I need to replace my old pneumatic closer ( over 25 years ) for my storm door. Any suggestions? Would like to pick it up tomorrow am at loews. Should I take the old one with me? I'm sure they have advanced since and don't look exactly like mine does now.
Forget about it. that's an easy job and those closers haven't changed much in that time. it requires no tools to replace but a screwdriver.
Yeah, but i've been doing some web searching and the prices vary..some as high as 300 to 10. How do i know which to go by? IS the cheaper one good enough for the door to close normally? Does the closer go by the weight of the door?
The $300 ones are for heavy commercial grade doors. Most at the local home center or hardware store are fine for a typical residential door.
Having replaced a few closers in my day, I'm going to wager that it is going to take more than just a screwdriver to replace. I'll be very surprised if the holes on either the jamb bracket or door bracket match the holes on the existing unit. At a minimum, you're going to need a drill. If you are lucky, the location of the holes will be different enough that you won't end up overlapping half a hole. I hate when that happens!
I would take the old one with me just to be safe..maybe you'll get lucky and find one that lines up perfectly. Depending on the type of door you have, you might be able to relocate the closer to the top or the middle of the door if the old holes become an issue.
The $10 ones are what you need. You might take along your old one and try to get one about the same size. Some are just a bit stronger than others. I usually have two or three of them laying around from previous doors. WalMart probably has them too.
I'd suggest you get a hydraulic closer instead of a pneumatic one. Any good hardware store will carry both. The hydraulic is slimmer in profile, which means you can open the door a couple more degrees and it's less obtrusive, plus they close much better. They don't have any of that annoying pneumatic bounce. Price is about the same - needn't spend more than $20 max.
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It may be possible to reuse both brackets without removing. Many times the closer is wasted but the brackets are still in place. You are right to say a drill may be needed, especially if the old brackets aren't usable.
The door jamb sometimes needs a bit of repair if the new bracket is to be installed in the old location. Toothpicks and glue shoved into the old holes will make it possible to drill new holes. Easier to use the old brackets if you can.
She might go from one store to another until she finds ones that have the same holes. That way no extra holes. I went to five places to find a water heater that had its pipes where my original AOSmith pipes were. And that was just because I didn't want bends it my pipe. Bad fung shway (just kidding. It's because I'm picky.) And I found one at Sears.
But good advice. Not everyone will traipse from store to store to get the same holes, like I would.
There are both? I would have thought, if anything, when she said pneumatic, she meant hydraulic. The ones with the adjusting screw at one end. Now I'm going to have to go to the store.
It confused me too, but Loews is the movie chain, or as they pronounce it in Brooklyn, Lowy's, although they spell it the same.
Lowes is the hardware store. :)
Someone was putting a storm door on today. Not much difference in 50 years, but definitely take your old one with you. (Any difference is likely from one brand to another, and not because of age.) Look at the door before you leave, also, and remember how the thing went on. Make a sketch if necessary.
I'm curious, MM, what gave u the impression that I am a "she"? The last time I looked between my legs, show the male genital..to put it lightly. How does that saying go? He who assumes, continues to blunder." You are a he aren't you?
Your name ends in "a".
It's not just you but you are here to ask a question to. Do you think this is less vulgar because you don't use a word that's known as vulgar? Your first question was fully adequate. There is no point to bringing up physiology.
You remind of the sitcoms and comedy talk shows which, in the past 4 years, have decided to discuss topics that used to be and actually still are too private for television, and think if they use "genitals" or "penis" that makes everything ok, even if it's part of a vulgar joke, or an unnecessary reference to physiology that is properly not discussed in public unless there is real reason.
It's not much of a blunder if I guess wrong at your sex. It doesn't hurt me at all, or you. And other than two uses of "she" instead of the gender-indeterminate "he", did I write any differently than I would have had I thought you were a man? So what difference does it make?
Oh, yeah, I might have written differently. You know, now that I think about it more, I probably did and there was a second reason I thought you were a woman that confirmed my impression of your name. Namely, I thought your post was pretty elementary. OF COURSE, you should bring the old one with you. It's like you don't buy much hardware, as women stereotypically and likely do. (of course, even if it isn't hardware, even if it is something women are thought to buy, like kitchen appliances, one should bring the old one with him/her. And you're the one who said they probably don't look alike. I think they do, but if you rely on someone who replies to your post and don't bring the old one, and I'm wrong, you're the one who loses out.
Why do you say that? You're only a half step, istm, from assuming, like I did.
BTW, you might have thanked me for the 1 1/2 posts I wrote trying to help you find what you wanted at the store. Instead of carping about a triviality.
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