INSTALL DOORS ON SLOPING SLAB

[cadguy2]

Hi people, I need some advice please.

I'm ripping out and installing some new exterior doors (w/casings, brick molding, etc.) at some apartments that are probably 30 years old, or older! There are 5, two-story buildings with 4 apartments in each building. Whoever built these apartments were idiots! They used interior doors instead of exterior doors, so all the Luann is peeling off. Nothing they did seems square, and the framing stinks too!

My problem is this: on the back side of the buildings there is a deck, and they built (attached) a storage area that is probably 14' long x

4' or 5' wide. The adjacent apartment has the same thing, so it's all one building. This is where the doors are going.

It looks like the foundation is sinking into the ground! On a couple of the apartments, the roof on the attached storage area is actually starting to come apart from the side of the main building. I have already tore one apart and repaired it. I put in some new blocking and lag bolts to give it more support. Well, because the foundation is slowly sinking, the slab is sloping too. I installed a door yesterday, it's level, and it works perfectly! But, because the slab is sloping, the door, even though it's level top and sides...looks crooked. I cut a big shim out of a 2x4 and slid it up under one side to make the door look more level with the lap siding, but when I did that, the door rubs and I can't close it. I have to have it sitting on the slab if it's going to open and close correctly.

Does anyone have an idea of how I can resolve this problem without using a floor leveler?

Thanks for your suggestions.

cadguy2

[Joe]

Bite the bullet and get the slab(s) leveled. There may be a concrete jacking company in your area. Try them first. Keep doing band-aid fixes and your real estate will only attract tenants that will accelerate its decline into slum grade housing.

Joe

[Colbyt]

I don't think I have done one as bad as you make this sound but I have installed them on uneven surfaces.

The threshold has to rest on the slab on the high side and you will have to build up the low side so that the entire threshold is supported. The only other option would be to remove so amount of the slab to get a level surface and that would create other problems.

Treated wood planed to the proper height is the best you can do. That and a lot of caulk.

You have to play games here and trick the eye for the finished results. The look at the top of the door is more important than the look at the bottom. The bottom can even be trimmed out if necessary using a piece of lumber cut to match the problem.

Not a lot of help but about all I can do from here.

Colbyt

[hrhofmann]

The building foundation or the foundation for the storage area? Is the storage area between the two ground floor apartments so there is one foundation for each building? Are the doors going into the storage area or into the original building? A sketch or drawing would be very helpful so we don't habe to guess what you are talking about.

[cadguy2]

First of all, thanks to all who replied.

I got it worked out! I'm going to let the owner get it fixed. I'm a Carpenter and CAD Operator, not a floor person.

Thanks again.

cadguy2