Door Replacement: Upgrade your Front Door

By Matt Weber

Kick Out the Jambs.. A triple-threat entryway upgrade gives a front door a fresh new look.

The first thing someone sees when walking into a home is its entryway. To leave a positive first impression, the front door is an ideal area to focus on curb appeal. The entryway of our project house had three problems: an outdated door design, a poor seal and an old screen door in disrepair. To address this issue, we gave the front door a triple-duty upgrade by installing a new front door, a new storm door and a decorative trim package.

Front Door Replacement

Not only was the style of the existing front door outdated, but someone had improperly trimmed the lower edge of the door so it would not make a good seal around the jamb. Furthermore, the construction of the old door didn’t offer near the insulation as today’s energy-efficient models. As such, anytime you walked past the door during the winter, there was an ever-present pocket of cold air on the interior of the entryway.

We replaced the door with one of Therma-Tru’s Benchmark series of pre-hung fiberglass doors, available at Lowe’s. Not only did the mahogany finish and oval window give the decor a much needed shot in the arm, but the home’s energy efficiency was greatly improved, completely eliminating that troublesome cold spot.

First step in door replacement is to pop the door off the hinges and set it aside to eliminate most of the weight from the jamb. If there’s a screen/storm door in place, get rid of it, too.

Cut loose any screws along the jamb with a recip saw.

First step is to remove the old door from its hinges, so you only have to wrestle with the jamb.

Pry away the old casing and run a recip saw between the jamb and wall framing on both sides to cut loose any fasteners. Then, pry away the brick moulding with a flat bar. Removal of the brick mould should eliminate most of the fasteners, allowing you to tilt out the old door jamb. You may have to pry up the sill if it’s been glued to the floor.

Pull out the old door jamb.

Then, pry away the brick mould.