Hi all,
I need to frame in a door jamb, and there’s no room to use a pre-hung door. Should the side jambs sit on top of the sill, or is the sill coped to fit between the jambs? I’ve looked at the doors in my 78 year old house and I can’t tell since there is enough paint to obscure the joint.
Thanks,
Scott
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Replies
The threashold goes betwixt the jamb legs, for replacement as needed.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
You gonna play that thing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Ln-SpJsy0
Is it an exterior door? I still think the sill (threshold) should go in first and the side jambs sit on it so water running down the jambs sheds out onto the threshold instead of running into the subfloor.
Depends whether this is an exterior door or an interior door.
I don't understand your meaning about the prehung. A jamb takes the same amt of space whether it is part of a prehung or whether it is installed separately.
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Scott,
When I have to site-build a door jamb, I rabbet the sill into the sides of the jambs. I use treated lumber for the sill and set it at about 10-12 degrees, depending on how the angle affects the height in relation to the finish floor. I put some urethane caulk into the rabbet before fastening the sill in with stainless screws through the sides of the jambs. I like to use cypress for the jambs when I can get it, but that's not very often.
Steve
edit: this for exterior doors.
Edited 8/10/2008 2:33 pm by mmoogie
This is an exterior door. I'm replacing a door that is 30" wide. A pre-hung requires a 32-1/4" R.O., while I can frame with the outside dimensions of 31-7/8" by milling a rabbet into 2x lumber to make jambs. Yes, I do need the 3/8".
5/4 lumber ought to be plenty for the jambs. Would give you a little more breathing room.Steve
PSCL,
In my experience, A 78yr old house would likely have the jamb sitting on the threshold. In a more modern house, the threshold is between the jambs.
Personally, if I were building a door, I would go the old way because it seems to better protect the endgrains of the jamb from soaking up water and eventually rotting.
The difficulty of replacing a threshold is much less than the difficulty of replacing jambs.
Be sure the wood used for the threshold is rot resistant: mahogony, ipe, teak, white oak, or even pressure treated. Seal the ends of the jamb before sliding in the threshold.
GK
Thanks for all the replies. There seems to be some confusion between sill and threshold. The sill sits on the floor joists and the sub-floor buts up against it. The outside lip of the sill extends past the siding. I've never seen a sill on an interior door. The threshold covers the transition of one type of flooring to another, or where the flooring meets the sill. I have always seen the threshold coped to fit between the side jambs.The books I have show cross sections of the jambs etc, but not the corner detail, but I think the side jambs sit on the sill. It would probably be a good idea to shellac the end-grain of the sill and jambs to keep water out.Thanks,Scott
Actually, a doorsill is a type of threshold. Threshold is a general term describing the transition between two materials. Doorsills are only on exterior doors just as you describe it. As I said before, sitting on the sill is a very good option. However, shellac on the endgrain is probably not the best. If you decide to seal the ends, use marine varnish or epoxy. good luck
How thick should the sill be? Since it sits on the rim joist, I think it needs to be as thick as the sub-floor (3/4") plus the finish flooring. I've not yet decided on the flooring, and the thicknesses of what I am considering go from 3/8" for cork to 9/16" for bamboo. Is an underlayment required with either of these?The door threshold can be made to even out some difference in height between the finish flooring and the sill, but probably no more than 1/2".Also, since I am making an out-swing door, the position of the door moves farther to the outside by 1-3/4" (3-1/2" stud width - 1-3/4" door thickness) since the door will move from having the inside of the door even with the inside edge of the jack stud to having the outside of the door even with the outside edge of the jack stud. This will make for a rather wide threshold, which may look goofy. I think the only way around this is to recess the door further than the outside edge of the jack stud, which may also look goofy. Anybody have any experience with this or opinions?Thanks,Scott
>>I think the only way around this is to recess the door further than the outside edge of the jack stud, which may also look goofy. Anybody have any experience with this or opinions?<<Actually won't the outside of the door be flush with the the sheathing, not the face-of-framing?I any event, you might not want to inset it to the point where the door can't open 180 degrees, unless it's already got another obstruction, like an intersecting wall or some such.re: sill thickness, it depends on the angle you are going set the sill at and the width of the wall. I like to have the sill about an inch above the finish floor, then I butt a 1x threshold into the edge of it from from the inside, leaving about a 1/4" reveal between the sill and the interior threshold.Steve
Edited 8/30/2008 10:42 am by mmoogie
Thanks Steve,I want the door hinges to screw into the jack stud, so I need the door recessed deeper than the sheathing, else the screw is too close to the outside edge of the stud.I'll have a landing hand rail that keeps the door from opening much beyond 90 degrees.I plan to make the sill flat on the rim joist and blocking, but cut a bevel starting at the exterior door plane. I'll use 2x cedar and paint it. It should be close enough to the floor thickness since I plan to use underlayment just to even things out between the kitchen and breakfast nook.Scott
>>I plan to make the sill flat on the rim joist and blocking, but cut a bevel starting at the exterior door plane. I'll use 2x cedar and paint it. It should be close enough to the floor thickness since I plan to use underlayment just to even things out between the kitchen and breakfast nook.<<Just a little detail, but since the door is outswing, I might consider starting the bevel at the inside edge of the door and bevel the bottom edge of the door to match. Depends what you are going to use to weatherstrip the bottom though.Steve
What weather strip to use for this application (outswing door) is a good question. The rubber semi-circle stuff requires groves milled in the sill to hold it, which may not be great since it will hold water. I suppose I could get an aluminum threshold with the same weather strip, then caulk around the base of it to keep water out. I'm not a big fan of the brass strip under the door since it always rubs the finish off the sill and I know I will eventually cut my foot on it.I bought some cedar for the sill & jambs, but the stuff is still sold green and is still wet. How long do I need to let this stuff dry before I can paint it, which I think I should do before installing it.Thanks,Scott
I usually buy the L-shaped aluminum one that goes over the bottom of the door and has a removable rubber semi-circular vaned strip. Got a moisture meter? I think you should get below about 19% RH. I believe somewhere in that range is where it'll support mildew...I usually don't bother to paint sill though. It's not going to last anyway.Steve
Mill your sill so that it is a dadoe starting at the interior face of the door to have about a 3/8" stop there and bevels down and out.That way you do not need a weather strip at bottom
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