Page 227 - 2018 National Home Improvement

2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 185

•Install jambs and hang the door, 15 minutes
•Install the lockset and strike, 15 minutes
•Set door stop on the jamb, 15 minutes
•Set casing on two sides, 30 minutes
•Add 15 minutes for a French door
•Add 30 minutes for setting a threshold

An experienced finish carpenter using a pneumatic nailer, router and door jig may be able to cut this
time in half.

But as mentioned at the start of Chapter 1, your typical door replacement job may be anything but
routine.

•Work starts with removing the old door. That’s probably not too hard – once you break through
several coats of accumulated paint on the hinges. One whack with a hammer should work wonders.
•Check the opening for plumb and square. Allow an extra hour or more if you have to align the
framing. If the wall is way out of plumb, you may have a serious structural problem that requires
reframing the entire wall.
•If hinge butts are loose, stripped out or poorly aligned, the next step may be installing a blind
Dutchman on the jamb where the original hinges were attached.
•If the jamb is badly chewed up from years of neglect and abuse, you’ll have to remove and replace
the entire frame.
•In any case, you’ll have to refinish the door and repair cosmetic defects in the interior and exterior
wall finish.
•Finally, you have haul away the old door and debris.

The pages that follow show a labor estimate of 1.45 hours for hanging a new exterior slab door. That
estimate includes setting three hinges on the door and jamb, fitting and hanging the door in an existing
cased opening, checking operation and making minor adjustments as required to the stop, jamb or
strike. Add the cost of removing the old door, reframing the opening, repairs to the existing jamb,
resetting the latch and strike, and replacing interior casing or exterior brick mold, if required.

The labor estimate for hanging an interior slab door is 1.15 hours and includes setting two hinges on the
door and jamb and hanging the door in an existing cased opening. Add the cost of removing the old
door, reframing the opening, repairs to the existing jamb, resetting the latch and strike, and replacing
casing on two sides, if required.

Prehung doors are a better choice for most jobs and offer obvious advantages.