Wood screen door kits aren't difficult to assemble, will save you a few bucks over buying a completed door, and provide a very practical, period complement to your home. The kit contains everything you need for the door itself: mortised-and-tenoned rails and stiles, screen-frame inserts and trim, and decorative brackets. The kit does not include glue, screening, spline, hinges, and latchsets—some of which may be available from the same company that sells the kit. Glue the door together Check the door's fit by dry-assembling the parts without glue. If a tenon doesn't fit its mortise, pare it down with a chisel. With the door assembled, lay out the center stile so it butts the center of the middle and bottom rails. Make two marks on either end of the stile that overlap onto the rails. Using those marks for reference, drill two centered, ¼-inch-diameter by ⅞-inch-deep holes into both ends of the stile. Then drill corresponding holes in the two rails, making sure those holes are also centered.

Take the door apart, then glue ¼-inch-diameter by 11/2-inch-long hardwood dowels into the holes in the stile and fit it together with the middle and bottom rails. Apply glue to the tenons on all the rails, then reassemble the entire frame. Clamp the door frame Use 4-foot-long pipe or bar clamps to draw the parts together horizontally. fire door inspections sydneyTo prevent bowing, put some clamps on the front face and some on the back face of the door.garage door repair in tulsa Working quickly before the glue sets, check the door for square by measuring diagonally from corner to corner in both directions. garage door repair cottage grove wi

Loosen the clamps, rack the frame until the measurements are equal, then reclamp. Wipe off excess glue with a damp rag. Lock the joints with dowels Drill ¼-inch-diameter holes through the stiles wherever there's a mortise-and-tenon joint. The holes should be ½ inch in from the inside edge of the stile so the bit passes through the tenons.garage door service lewisville tx Apply glue to 11/2-inch-long dowels and tap them into the holes you drilled. reclaimed wood doors minnesotaAllow the glue to dry overnight before removing the clamps and sanding the dowels flush.sliding garage door homemade On the front face of the door, glue and nail frame molding inside the screen-opening perimeter with ¾-inch brads.sliding closet doors keep coming off track

Assemble the screen inserts Assemble the screen-insert frames, using glue and brads at the corners. Paint, or stain and varnish, the frame parts. Allow to dry fully. Cut a piece of screen 2 inches larger all around than the insert. Use the convex wheel on the spline roller to gently push the screen into the groove on the insert. Turn the roller around and use its concave wheel to push the rubber spline deep in the groove. Use a utility knife to trim the excess screen close to the spline. Shim the door in opening Stand the completed door — minus the screens — in the doorway opening. Align its face flush with the face of the door casing. Tap in wood shims around the door to hold it in place. These should maintain a 1/8-inch space along the sides and an approximately 3/16-inch space at the top and bottom. Measure 5 inches up from the door bottom and screw a hinge directly to the door and casing. Attach the second hinge 5 inches down from the top of the door, and position the third hinge in the middle.

Install the Screens and Hardware Open the door and slip the screen inserts into place, then secure each with wooden turn buttons mounted to the back side of the door. Install a no-mortise latchset centered on the door's middle rail. Line the latch case up to the edge of the rail on the inside of the door, then mark the spindle location. Drill a 9/16-inch-diameter hole at this mark. Hold the latch case on the door, thread the lever's spindle through the hole, then screw the case down.Home > HARDWARE > WINDOW & DOOR HARDWARE > STORM/SCREEN DOOR HARDWARE Ecommerce Software by Volusion.Door closer adjustment is an art that requires knowledge, patience, and an ability to climb up and down a ladder several times, but with these attributes and the appropriate wrench, hex key, or screwdriver, you can do it yourself. This article is primarily about surface-mounted door closers, but the ideas here can be applied to other kinds of door closers as well. Most of the adjustments are implemented by opening and closing hydraulic valves.

When it comes to turning the screws that operate these valves, a little goes a long way. A turn of five degrees can significantly increase or decrease closing speed. Do Not Completely Unscrew Hydraulic ScrewsYou will ruin the closer and void the warranty. Also, hydraulic fluid will leak out of the closer and make a mess. A door closer is a mechanical device designed to close a door slowly but firmly enough to latch. It accomplishes this by using spring tension modulated by hydraulic fluid. As the user opens the door, hydraulic fluid passes from one reservoir to another. As the spring pushes the door closed again, the hydraulic fluid passes back to the previous reservoir through a series of valves that control the speed. The illustration above shows the effects of the common hydraulic adjustment controls available on most commercial grade door closers. Controls for swing speed and latching speed control how fast the door closes. Many closers also feature a hydraulic control for back check that controls the last few inches of the opening the door so as to prevent the door from being slammed into an adjacent wall.

