My front door (exterior), which I really like, is hinged on the wrong side. Is it worth the effort to re-mortice the locks, fill the old mortices, fill the hinge mortices etc and rehang the old door or am I better off buying a new door? A new door here (UK) will cost about 300 pounds (US 450)
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It depends on how much you like the existing setup----are the rim and jambs easy to take off and replace? Is the frame plumb and square? Take a large square to the frame and door and stringline it corner to corner to check for warp and square.
I find its usually easier and cleaner to pull the whole door and frame out and rehang it with new jambs, especially if the frame is out of square. Its difficult to patch those holes so they don't show and theres a lot of patching./sanding .repainting
I am a remodeling contractor, I hang doors all the time
Thanks for your fast reply. The door is hung directly on the framing of the surrounding window wall - 3 feet above and either side. Think I'll try Tommy B's solution of turning the door 180 on the vertical axis - frame is square & plumb.
Frank
Well Frank, you've pretty well answered your own question. You like the door and you know the proceedure.
Take the door off and remove all hardware. Fill in with similar wood blocks and glue. Make the fit of the blocks as close as possible.
Now that you've got the door and frame to square one.
Hang the door to swing the opposite way.
The door will likely have a bevel but in most cases will not cause too much concern.
Gabe
Thanks Gabe - going to try Tommy B's way. The frame is square and the door will work with either side out.
Love this site - you always get a choice of solutions.
Frank
Hope your door hasn't window or you may not be able to reverse it without modifying the window.
Gabe
Gabe
The door has two sealed, double-glazed panels rebated into the rails & stiles and fixed from the old exterior with nailed-in battens. I removed the battens, cleaned up the space, replaced them and they are now on the inside. Looks OK. The door will be painted so the paint just catches the edge of the glass all around.
wish me luck
Frank
Frank,
I sure you already know but I'll mention it for the benefit of others with the same problem.
Windows, including those in doors have drainage to the outside or are set into frames to seal to the outside. In rain driven conditions, water will leak inwards if reversed.
Gabe
Once went to do a repair on a cottage that the owner was complaining about leaks. The entire end wall was glass, looking onto a lake. The owner had installed the windows himself and was looking to the window manufacturer for repairs under warranty.
The entire wall was installed backwards. We had to send a crew to remove and reverse the wall, at the owners costs.
Gabe, Re: windows - inside & outside
I didn't know and now you've got me worried. The two window panes are sealed, double-glazed units. With the door in its original orientation they had been installed from the outside into the framing of the door which was rabitted (or as they say in England, rebated) to accept the glazing. The glass units were embedded in some form of mastic. They were then fixed in place by nailing small battens - about 1/2" square against the glass and into the sides of the rebate. The seal on the inside looks better to me than the rebate which was on the outside. The outside is, as you know, now on the inside.
Should I just wait till the next rainstorm (never far away here) or should I inject some silicone along the glass/woodframe junction. or will the paint covering the glass/wood juction do the job? I'm retired and have little better to do than fiddle with this. Appreciate your views.
Frank
Frank,
Just use your garden hose and spray the window in order to test the seal. You'll know kinda quick if you have to reseal the window.
Gabe
Thanks Gabe
Will let you know in a few weeks after the place is painted. The crew arrives Wednesday.
Frank
Not sure about your condition, but a standard steel glazed door sold by the millions in the US does not have a directional window. At least not the type I am talking about. They are double pane units with a plastic trim/mounting ring on both sides. There are no weep holes.
Anyhow, I'm glad you liked my solution.
On my way to being a master boogerer...Tom
If the door is reversible, ie the interior side can be on the exterior, It can be a pretty simple task. Otherwise you may have a hole on the wrong side of the door, depending on how you do things in the UK.
I have changed out steel doors with lites that are common here in the US by flipping rotating them 180 degrees, flipping the hinges and knob and mortising them into the other side of the jamb. Then I make the old hinge mortises deeper, square them off and epoxy in dutchmen or filler pieces. Same for the strike mortise. Sand it all flush, repaint and you can't pick out the repair. Certainly cost effective in some circumstances over doing a full tear out and buying a new door.
We remodel alot of old houses and we find this type of repair all of the time. There are many variations that may work in your scenario.
Tom
Thanks Tommy
The door is in my shop being filled and sanded to make the outside presentable on the inside. Your solution saved my having to move a key lock, morticed dead bolt and surface dead bolt. The frame is square and plumb so I don't anticipate a problem.
Frank
Remember to drill out and plug the original screw-holes for the hinges before you flip them.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Thanks Phil Did that - but almost forgot.