening. Don't want to spend the extra $150 to order a custom size. The door I have purchased is aluminum clad over particle board with mitered caps around the sides and top. (A Larson "wood-Core series" storm door).

Larson does not recommend cutting the door down, but I think they are being overly conservative. I don't care about warranty. This door will be here long after I'm gone.

I can remove the caps and plan to rip the door sides down. Then I'll re-miter the top cap to make it shorter.

Any recommendations on what saw to use on the door? I have a 7 1/2 Skil saw and a hand held scroll saw. Also have an 8' aluminum straight edge to serve as a guide. Would probably take 5/8" off of each side and it would be quicker with Skil saw but I'm concerned about what blade to use with the alum/wood combo and how the finished cut would look. (even though it will be covered by the replaced channel cap)

Would love to finish this project tomorrow so I don't have any "Honey-do" projects pending for father's day.

[BruceR]

Dustmaker wrote:timer_manager.c

First off, I have one of these doors installed and really don't like it. It never has any water on it except for the rare rain storm here in central NM. The door is rotting out (rusting) in various places after being in service for only about 6 years.

Anyhoo, the metal coating on these doors is very thin. You could try and cut it in one pass with either a fine toothed (non carbide) circular saw or scroll saw but I'd bet you would get a very rough edge. I would use the circular saw with a fine tooth plywood blade (non-carbide!) and make a pass on each side that just cuts through the metal. Follow by a full cut of the interior wood. Pay close attention to how the hinge attaches to the door. You want to be sure you can re-attach the hinge securly. Also consider what you will do with the door knob/latch since it will protrude 5/8" unless you relocate it inboard.

-Bruce

[Roy Smith]

I don't like it either. I've got one that after only about 3 years (in an admittedly harsh environment), started corroding out at one of the bottom corners.

Larson agreed to replace the door under warrenty, but sent us a different kind, with plastic cladding instead of the aluminum. The cladding was cracked and broken when it arrived. They agreed to send us yet another one, but by the time it showed up, I was sick of the project and didn't like the plastic replatement anyway.

So, at this point, I've still got the original door up there, with the corrosion in the corner. At some point, I'll just write the whole thing off as a total loss and buy some other brand to replace it.

I won't buy another Larson product. We bought the door because we were told Larson was a quality brand. I don't remember what we paid for it, but it was near the top of the price range. So much for "you get what you pay for".

[Dustmaker]

Bruce Thanks for the quick reply and helpful suggestions.. I think my door might be slightly different and fortunately the latch assembly is surface mount and in a separate package. I will use the supplied template and drill holes for it after the door is hung.

[Nova]

I'm surprised Larson doesn't carry a 30" width as it's not uncommon. I know Anderson/Emco, Forever, Pella and a number of other manufactures do. I replaced mine last year. In my case the width wasn't the problem. The height was.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[Dustmaker]

Got the job done! Cutting the door was easy and uneventful.

Used a 40tooth carbide tipped blade on the circular (Skil) saw to rip off

5/8" from each edge of the aluminum skinned wood core(particle board) door. Clamped a 1x3 to use as a rip guide. Glad I wore safety glasses. Sawdust (with metal) really poured back at me.

Trimming the Z bar header took longer than cutting the door. Used the bandsaw for that.