Doors and Out of Plumb Walls

[charlie]

that's a design feature, not a bug

[-MIKE-]

Yeah. lol The designation was assigned somewhere between the architect and final inspection.

[Larry W]

not level or plumb is bad enough, just try it when they aren't even _flat_

[Tim Douglass]

Re. the MBR ceiling - this excerpt from a letter from a WWI soldier to his wife:

"Honey, take a good look at the floor, because when I get home all you are going to see is the ceiling."

Tim Douglass

of a teenager: God's punishment for enjoying sex.

[John Grossbohlin]

You must work with software... LOL

John

[Joe AutoDrill]

The house I live in now is around 50 years old... The builder was a real genius and unfortunately dead or I'd sue him... It's built on a slab with no foundation underneath. the slab is at ground level in front of the house. Behind the house the property slants into the house foundation so water runs up to, down and under the house. The kitchen sink's drain, at the back of the house went into the slab but was never connected to the main drain so for 30 years we ran dishwashing water including a dishwasher down there and eroded away the dirt...

The center of my house is stable. The back left corner is stable. The front left corner is down 4". The front right corner is down 4.5" and the rear right corner was down almost 8".

I just finished lifting the house and re-leveling the entire thing, putting in foundations and new basement walls as well as a poured floor and a channel around the exterior of the floor to catch any water that may someday be there. Regraded the outside of the house. Fixed the aluminum siding (half was installed pre-settle and half post-settle!) While lifting, the copper drain pipe from the second floor separated from the main drain. The cast iron did not. Had to fix that. I've had a storage container in my driveway for 6 months.

The entire 2nd floor was done after the house settled. Half of the first floor was remodeled mid-settle.

I have 14 doors to rehang inside and two entrance doors. I have a garage door to hang but the slab is cracked and heaved 3" in the center of the doorway so I have to fix that first...

I have to fix stress cracks, replace windows, fix buckled siding and paint it all.

I have until the end of June to do this. Why? Because I want to move before my two kids start school in September.

I haven't decided whether I'm balding or just loosing my hair.

[evodawg]

Kinda sorry I started this thread. Did realize there's some really shitty workmanship out there and wondered how any of them keep their license. Guess that's why in tough times the ones with the reputation are still busy. I seem busier then when things were going nuts. I know I'm in a business that is sometimes looked at like lawyers, used car salesman, and Politicians. I just do the best I can and at the end ask the customer if their happy and if there's something they're not happy with? I usually get a big smile and a NO. Do your homework!!!!!

[Tim W]

HA Ha. You should see some of the old buildings i work on. The level wasn't invented when they went up, and neither was the straight timber. Last year I was working on a floor wearing hard plastic knee pads and I found if I put too much weight on my knees I slid down the floor and hit the wall.

Tim W

[-MIKE-]

Last year I

lmao!

[Phisherman]

I have installed a few. Pre-hung doors are fairly straightforward. I make my own wooden shims from the scrap pile, after seeing what they cost. Rough framing is rarely square and plumb. And walls are bowed or sunken, a challenge when installing crown molding. I am currently fixing a door jamb so the trim can be installed properly. Jobs usually take longer than you might think, and when it's my house I'll fuss with it until it is right. If a door (or drawer) does not open/close sweetly, you'll be reminded every time you use it.

[John Grossbohlin]

Reminds me of a situation maybe 10-15 years ago when a bunch of McMansions were being built where my favorite hunting woods once stood. There was a real dumb a... I knew of from high school working as a laborer on some of those houses... spent his youth doing burglaries, and using and selling drugs. The guy who owned the contracting business wouldn't let the DA do anything resembling thinking work. This because the DA ruined material and pretty much everything needed rework. I didn't see the DA around for a few years and then ran into him in a restaurant. He proceeded to tell me he had been earning a 6 figure income for the prior two years building western style homes in Japan! I didn't know how to respond to that information as it was unfathomable... Probably put a serious hurting on the industry in Japan too once people started to understand what garbage work the guy really did! LOL

My problem is I do construction like it's furniture. ;~) I know it, and I also know it's nuts! LOL The facia and soffits on my house are, after renovation, perfectly level in all directions and in one plane... come put a laser level on it and see for yourself! LOL When the day comes that all the interior renovation work is completed it will be of similar caliber... assuming I get it all done in the next 20-25 years. ;~)

John

[-MIKE-]

The sad part is that you have to jokingly refer to that kind of attention to detain as doing it "like it's furniture."

There is no reason for it to be any different. I've always said, "There are a million ways to do something, and one right way." You did it the right way.

There is no reason for anything in a house to be out of plumb or out of square or not in a straight line.

I think the main issues are unskilled, often illegal, workers, coupled with the fact that there are no GC's who do everything or use the same crews anymore. If the framers know they're going to catch heck from the drywallers, and the drywallers know they're going to catch heck from the trim guys and cabinet guys, and the plumbers and HVAC guys know that the GC is going to rip them a new one for cutting giant holes in the wrong places in joists, then they have accountability.

But they're all fly-by-nighters now and no one knows or cares who did the job or who screwed it up. The "Home Builder" is an LLC and he'll cookie-cutter as many McMansions as fast as he can, make a couple million, go bankrupt and move to the Keys until he runs out of money... then start up all over again under a different name.

[Mike O.]

Nail the jamb near the top and bottom of each jamb side near the hinges on that side and about the same place on the lock side. Get the door pretty much set (level and plumb) with your shims. Only the

4 nails are still holding things close. Tap the jambs in or out, where you need them, and add nails as you go. Check your clearance along the way.

Mike O.

[evodawg]

That's the way I normally do it. But when the wall is out by 1/2" the other side is a bit difficult to keep the door in line with the stops or drywall edge. Either the bottom of door sticks out of the jam or the top is to far inside the jam. Then it's time to get the Sawzall out and readjust the hinge side.

[Puckdropper]

Phisherman wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I was in a motel one time where the bathroom door shut sweetly. I've never seen it before, and unfortunately will probably never see it again. The door simply shut quietly, and with a little reveal all around. It really didn't need the trim stop piece in the middle, the fit was so perfect.

We've got a prehung door in the house now that is less than a year old that's already having trouble shutting. Either it wasn't installed straight enough or the hinges were insufficient for the load.

Puckdropper

[Upscale]

Any chance it's caused by wood shrinkage/movement or can you now see some space between hinge leaves?

[PDQ]

In news:e4b16$4a03ed9f$cef88bc5$ [e-mail], Upscale dropped this bit of wisdom:

Like Puckdropper, I have much the same problem. My slab is still = perfect (steel), however, the lock side jamb has warped such that it = takes some grunting to open or close. I have tried the big screw to the = problem area with no improvement. Anyone know of a good way to prevent = this happening that I can apply to my new pre-hung door??

P D Q

[evodawg]

Sounds like it's time to get out the planner and build some muscle.

[PDQ]

Already did that and gave up when I detetrmined how much really had to = disappear. Didn't want to pull the jambs just to shave off some swelling.

That is why I now have a new pre-hung door to install. I have been = toying with the idea of painting the backside of the jambs in an effort = to seal them before installation.

P D Q

[Mike O.]

(steel), however, the lock

pre-hung door??

You might try taking the trim off the lock side and see what's holding it from moving with your screw. It may be that some of the insulation needs to be removed (especially if it's foam) or, worst case, it may be up against the framing already.

Mike O.