The steel skin exposed to the outside temps would transmit some of that cold/hot temp to the inside if the inside steel skin was touching/connected to the outside skin. This is what is referred to as a 'thermal break'. The steel 'skin' of the door is folded/crimped under the door and around the side rails. The sides of the door are wood, while the top and bottom rails are composite (i.e. With the bottom seal removed, you can see how this door is constructed.

It should pull right out, but if it's really tight, gently pry it off with a screwdriver or narrow putty knife. It's just press-fit into the bottom of the door. I measured down from the top of my existing door and determined that the bottom of the door needed to be 1-3/8' shorter to allow room for the door to swing open and clear a doormat on the floor.īack to the new door, remove the bottom weatherstrip. Next, determine exactly how much you need to remove from the door. If your door is pre-finished take extra care to prevent scratches. This door came primed, but need to be painted anyway, so I just used some cardboard over the sawhorses. You may want to use towels or pipe insulation or carpet scraps, etc over the sawhorses to prevent scratches. Remove the hinge pins and remove the door from the frame. This door was held in by two small nails through the lock side frame into the side of the door. Before you begin, remove any fasteners that hold the door into the frame during shipping. This process will be done in two parts - cutting the door and then cutting the frame to match the cut door. I do have experience with the Reliabilt brand door from Lowes, and my opinion is that this Menards/Midwest MFG door feels like a better built, heavier duty door. I assume competitor H and competitor L refer to Home Depot and Lowes, but that's only an assumption. The doors are made by Midwest Manufacturing, who has a door comparison here. Second because I think it is a better built door. The first is because they regularly go on sale for $119. straightedge (at least as long as the door is wide)Īfter some research, I purchased my door from Menards for two reasons.normal hand tools - screwdrivers, pliers, hammer, etc.Note: you will NOT need a torch to complete this task. Some tools may be substituted for others, this is just what I used. You'll need a variety of tools to complete this task exactly as I did it. After researching off and on for a while, I decided to tackle the project. So, we're looking at $300+ to cut 1 1/2' inches off? No thanks. Keep in mind that a basic, 6 panel, steel clad door can be purchased at any home improvement store for just over $100. I priced doors from everywhere in town, and they are all special order ranging from $450-$700 for a basic, 6 panel, steel clad door. 1 1/2' shorter than the standard height and I can build up my rough opening from the bottom. In most cases, it's easier to raise the header and keep a standard door size, but the soffits on the front of my house are directly above the door frame, so I have ZERO room to go upward. I decided that this winter would be different so I started researching my options. We plug it with draft stoppers, towels, etc., but it still lets in a ton of cold air. So for two very cold winters we have had a large gap under our front door. Low and behold, the reason is because the threshold is lower than the floor height. The 'new' hardwood floors (installed prior to purchase) were great, but the person that installed them failed to realize that the thickness of the flooring would impede the ability of the entry door to seal properly. Now that the door was plumb and would swing all the way open, I also realized that the bottom seal/weatherstripping was missing from the door. I devoted some time to remedy that situation and quickly realized my next hurdle. The top of the jamb was leaning into the house, so as you opened the door, the knob side of the door swung downward as well. A few weeks after living there, I realized that the reason the door was dragging was because the door was not plumb. I figured this was an easy fix and didn't pay too much attention to it. Enough to squeeze by it, and you could force it all the way open, but it was rubbing the floor pretty good. When we moved in, the front door wouldn't open all the way it drug the floor at about 70 degrees from full open.

Door bottom sweep 3 inches