Exterior door framing

17 years ago

I own a 2001 Palm harbor dw that has 6" exterior framing. I was looking to replace the cheap looking front door with a nice one from lowes. Of course my door is only 78" tall so the opening would have to be extended to an 82" rough opening. After checking with a stud finder and a finish nail it appears Palm Harbor does not install a header above the door. Is this standard or is it because the framing is 2x6 so it's stronger. Since there is no header I don't see any great difficulty installing a standard door. Also it appears that Palm Harbor could have installed a standard door instead of the "special" 78" door. Was that to make most people come to thim for a new door? $$$ Am I missing something?

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Comments (4)

desertsteph
17 years ago
I don't know, but I'm interested cause I'm getting a PH too. and I'll want to replace doors. the back one to start and eventually the front one also I think.
grminor
Original Author
17 years ago
New door from Lowes supposed to be here next week. I'll post what I find when I start cutting.
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grminor
Original Author
17 years ago
The door's installed now. The old door was held in by a flange and screws on the outside. There was one long screw in the upper hinge side going thru the jamb to the stud. That's it. No shims or nails or screws at the hinges. Just abour 1/2" of space. On the latch side there was a couple of "shims" just held in by friction. The "shims" appeared to be pieces of laminate flooring. Across the top there was a stud, no header. I just cut it out and slipped the new door in. The old jamb was very thin and flimsy. I guess being attached with the flange made it seem stronger. The new jamb is over twice as thick. I installed it in the normal stick built way using long screws instead of nails and real shims. I don't think the top stud did anything. It wasn't attached to the door at all. Even the flange wasn't attached, no screws on top. So I don't think it will be any problem being gone.
nod702
17 years ago
Thank you for the update. Maybe your experience can help someone else.