How to Install an Insulated Entry Door

You probably already know that in the summertime when the humidity rises, doors tend to swell or expand and can be difficult to open. In the wintertime they shrink or get smaller, which can create a draft around the edge of the door. Ron had a door like this that he decided to replace with a new state-of-the-art insulated door.

The replacement door Ron selected is made of composite fiberglass with a polystyrene core that insulates against summer heat and winter cold up to five times better than a standard wood door. This helps keep the house comfortable year round.

Learn more about the door Ron selected.

The first step is to take down the old kitchen door, which means removing the hinge pins that hold the door in place.  After the pins are removed, lift off the door.

Next, cut through the caulk around the edge of the casing and at the joints. This will allow you to pry off the trim without damaging either the wood or the wall.

Gently drive a tapered cold chisel between the casing and the jamb. This helps to gently wedge the two pieces apart creating the space to insert a pry bar.

If you have a storm door, you will need to get that out of the way by removing the screws that hold it in place and liftintg it off. Set the door aside.

Remove the outside trim the same way you removed the interior casing.

Once the casing is off both on the outside and on the inside, the only things holding the frame in place are about three or four nails on each side. Cut through those using a reciprocating saw and the door frame can be easily removed.

A pre-hung replacement door shouldn't require too many changes to the opening, but sometimes a few simple modifications are necessary.

For Ron's installation, he needed to cut back the flooring about a half an inch because the threshold on the door he was putting in was slightly wider than the door that he was replacing. He used a circular saw with the blade depth set just deep enough to cut through the material he wanted to remove.

Ron also added a piece of half-inch plywood on the threshold to act as a shim to help bring the bottom of the door closer to the surface of the floor.

Check to make sure that the threshold surface is level in both directions.

If it is not level, use shims to even out the surface. Place the shims every 6 to 8 inches where needed, and then nail them in place. Trim off the excess with a Japanese handsaw.

Next, place adhesive backed aluminum tape on top of the sill to act as a moisture barrier and then install a new piece of wood trim.

To ensure a water-tight seal around the edges, apply sealant to the door sill and to the nailing flange on the doorframe.

Once the opening and door is prepared, tip the door assembly up into the opening trying to avoid smearing the seal that was put on the threshold.

With the door in place, first nail through only the top corners of the flange.

Before going any further, you need to check for three things. First of all, ensure that the frame is square. Check this by measuring the two diagonals and comparing the numbers. If it's square, the measurements should be the same.

The next thing to do is check to make sure that the sides of the doorframe are vertical or plumb. To determine this, put the level on the hinges.

The last thing to check is the margin, which is the gap between the door and the edge of the frame. It should be a uniform width or thickness all the way up and down.

Once you are certain the door is positioned correctly, you need to insert shims between the doorjamb and the framing. This will ensure that the sides of the doorframe remain perfectly straight. Drive nails through the shims to make sure the jambs stay that way and then trim off the excess.

After you have checked the measurements on the inside and found that everything is square and plumb and you have installed your shims to keep everything in place, you can now go ahead and finish nailing off the flange.

To further seal the sides of the frame on the exterior, apply more aluminum tape on top of the nailing flange.