Installing New Exterior Door Trim

Start to finish 3 hrs.

Installing new exterior door trim. This requires removing the door as well as the existing exterior trim and old insulation. Most home centers stock prehung exterior doors in a limited number of styles. Urethane foam trim is light paintable easy to cut and will never rot ideal for exterior trim. The new door should be 1 2 inch less than the height of the rough opening and 3 4 inch less in width.

Installing a new threshold and sill will take between two and three hours. This is done with molding called casing. Protect your floors with a drop cloth before you begin and make sure you re comfortable with basic carpentry skills. Slide the bar in near each nail to help you lever it away from the jamb.

Either way to trim a door you need to bridge the gap between the door jamb the frame from on which the door is hinged and where the latch engages and the wall. If wood casing is used. Replacing a door trim involves removing the old one cutting your new trim to the right size and nailing it to the doorjamb. Either you ve installed a new door or decided to change the door s trim for aesthetic reasons.

Also measure the jamb depth. Leave the retaining brackets in place that hold the door closed while you re working on it. Before removing the old door have the new one on hand. It s a good idea to measure the actual door too.

Follow along as i show you detailed step by step instructions on how to replac. Common jamb widths for stock doors are 4 9 16 in. Installing decorative trim around an entry door whether old or newly installed is a quick way to give your house a facelift. Apply wood preservative to the end grain of the casing.

To prevent rot when replacing outside door casings such as brick mold use casing made from plastic composite material. Exterior door casings that are exposed to the elements often rot at the bottom due to the absorption of rainwater through the wood s end grain. Then use a pry bar to remove each side of the trim. You asked for it.

And 6 9 16 in and they usually include two inch wide brick molding for exterior trim. Buying a new prehung exterior door. Installing an exterior door that is insulated and made of steel can be heavy and cumbersome due to the weight of the materials. Remove the interior trim and measure the width and height of the frame.

With the advent of urethane foam molding there is now a wide range of affordable molding styles to choose from. Measure both the door and rough opening to make sure the door is the right size. Before you can remove the door and main frame you must cut the caulking remove the interior and exterior trim and remove the 1 4 nailing boards around the exterior of the frame and any shims or nails sticking out of the trimmer studs.