Storm Door

Posted on December 2, 2012 in Doors

Installing a Storm Door

Why install a storm door? There are a number of reasons why a storm door is an advantage to have on each exterior door of your home.

They provide protection for your exterior door, which can cost thousands of dollars.
They provide a way of letting fresh air circulate through your home.
They help to cut down outside drafts, thereby saving you money on your heating and cooling bills.

Storm Door

Maybe the best part about installing a storm door is how easy it is, because many of these doors come in prefabricated kits. This means they are prehung, come with the pneumatic hinges that help them close automatically, and contain all the hardware you need to finish the installation. You only need basic tools to get this door installed as well, and virtually anyone can do it.

How to Get the Correct Measurement for Your Door

Storm Door

Many people find that they don’t get an accurate measurement for their storm door even though they’ve measured height and width. The issue comes in because many door frames have slight differences in height and width at different points on the frame due to the house settling or other minor construction issues. To prevent this from happening to you, make sure you take five measurements on your door: divide the width into thirds and take three width measurements, and then take two height measurements at two locations close to the edge of the frame.

Install the Latch Side Z Bar First

Storm Door

When you get your properly measured door home, you first need to determine which way you want the door to open. When you’ve done this, you’ll then need to permanently attach the Z Bar hinge. This is done by drilling a few holes into the door at the location where you want the hinge to be and then attaching it with the hardware indicated.

Fitting the Storm Door Into Place

Storm Door

You optimally want to have about 1/8” gap between the Z Bar and the door. Once you’ve achieved that, simply place your door where you want it to be and then install the traditional hinges into place with the door in a closed position. The tighter you can get the screws that hold the hinges in place, the better off you’ll be. Once you’ve got the hinges in place, open the door slightly and install two jamb screws at all of your hinges. Then you simply install the top edge Z Bar, adjusting for an even gap with the door.

Storm Door

Finalizing the Installation

Storm Door

The rest of the installation on your storm door is easy! If you are installing an expander sweep, take out the bottom expander and slide in the sweep. For tough sweeps, a little liquid soap can help it slide into place easily without ruining your door.

To install the latch, simply measure on the doorframe where the latch needs to be in relation to where it is on the door and drill out the necessary holes based on your unique door. The key is to make sure you keep everything as level as possible.

Then finally, if you need to install a closer mechanism, simply attach it to the jamb brackets and use the connecting pins to allow it to work in conjunction with your door. Some storm doors also come with chains as well, and this is when you would place that as well.

Installing a storm door is an easy project that won’t take too much time out of your day, yet will give you an outstanding finished product when you are finished. Install your own storm door today and see how great your home can look too!