# Adjusting a steel entry door



## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

I had a steel entry door installed awhile back. It's a prehung door. My question is, there is a gap between the door and the frame on both the hinge side and the lock side. The gap is 1/4" on the hinge side and 3/8" on the lock side. Is there a way to close these gaps?


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## Guyzer (Jul 3, 2004)

You might be able to even the gap if you shim between the hinge and the frame. Other than that you would have to add some sort of spacer to the door or frame itself. Last option would be to have a new door custom built to fit exactly and that would be expensive.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

Wimpy369 said:


> You might be able to even the gap if you shim between the hinge and the frame. Other than that you would have to add some sort of spacer to the door or frame itself. Last option would be to have a new door custom built to fit exactly and that would be expensive.


Thanks wimpy, that's what I was thinking too :up:


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## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

wouldn't weather stripping fill that gap? I doesn't seem overly large to me. My exterior door frames have grooves to accept vinyl covered foam strips cross section like a P that slip into the groove and are held by tension (no glue ot fasteners.) I see the weatherstip at all the lumberyard box stores. My cat ate the bottom part (YES ATE) and it took 30 seconds to install the replacement.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

Knotbored said:


> wouldn't weather stripping fill that gap? I doesn't seem overly large to me. My exterior door frames have grooves to accept vinyl covered foam strips cross section like a P that slip into the groove and are held by tension (no glue ot fasteners.) I see the weatherstip at all the lumberyard box stores. My cat ate the bottom part (YES ATE) and it took 30 seconds to install the replacement.


Hi knotbored, it's where the edge of the door and the frame meet (on both edges of the door). I'm not sure how weather striping would stay in place. I have the stripping where the door meets the jam (I guess that's what it's called).

I guess it's more "unsightly" than a problem of air leaking.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

If the door seals then I would not worry about it.


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## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

So the door has no air gap and this is a cosmetic issue and not a weather issue ?
Why not glue a thin strip of wood moulding perhaps half the gap thickness? Use auto-body putty (Bondo) to flatten the surface and repaint the door.
Personally- I would look closely at similar door installations and make sure those gaps are errors. Note that a door edge needs clearance to arc on the swing edge-its not a 90 degree edge.
WOOPS_A NEW THOUGHT!- Check the swing of the door (left hand or right hand) and see if the door has been installed backward-with the 80 degree door trim facing the room in error (Its supposed to face the closed opening) MY BET THIS IS THE ERROR


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

It is basicly a cosmetic prob. I'll check the swing.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Can you post a picture?


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

I think I'll try that tomorrow hewee :up:


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Ok I will be here.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

Hope these show what the prob is.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Is that the front door or a storm door? Looks like it open out but to another room.
Hard to tell from the picture but if that is a prehung door and the frame it came with the gaps do look wide.
Does it all seal tight with the weather striping?


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

hewee said:


> Is that the front door or a storm door? Looks like it open out but to another room.
> Hard to tell from the picture but if that is a prehung door and the frame it came with the gaps do look wide.
> Does it all seal tight with the weather striping?


Hi hewee,

It's a pre-hung solid core entry door. It goes out onto a recently built back porch area (the realtor listed it as a "3 season room"  ). The door swings in. The poorly crafted installers fastened a strip of wood to the original wood door frame and to this strip of wood affixed a weather strip. So when the door is shut, the door closes against the steel frame but is sealed against the strip of wood w/ the weather strip.

One thing I did notice is, if I do shim the frame to close the gap, I'll have to remove the threshold and shorten that also. Something I'd don't want to do. I think I'm stuck with the gap. At least it closes against the weather strip.


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Hard to gauge from the pics but it looks like the gaps are pretty even all the way around the door? If the gaps are even and it seals and closes tightly i would leave it. it does not look much different than my entry door


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## firemanjoe78 (Apr 13, 2006)

Does the door open and close properly ? It looks like the "highly skilled" craftsman that installed it did a cheap job. The Reveal ( the gap around the door) should be even all the way aroung the door. Most of the time an uneven reveal is caused by improper installation. Check the Jamb (the frame part) and make sure it is level, plumb and square. You should get the same measurements from the top right to bottom left corners as you do top lft to btm right. Looks to me like they built their own jamb, need more pics to tell tho. Good Luck.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

There is no doubt in my mind it was installed poorly. I could go into a long rant concerning this contractor........"SERENITY NOW"..........I'll spare the rant for later.

It does open/close well and seals as I described but it just doesn't look right. I had 2 other doors installed at the same time w/o this large gap.

It was a difficult project, so if I have only this to complain about I guess I'm lucky.

Welcome to TSG firemanjoe


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

My guess is the prehung door frame is just a little bigger then it should be. 
What you should have on each side and top is 1/8" or less on all both sides and top.
But it looks like you have way more then that and even more then that on the hinge side too. 
Now like I said I can not see it that well. I know it is a steel door but it has a wood frame in the door and they not made the same way. So that bigger gap may be needed if the wood frame part of the door comes out pass the steel panels. 
If not it sounds like the door and door frame were not really made for each other or not made by a good company. I mean if you have to cut the threshold. Was it a prehung door with or with the threshold on the frame? If the threshold came with it hooked to the bottom then your have to take the whole thing out. 
But if you have that big gap on the hinge side still you could reset the hinges deeper.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

The best guess I can give is that the threshold came w/the door. It has a steel frame and could very well be cheaply built also.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

So you say the door frame is all steel too? That sounds like a storm door then.
My dad has one that I installed and it has a magnet weather striping seal on top and both sides and then you adjust the bottom sweep. It did not have a threshold but then again there was no place to have a threshold because this is on the outside of the house front door and it opens out. It is like s screen door but made a whole lot better. It has one long hinge down the whole side too. But it is a well made door with the belair window and screen in it.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

I think they bought it at J-J's giveaway wholesale junk outlet  

It's a steel entry door. I used to work at a home improvement center years ago and don't remember these types of doors having steel frames. But none the less, there she is in all her glory (and gaps).

Thanks for the help hewee :up:


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

He hee maybe that is why the frame is wider. 
So if the whole door famr is still then it sounds like the type we used to put inside of office buildings. 
The mail door into a office was a heavy thick steel frame that has a firedoor on it.
Then inside each off for all the rooms you had steel door frames that screw right into the wood framing. Then the door casing just snaps on the metal frame. 
But maybe you got the same type of frame but they just use wood as the casing. 
But they are easy to put in and take out because you pop off the casing and take out the screws. But there is no threshold on the type I am talking about.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

Well at least it seals


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

That is good that it seals and you know the door will not rub the frame too.


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## katonca (Aug 10, 2004)

Yeah hewee, we'd have to have a 9.5 earthquake to get this to rub.


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