"I'm fixing a hole...." or "I'm a back door man"

I installed a new back door this weekend. The job was not as hard as I thought. I simply spent five hours tearing out the old door frame being very careful not to disturb anything. Then I spent another three and a half hours installing the new door. It turned out pretty good, though, like me, it's not perfect. You have to lift up on the handle before you close the door. To lock the door you have to wedge a piece of shim into the latch side, jimmy that over until it touches the lock, than lift the door up a quarter inch and wiggle it until it latches. To open the door you have to go out the front door walk around the house and hold the door steady. Meanwhile have somebody pop out the hinge pins and gently remove the door. Not a big deal.


Old Door from inside.


Rough opening.

Old door from outside.


New Door from outside.


New door and a big mess.


As you can see the brand new door looks great. I still have to finish the trim work and tweak the dead bolt a little, but other than those two tasks I am done.

Now Pixie, G-man and I can feel safe knowing that a crooked door is protecting us from the bad guys.