How To Make An Exterior Door Frame Larger

To make a door frame wider the do it yourself should also ensure that the planned construction does not cut into any existing electrical or heating and air conditioning equipment.

How to make an exterior door frame larger.

Cut the siding away using the circular saw. Chisel bricks carefully and use a pry bar or reciprocating saw to take off siding making sure you re not cutting through any plumbing or electrical wiring. Step 1 remove the existing door from the frame by unscrewing the screws on the hinges and lifting the door away. This is the actual thickness of a 2x4.

Working on the floor stack the pieces with the crowns facing the same direction see next step and use a square to make sure they are aligned. Pull the framing from the existing doorway. Stand the new prehung door in the opening and nail the exterior trim at one top corner. Cut through the nails at the foot of the studs.

Subscribe to this old house. Measure and mark the exterior siding to widen the opening the difference between the old and new doors. Wedge shims behind both side jambs at the top bottom and middle. To make the door header the top of the door frame cut two 2x4s to the same length as the width of the original opening and nail them securely together.

Pull the studs from the existing doorway. With the same 38 inch wide opening and a door or set of doors 48. Cut the door header. Remove bricks or house siding on the entryway exterior to make room for the bigger door system.

Construct header to construct a header cut two pieces of 2x6 or larger to the width of the rough opening plus 3 inches to allow for the thickness of the two jack studs. Step 6 build wall reinforcement to create a header beam for the new door if needed. Cut through the nails that secure the doorjamb to the rest of the framing with a reciprocating saw. You will need to add 1 2 of plywood between the 2x4 s to get the right wall thickness of 3 1 2.

If you re narrowing the frame by more than an inch remove the hinge side. Pry off the door casing and the knob side and top jambs with a pry bar if you only need to fur out one side of the frame.