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Installing a pre-hung door in a 100-year-old house took me all day
The rough opening in this Portland bungalow was way out of square, and the floor sloped almost an inch over 3 feet. I spent 6 hours just shimming and scribing the jamb to get it plumb and level before I could even think about hanging the door. What's your go-to method for dealing with a seriously wonky opening like that?
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parkermorgan7mo ago
Man, that's the real work right there. I've stopped fighting the opening in old houses. My method now is to build a completely new, square frame inside the rough opening with ripped studs. Shim it plumb and level as one solid unit, screw it into the old framing, then hang the door in that. It's more lumber upfront, but it saves hours of fiddling with individual shims on a pre-hung unit that just wants to twist.
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parker_sullivan7mo ago
My last pre-hung in a Philly rowhome had a 2-inch slope across the opening. I tried the shim dance for half a day before I gave up. Now I just build a true, square box out of 2x4s right inside the old mess, exactly like parkermorgan said. Screw that new frame solid into the old bones, then the door goes in perfect in like twenty minutes. It feels like cheating but it's the only way that doesn't make you want to throw your level through a window.
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jesse2906mo ago
Honestly, I always check for a rotten sill plate first after what happened to @parker_sullivan. That crazy slope can mean the old wood is totally gone under there. Fixing that first makes any shim or new frame method actually last.
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