Front Doors for Dummies

Entry door

Back in the bad old days of content farms, we met a woman who was riding that particular wave. She explained that she increased her income by writing a series of "linked" articles on the same topic, sometimes breaking a simple subject into three or more posts. No, that woman wasn't EzineArticle's Britney Kalo, but she might as well have been: Kalo milked said execrable site for a series of articles on doors, including today's DotD winner: "Replacing a Door." She also wrote, naturally, advice on choosing a front door; all, it's a safe bet, after watching a local handyman replace the door to her abode.

By way of explanation and introduction, Britney explained,

"Depending on the climatic conditions, some front doors may need replacing. Especially if the door is made from wood and has begun to rot [sic]."

In reality, rotting doors are fairly rare, though perhaps they are more common in the UK where Kalo lives. Doors are more likely to delaminate or, sadly, give way to a well-placed foot during a break-in. Never mind, though, we're here to see how to pull off this task -- the subtitle is "Can You Handle It?" (-snort-). According to Britney.

"Most modern doors are prehung, this means that the door hangs on a frame through hinges. However prehung doors are most suitable where the frame is bad and needs replacement. They are also suitable when there is a need to enlarge the door opening which requires removing the frame."

That's not necessarily true: you can almost always order your door of choice pre-hung or as a slab. Oh, and by the way? "hangs on a frame through hinges" is a pretty crappy way to describe a pre-hung door! But never mind, English isn't her first language. Wait a minute, it is! Moving along, Kalo explains that "In the process of replacing the door, even though the frame may be fine, the wall studs on which it is nailed to can easily bow and can make it settle out of square. The problem with this is that it may cause difficulty in opening and closing of the door. To correct this one may need to trim the hedges [sic] or plane the bottom and top of the frame so as the door will hang properly."

Chuckle -- we aren't sure how maintaining your shrubs has any relation to the door... But anyway, studs in a properly framed wall, with king and jack studs and a proper header, won't bow -- they may be out of square because of settling, but that's what shims are for. Oh, and you don't generally plane the frame, you plane the door slab. Idiot.

Britney also explains that

"To avoid such complications with the door frame and the need to replace the entire frame, one can opt for the it replacement kits. An example is the Pease industries replace door systems, in this case the door comes with its own small steel frame that can easily attach to the already existing frame..."

...which, frankly, we couldn't decode (Pease no longer exists – it was bought out by Pella, for whatever that's worth). Oddly, however, Britney did not link to Pella or Pease anywhere in her article — instead she linked to a London-based door company, presumably the company she watched install her new door. Writing about doors even though you know nothing about them? Priceless... also classic Dumbass of the Day material.

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