Replies

1. 
   Gina_Cochran | Feb 01, 2002 02:26am | #1

   *
   After placing a prehung flat jamb door in the rough opening of new construction and checking for plumb and level, the door and hits at the top and not the bottom or vice versa. I have heard this described as a cross-legged jamb, but cannot find a solution. Any suggestions would be appreciated. THANKS! Gina

1. 
   Heck_ | Feb 01, 2002 02:45am | #2

   *Hi Gina,I saw your post in construction techniques,I'll try to help...I believe what you are describing is a situation where the opposing sides of the framed opening are not in alignment with each other(not parrallel) and when you hang the jambs to align with the respective walls,the door as it closes then hits the door stop either at the top or the bottom,not evenly all the way as it should.Please respond to let me know if I am on the right trail.jw

1. 
   Steve_G | Feb 01, 2002 02:46am | #3

   *Gina, I assume that when you talk about hitting at the top or bottom etc. you are referring to hitting the stop along the full length of the door. 1. Your doors may be warped. Have they been sitting around a long time without being sealed on all 6 sides? Or stored improperly? I believe that the industry standard is a max. warp of 3/8" . If it is within this tolerance , you may have to remove and adjust the stops. If the doors are warped, call your supplier.2. Is the framing on both sides of the door opening plumb? Or at least are both sides in the same plane? If not, this is the problem. Some times you can resolve this by shifting your jambs slightly, but not so much that your trim won't apply satisfactorily.Good luck, steve.

1. 
   RonTeti | Feb 01, 2002 04:05am | #4

   *Gina,if the door is square at the top meaning the gap is equal across the top where it is hitting the jamb then maybe you might have to trim a little off. if it is uneven then maybe you have to re-shim the jamb to get the gap even.

1. 
   Dan_janecyk | Feb 01, 2002 04:20am | #5

   *I purchased three quarter by four and five inch heartpine flooring.This wood is resawn from old timbers but is not end matched.The subfloor is three quarter inch douglas fir over engineered joists.I'm building near Chicagoand have the heat set to 68 degrees.My questions are. Should I glue and nail the floor?Should I end match the boards? Any pros and cons on an oil finish?Thanks for your assistance. Dan

2. 
   Glenn_F. | Feb 01, 2002 04:35am | #6

   *Gina,Unless you are going to move the bottom platesthe only recourse you have is to install the door lock,striker plate and remove the door stop.Close the door and latch it.Install the door stop on the knob side and push out the door slightly where its in to far.This will pull in the part thats out to far.Install the rest of the door stops.This will make it look and close better.

3. 
   Peter_Koski | Feb 01, 2002 04:45am | #7

   *1. Check the floor for level (If unlevel then jamb height needs to be adjusted i.e either cut or raised up)2. Check jambs again for level on the face of the jamb. If it is unlevel on the face of the jamb then the hinges can be adjusted either in or out to make sure that the door hits the stop at the top and the bottom at the same time.3. When it comes right down to it, I hang the door according to the reveal. Allow about 3/16" reveal all the way around and nail it. 4. You can bend one of the hinge pins if the door swings open when you dont want it to.

4. 
   Gabe_Martel | Feb 01, 2002 04:52am | #8

   *Take it off and start over.Remove the door and put it aside.Install the hinge side first, perfectly plumb and straight. Shim and nail near the top hinge, middle and bottom hinge.Now put the door back on the hinges.Using the door as a guide, start at the top of the lock side and shim and nail the jamb to the stud, nice and centered with a consistent gap at the top between the door and the header jamb.Shim and nail the bottom, again, using the door as a guide, maintain the same gap as you have at the top and pay attention to the seating of the door against the stop so that it will be tight along the entire lenght of the door when it's nailed into place.Finally shim and nail the middle, keeping your nails and shims a little above or below the striker plate.When done, check the closing of the door and then case it.Never try to fix a crooked jamb, remove and try again.Gabe

5. 
   Buildit4you_ | Feb 02, 2002 03:16am | #9

   *Gina,If the wall is out of plumb or alinment, I have takena 16d nail through the bottom plate in a attempt to remedy. Otherwise, see previous posting.Lots of Luck!Peace!PLP

6. 
   Geoff_B | Feb 02, 2002 03:36am | #10

   *Lots of good ideas here but if this is new construction and you have more then 1, or 2 at most its time to call the framer back. This is framing 101, expected only when going with an inexperienced framer giving rediculously low bids.BTW because this is a repost, the original had questions you failed to respond to. Many professional craftsman responded which you obviously disrgarded. Please don't ask questions if you don't care about the answers.

7. 
   Derrell_Day | Feb 02, 2002 06:59pm | #11

   *Gina,Start with hinge side being plumb. Set header and lock side by 1/8" margin. I don't shim interior hollow core doors. Close door and check for cross-leg. Tweak the jamb to compensate (roll slightly in or out) at the bottom of lockside to match door and nail jamb into trimmer. You may have to put your prybar between jamb and trimmer to preserve margin. Don't adjust the top. Install opposite casing and securely fasten casing and check cross-leg again. Tweak slightly at bottom if necessary and finish nailng. Go to next door. Have lunch. Enjoy your day.

8. 
   Brian_Smith | Feb 14, 2002 08:17am | #12

   *:-)brian

9. 
   johnjelley23 | Feb 14, 2002 01:13pm | #13

   *Can someone please let me know the going rate for installing a standard pre-hung interior door with good rough openning requiring no work.I would also like to find out the going rate for running paint grade base board, prefrbly price per foot.

10. 
    ken_hill | Feb 14, 2002 11:00pm | #14

    *John- For an answer to your question, go to the BUSINESS folder and find the thread "finish carpentry pricing" :o) Ken

11. 
    michael_rose | Feb 15, 2002 02:00pm | #15

    *GinaI've come across this problem before. If the wall is out of plumb, I'll take a 2x4 or 2x6, lay it flat against the wall, and with a hammer, gently try to persuade the wall to move. And if that doesn't work, I try to split the difference with the jamb being plumb. Usually a part of the jamb sticks out at the top or bottom and a little sticks to far in from the plane of the wall. If it is stick out, I take my planer and shaving down the jamb even with the wall. If it sticking to far in, I'll shave down the sheetrock so that the trim will fit. My main goal is make sure that the door touches the stop from top to bottom and that the jambs are plumb on both sides.In a perfect world, the doors should always be hung plumb no matter what the wall is doing. If the wall is way out of plumb, the framing will need to be corrected.Hope that helps.Mike