French Door install Questions

[john_williams]

I will be installing interior French doors in a 60" wide opening between a Living Room(LR) and Dining Room(DR). The opening is currently trimmed out (but there are no doors).

#1 I obviously must remove the existing "jamb", and will also remove the trim on the LR side. Is it advisable to try to keep the DR trim intact, and shim from one side? OR should I just remove all trim and start from scratch?

#2 This is my first pre-hung door installation. (I usually hang doors myself). Should I leave the doors tacked in the frame when I shim the doors to fit the Rough Opening?

#3 The wall between the LR and DR is not plumb. The wall leans toward the LR about 3/8" along the height of the door. (The house is 100+ years old). Should I install the pre-hung doors plumb, or centered in the wall?

Thank you...

[Tom]

John Williams wrote:>#1 I obviously must remove the existing "jamb", and will also remove the

Remove all trim. >

Yes, you should, so you won't close the jambs too much >#3 The wall between the LR and DR is not plumb. The wall leans toward the

Install them level and plumb, or they'll fall open or shut. Didn't this doorset come with instructions? Tom Work at your leisure!

[m Ransley]

Instructions, or call Mnfg.

[dadiOH]

The shims are used to make the jambs perpendicular to the wall and parallel to each other. You can't shim properly unless you have access to both sides. ___________________________

You *could* remove them but you'll probably find it easier going if you leave them in. ________________

Depends. Do you want the doors to always swing open (or shut)? If not, hang them plumb.

-- dadiOH _____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[willshak]

Remove both sides. You have to shim from both sides.

If you have help, leave the doors intact and the frame braced to preserve the squareness of the jambs. I did not have help when I installed a 5' french door and I had to remove the doors and braces to get from one side to the other while installing. Squaring up the door frames with the doors and braces removed is not a picnic. Add to that, the fact that you now have to square up each door to the frame and with each other.

Install the doors plumb. Otherwise they'll swing open or closed. My walls were plumb, so I didn't have to worry about the plumb. The only thing I had to fix was that the door frame was 5 1/2" wide, and my walls were 6" wide. I had to add pieces of 3/4" x 1/2" wood strips to one side of the frame to beef it up to 6" for the door trim to fit properly.