Swing speed adjustment controls how fast the door closes from fully open to within about five degrees of closed. Latching speed adjustment controls how fast the door closes for those last few inches. Back check adjustment controls the amount of resistance to opening the door past a selected point. The illustration below shows the various hydraulic control valves. These might be located in many configurations, but you will usually see the back check control located somewhat away from the latch speed and swing speed controls. There are also door closers equipped with an additonal valve for delayed action. Delayed action closers hold the door open for a longer period of time to allow persons with disabilities more time to get through the door. Notice the spring tension adjustment in the illustration above. Spring tension controls the "size" of a closer. The term is misleading, because it does not actually have anything to do with the physical dimensions of the closer.

This type of size is determined by the width of a door. "Sized" closers—that is, closers that have a factory pre-determined spring tension for a particular door width—have no spring tension adjustment. Many door closers today are "non-sized," indicating that you can adjust the spring tension to fit the size of the door. It is tempting to use the spring tension adjustment to solve problems—for example, in positive pressure situations where air flow is preventing the door from closing properly. However, the tighter you make the spring, the harder it will be to open the door. It is possible to tighten the spring tension so that some people will not be able to open the door. To adjust the door closer: Bring a step ladder tall enough so that you can easily reach the door closer from the second- or third-highest step. Climb the ladder and examine the closer. If you can't see adjustment screws, chances are the closer has a cover. Usually the cover is plastic, but it could also be metal.

If you see no fasteners holding the cover on, that means the cover is held on by tension. If you do see fasteners, usually you can loosen, but not remove, the fasteners and the cover will slide off. If you find that there is oil in the cover or oil on or leaking from the closer body, stop right now. You need a new door closer. If, however, it is not leaking, you can proceed. Now that you have the cover off, you should be able to see the adjustment screws. If you are lucky, they will be marked on the closer body as to what they are or there will be a diagram inside the cover. If not, you may have to experiment a little to see which is which. Remember, when it comes to turning door closer adjustment screws, a little goes a long way. Start with no more than 1/8 of a turn. Turn the adjustment screw clockwise to slow the door closer down, counter-clockwise to speed it up, then get down off the ladder and observe the effect. Open the door and watch it close. If it closes right the first time, check it 10 more times.

If it closes correctly every time, you're done. If not, go back up the ladder and make another adjustment, until the closer is doing what you want it to do. When it closes the way you want 10 times in a row, it will probably continue to do so. Ideally a non-delayed action door closer will close and latch the door in seven to eight seconds. If you expect a door closer to consistently close the door, the door must be able to close properly. If there is a hinge problem, a warped door, or the door must swing uphill to close, a door closer will only go so far to solve the problem. Sometimes a door must be repaired before it will close and lock automatically with a door closer. In vestibule conditions there is an exterior door, a small space, and then an interior door. The trapped air between the inside and outside door can be a factor in door closing. You may have to adjust both closers to get both to work correctly. Wherever air pressure is a factor, including negative or positive pressure situations, I have have been able to get door closers to close and latch the door consistantly by adjusting them to a slow swing-speed and a somewhat fast latch-speed.

The slow swing-speed seems to give the air a chance to get out of the way and the fast latch speed gives it a very slight slam at the end to make sure it latches. If the closer stops closing the door before it's closed all the way, or actually spings back when you try to manually shut the door, the arm is probably installed on the shaft incorrectly. Download the instructions from the door closer manufacturer's web site and see if it is installed correctly. If the arm makes noise and bounces up and down while the door is in motion, tighten the fasteners that hold the arm to the closer, to the header, and at the knuckle that holds the two parts of the arm together. When it's time to replace your door closer: If oil is leaking from your door closer, throw it away and buy a new one. If your door closer is slamming the door and cannot be adjusted to do otherwise, either the fluid has leaked out or the valve seals are worn out. Either way, your best option is to replace it.