We have an old brick Victorian in Chicago. Our Front door has more leaks than the Whitehouse and in the winter lets the cold in big time. We like the original front door but want to make sure we seal all the drafts. Last year we really went to town on the insulation tape and other techniques but we could never really fix it completely. This year we want to fit an exterior door in front of the other to act as the buffer against the cold. The old door is set back about 4" in a brick opening. The opening measures 41" ( actually it varies from 41.5" to 41") it is 86" high. We would like to fit a door into this opening that can be removed in summer, we don't mind attaching a permanent frame to the brick opening. Can anyone suggest a good way to approach this? Do places like Home depot or menards handle custom doors? We don't have much money.
Fitting an exterior door ???
Oct 06, 2004
6 Replies
Are you planning on opening this door during the winter?
Hi, There are many choices of storm door. Tony
Yes it's our front door that opens inwards so we can't put anything behind it. Whatever we do has to be on the outside.
I suggest you consider finding an experienced door hanger and have them take a look at it and suggest a proper scheme for making the door weather tight. It should cost less, look better and be easier to use than adding a storm door.
We have an old house too. Our front door was reworked. An carpenter experienced in finish work can do a lot of good. There are a number things to look at: The screws holding the hinges may have worked loose. You may need to use longer screws or fill the holes and reset the screws. The door slab may have to be re shaped to fit in an opening that is no longer square. This can be done with added wedges of wood glued to the edge of the door. The sill may be worn and so need to be reworked or replaced to fit tightly. Weather stripping may have to be added or adjusted to fit tight to the door. Each of these operations has been done to at least one of our doors.
TB
Thanks to all for your helpful advice
Hp
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