SERVICES | DOOR WORK

DOOR MATCH UPS Fitting new doors to existing jambs is Door Whisperer’s specialty. What’s involved in a match up door is leaving the existing jamb and hanging a new panel to fit it, the original trim and casing remains. A new jamb and new trim does not need to be purchased, there’s no labor needed to remove the old, and the only piece that needs finishing is the new panel. A new lock is installed. It will function like a brand new door when finished, but have all the continuity of leaving the original jamb and trim. Custom building of jambs for new doors is also offered.

NEW HARDWARE AND SECURITY Often providing an upgrade in security, this can include standard knobs and deadbolts, mortise locks, multipoint locks, hinges, flush bolts, etc. Retrofitting new hardware that has a different cut out from the old into an existing door is also offered.

DOOR REPAIR Door Whisperer can fix doors that aren’t working properly. Whether it’s locks that don’t latch, doors that are sticky opening and shutting, doors that are drafty, there’s always a trick to get them working like new again.

DOOR MATCH UPS

True door hanging – hanging a panel in a jamb – is a lost art form. Back in the day, doors were always hung on site. Jambs were built and the door panels mortised for hinges to hang them, but pre-hanging in the factory gradually replaced this. Eventually carpenters fell out of this practice and also no longer carried the equipment for it.

Usually a new lock is installed, and if there’s a different strike on the jamb, the old mortise can be plugged, then the new strike may be cut in- new hinges of the same size are often installed. Also, with the proper fitting and hanging of the new panel, any trouble with the door like rubbing, not latching, drifting open or closed, or uneven gaps between the top of the panel and the jamb (to name a few) can be corrected.

But first a decision must be made whether to do a match up and replace just the panel, or to take out both the jamb and the trim and install a new pre-hung unit.

Reasons to do a Match Up:

-The trim is larger, older and/or unique in some way.

-The jamb and trim are stained.

-The wall will be damaged removing the old trim and the new trim isn’t wider to cover it.

-The door is exterior and has glass side lites or glass overhead.

-Less intrusive work to be done inside the house, with less dust.

-It’s desirable to minimize the painting that’s to be done.

-The door has no trim and the drywall terminates directly against the jamb.

-The door jamb is embedded in masonry or stucco.

Reasons not do a Match Up:

-The doors are very inexpensive to begin with, not in good shape, and have a small 2 ¼” trim.

-A single door is severely out of plumb or level.

-A major remodel is being done and new doors are being ordered for an addition, and it’s desired that the old doors be made to match.

-Time and money aren’t a factor, allowing for pre-hungs additional material and long lead times, the additional painting involved, and possible painting of the surrounding area.

TYPES OF MATCH UPS

Door Store Match Ups. Not recommended for custom projects. Some door stores offer match ups which they do in their own shop. The customer would either remove their old door and take it to the store to copied, or else they would fill out a long form for the measurements of their existing door. If the old door was installed poorly, the store wouldn’t necessarily correct that because they would just be copying the old door exactly. It’s also a time consuming process, since when the new door is ready, a customer has to pick it up from the store, take it back to their home, remove their old door, hang the new, and if it doesn’t quite fit right, which is likely, they would have to take it off again and back to the store for an adjustment for as many times it takes to get it right. And though the store will drill and mortise for a new lockset, they won’t take the old lock off or put the new one in. They also won’t touch any weatherstripping on a door or install a sweep.

Factory Match Ups. Good for larger projects, though offer little flexibility. There are companies that measure for doors on site and have Match Up doors made to order in a factory, painted, and then crews install them in the house. They usually don’t do exterior doors since they don’t want to deal with having to seal against the elements. Installers in these companies can work fast but are limited in their ability to troubleshoot anything should there be a problem with the fit.

Door Whisperer Match Ups. This offers the best quality and is good for all sizes and types of projects, particularly custom homes. Door Whisperer comes out with a new panel and matches it up on site to an old jamb, installs the lock, and takes the old door away. The best fit is achieved by clamping the new panel up against the existing jamb and tracing the jamb opening onto the new panel. The aim is to have a consistent space between the panel and the jamb on all sides. The panel is cut to that line, then the hinges are mortised and the new lock is bored for. If the jamb is cross leg, an adjustment can be made while hanging the new panel so that it closes flush against the strike leg. Then new weatherstripping and door sweep is installed. It’s also possible to reverse the handing of a swing of a door when hanging a new panel, though an in-swinging door can’t be changed to an out-swinging, or vice versa. Often the work on a house may be a combination of Match Up doors, pre-hung doors, finish carpentry, replacing some hardware, and troubleshooting problem doors, in which case Door Whisperer performs all of this.

Door Whisperer also custom builds jambs for pre-hanging, if the lead time from a factory is too long, or an unusual species of wood is required for the jamb.

NEW HARDWARE & SECURITY

When choosing new hardware, there are a variety of options available, and usually it can be set to work with the old key of the house.

Standard knobs and deadbolts The most common residential hardware, they’re used on both interior and exterior doors. They have a “standard bore” which is a 2 1/8” hole which the lock fits in. On a Match Up door, the new lock set is drilled at the same place as the old strike on the jamb, so as to reuse that mortise. Standard hardware offers average security since the deadbolt is the only one secure attachment point, and it is at waist level so it makes it easier to kick in. The knob’s short latch offers virtually no security as the strike it goes into only has small ¾” screws.

