Welcome to Yeah We Do That’s tip of the week. Over the last few weeks I have repaired several door jambs that have been broken when the owners lock themselves out and had to break in a door. I thought this week I would cover how to replace a damaged or broken doorjambb yourself.

This can be a fairly easy job provided you have the right tools. The tools I recommend you have before starting are a reciprocating saw (sawsall) with a metal cutting blade, chop saw, hammer, level, tape measure, wood shims, utility knife with sharp blade, putty knife, wood chisel, pliers, pencil, Phillips and Flathead screwdriver, drill with screwdriver bit, half inch would bore bit and 3 inch deck screws or 16gauge nail gun or 2 ½ inch hardwood trim nails and nail set.

The first step is to remove the casing from around the damaged doorjamb inside and out. I have found an easy way to remove the trim is take your utility knife with a sharp blade and score the inside and outside edge of the trim inside and out. The purpose of this is to cut the bead of caulk around the trim. This caulk has been applied prior to painting and if you pull the trim off with it intact it tends to pull the paint and the paper on the drywall off with it. This simple step can reduce or eliminate the amount of repair and painting you must do once your project is complete. Now that you have scored the caulk take either your putty knife and/or Flathead screwdriver and gently work it between the trim and the door frame. You may need to tap it with your hammer to get it underneath the trim. Once underneath the trim gently start prying the trim away from the wall. If you take your time and are careful you should be able to remove the trim without breaking it. With your pliers remove any nails sticking out of the trim by firmly grabbing them at the base and roll the plier head along the trim. This will act as a fulcrum pulling the nail out through the bottom of the trim board.

After you have removed the trim you should be able to see the shims and nails holding the door in place.

Using your reciprocating saw placed the blade between the door frame and the wall cutting through the nails holding the broken doorjamb in place. If you have an interior door the doorjamb should now only be held in place by the top jamb, if you have an exterior door it is held in place by the top jamb and the bottom sill. Taking your hammer hit the doorjamb knocking it free from the top jamb. There may be nails sticking out of the top jamb that you will need to pull out with your pliers. Repeat the process with the bottom sill if this is an exterior door. You may find it easier to cut the doorjamb in half if the nails do not wish to detach from the top and/or bottom. Once the doorjamb is cut in half it will allow you to rotate each section prying it free from any nails holding it. Do this carefully so that you do not crack the top jamb or bottom sill.

Once you have your old jamb out measure the total length then from the top of your new jam measure down towards the bottom mark where you need to cut your jamb so it will fit. Cut the jamb off at the appropriate length using your chop saw. You are now ready to install your new jamb.

Placing the top part of the jamb (with the cut out) in first making sure it is tight at the top. Now using your

level and wood shims, shims as necessary to make sure the doorjamb is plum. Once you have shims in place and your level reads plum attach the doorjamb to the frame using either your nail gun, drill and deck screws or hammer and hardwood trim nails. Make sure you are attaching through the shims so that the doorjamb does not bend. You’ll want to attach your doorframe at the top, middle and bottom.

Your next step will be to cut out for your strike plate. Close the door from the inside and with the pencil mark where the door latch hits the doorjamb. Hold your strike plate in position on your doorjamb and trace with your pencil the outline and where the hole needs to be. Now with your sharp utility knife score your pencil mark along the outside

about an 8th of an inch deep all the way around. With your drill and half inch would bore drill out the center of where the hole needs to be for the door latch.Drill so that you are almost but not quite through the jamb (See picture). Now with your wood chisel, finished chiseling out any wood necessary for your door latch. You have one last step before installing your strike plate which is to take your wood chisel and going to the edge of the frame approximately 1/8 inch deep chisel out the inside part of the strike plate.This is so the strike plate will set flush with the wood and not stick out above it once installed. The wood should come off very easily if your chisel is sharp and will go right up to where you scored the wood with your razor knife and come out neat and clean in the perfect shape of your strike plate. Once you have chiseled out the wood install your strike plate. Replace any insulation that was attached to the doorjamb and test your door for smooth operation.

Re-install your trim with trim nails and re caulk the seams.  Paint or stain your new jamb to match the old one and you are done!

If you would like to see a How-To guide on a particular topic you can request it by e-mailing me and I will see what I can do.  You can subscribe to this blog and receive a copy every time there is a new article At the bottom of this page.

–Greg

 

 

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Welcome to Yeah, We Do That’s tip of the week. This week I’m going to give you some tips on the maintenance of your dryer. You may not think of your dryer is something that needs to be maintained but they are as the National Fire Protection Association reported that according to US fire departments from 2006-2010 one in every 22 structure fires reported were the result of a washer or dryer with dryers accounting for 92% of the total.

On the bright side maintaining your dryer is relatively simple and can generally be done by the homeowner. Lint buildup is the main cause of the dryer fires but also will result in the shortening of the lifespan of your appliance because the dryer must work harder to try to push the air out through the lint blockage. I get many calls especially in the winter months stating that clothes in the dryer are not getting dried and remain damp after one or two cycles.  Below are a list of things you can do to keep your dryer running in tip-top shape.

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Welcome to Yeah, We Do That’s tip of the week. This week I’m going to cover a common issue I receive calls on. I’m going to talk about how to safely remove a light bulb base when the glass breaks. This can be done fairly easily and safely without the need of calling a handyman to perform the work.

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