Mortise locks Especially well suited for a new front door, they’re heavier and much stronger than a knob and deadbolt. They have a large cassette that goes in the door, where both the latch and deadbolt operate together. Installation requires cutting a large 6” tall by 4” deep pocket in the door. Mortise locks feel smooth in operation and have a high quality appearance, and the trims, or the handle and mounting plate, come in an enormous variety. Mortise locks may also be used on interior doors. On pocket doors especially they can work very well and can come in privacy or keyed functions.

Match Up hardware It’s also possible to change the type of lock in an existing door by plugging the old bore and cutting a new one. For example this would be an option on older interior doors that have antiquated mortise locks and could switch to contemporary cylindrical locks with the same style of knob.

Multipoint locks This is hardware that shoots bolts in multiple locations along the door. Multipoint locks are much more secure since it’s more difficult to break in a door with several bolts in it, and harder to kick in when there are bolts up at the top of the door. Most new patio doors now come with multipoint locks as thieves tend to target back doors where there’s less visibility. Multipoint locks also make a better seal against the weather since the tapered bolts at the top, bottom and edge of the door pull it snug against the jamb and weatherstripping when they engage. One feature of multipoints is they require a lifting of the door handle, which is how all the multipoint bolts are thrown, when the door is closed, and then the thumb turn is locked like a traditional deadbolt.

On a Match Up door, a multipoint can be installed in the new panel regardless of the previous hardware, since the old strike on the jamb can be patched and strikes for the new bolts cut in.

Hinges The hinges are almost always changed when installing a Match Up door. Old hinges often have paint on them or are rusty or discolored and don’t work smoothly, and new hinges can be matched to the color of the new lockset. The same size is used as the old ones, but it’s not necessary for the holes on the new and old hinges to line up. On an exterior door that swings outside, it’s necessary to use solid brass or stainless steel, and a non-removable pin is placed in at least one hinge so the pins can’t be taken out of the hinges and the door removed from the outside.

DOOR REPAIR

Many problems can happen to doors over time- they can settle, creating uneven gaps to develop around them, leaking a lot of air and preventing latches from lining up with the strikes, resulting in not locking. Hinges and locks have often never had any lubrication and can become extremely stiff. Multiple layers of paint can eventually fill the gap between the panel and the jamb and cause binding. Hinges can have their screws striped out and become loose. Sometimes even newer doors have problems, as crews on new construction are often rushed when setting the doors and may not properly prepare the sill under the door or use incorrect fasteners.

Customers are often amazed when an old door that had to be beaten on to open or close is suddenly working effortlessly, locking securely, and making a perfect seal.

Various fixes can be employed: Sometimes an old door panel has settled so much and is so badly out of alignment that it’s simply rehung. This involves filling in the old hinge mortises and re-mortising, and then cutting and planning the door as needed to fit correctly again. Sometimes it’s just an adjustment or some lubricant on the lock or hinge.

Weatherstripping

After exterior doors are fit and hung, they need to be completely sealed on all four edges so as to not let any air, water or light through. Often from the differences in temperature throughout the seasons between the interior and the exterior, some doors develop a warp to them, allowing a gap at the top or bottom between the panel and the jamb. Proper weatherstripping will solve this and this kind of seal can also work on interior doors for soundproofing.

Compression weatherstripping On modern doors there is typically a compression weatherstripping around the stop made of vinyl and foam. This can remain, and if it’s damaged at all it is easily pulled out of the groove in the jamb and replaced with a new piece. It’s important that a door seal tight against the weatherstripping, as it keeps the water out, and in areas that get direct rain and/or have no overhang above, it may not be sufficient for protection.

Interlock weatherstripping On older doors there is usually interlock weatherstripping, metal channels on both the door edge and the jamb that meet up when the door closes. This kind of weatherstripping is seldom used anymore. When doing a Match Up door, it’s often eliminated, and the metal on the jamb is removed and a neoprene adhesive weather strip, similar to compression weatherstripping, is applied to the stop. Though it excels at keeping out water, interlock weatherstripping is a rare, specialty trade and extremely expensive to install. It’s also a poor seal for air and not as energy efficient. Occasionally there is a use for interlock, such as when the architecture requires matching vintage details, or when a door has extremely high exposure. Also, when interlock is installed it has to be fitted uniquely to each new door, and on a Match Up none of the metal may be reused from the old door or jamb so there’s no cost savings.

Multipoint locks Besides offering extra security, multipoint locks make a better seal against compression weatherstripping since the tapered bolts at the top and bottom and along the edge of the door pull it snug against the jamb and its weatherstripping when they’re engaged. This is another reason why most new patio doors come with multipoint locks. Also, on very tall doors that have developed a warp to them, a regular knob and deadbolt can be replaced with a Match Up multipoint lock: The old knob and deadbolt are plugged and the new multipoint is installed (the new multipoint trim covers most of the patch), and the bolts at the top and bottom of the door straighten it out when it’s closed.

Threshold On the bottom of a door a sweep is installed to close the gap between it and the threshold and also direct water away from the door. Usually the old sill can remain. To eliminate the pin hole of light at either bottom corner of the door, corner pads are applied to the jamb, acting like a pair of “socks”.

Soundproofing Weatherproofing and soundproofing are typically achieved in the same way. In addition to compression weatherstripping and bottom sweeps, there are a few other ways to increase the soundproofing of a door:

-Installation of a solid core door in place of a hollow core.

-Increasing the thickness of an interior door from 1 3/8” to 1 ¾”, in a solid core.

-Install an Automatic Door Bottom (ADB). An ADB is an attractive solution as it recesses into the bottom of the door. When the door closes it engages a button and a sweep comes down and seals against the floor. With the ADB it’s still necessary to install an adhesive weather strip on the door jamb to complete the soundproofing.