| ALL AMERICAN EXTERIORS - PROFESSIONAL
REPLACEMENT DOOR CONTRACTORS IN CENTRAL IOWA |
 |
| One of the most common, and most
bothersome, small problems around the house is having a malfunctioning
entry door. If your door squeaks, sticks, or has other problems
opening or closing, it is often an issue several times a day
for anyone who lives in the house. Entry door repair is not
always an easy task, occasionally, it is not incredibly involved,
either. If you're tired of dealing with an offending door,
here are a few tips about door repair that might come in handy |
|
| Door
Repairs |
|
| Sticking or Swelling |
|
| Changes in temperature and humidity
can cause swelling, and subsequently sticking, of an entry
door. Repair for this situation will involve sanding down
or using a plane on the portion of the door that sticks and
causes friction. To identify where you need to sand, you can
slip a piece of carbon paper in the area where friction is
suspected and close the door; when you open it back up, the
area that needs to be sanded will be marked with ink. Once
you sand the area smooth, make sure to seal it up with varnish,
or you're likely to have even more moisture problems in the
future. |
|
| Sagging |
|
| A door will occasionally
sag under its own weight and bind in the doorframe. If the
situation isn't corrected, it will worsen over time until
it's virtually impossible to open or close the door. Sanding
the upper door edge is only a temporary fix because the door
will continue to sag. Instead, remove the screws from the
upper hinge leaf that's attached to the doorjamb and replace
them with three-inch decking screws. The screws will pass
through the jamb and reach deep into the jack stud of the
rough opening. Tighten the screws just enough to pull back
the door a little bit. Be careful not to over tighten them
or you'll bow the jamb and distort the swing of the door. |
|
| Drafty Entry Door Repairs |
|
| Especially in colder climates,
a drafty entry door can make a room that would be perfectly
comfortable into a far less pleasant place. Two very common
solutions to this problem are adding weather stripping or
installing a storm door. Weather stripping comes in a few
different varieties, and can be installed in a couple different
ways. When done properly, it limits the draft by 90%, that
is cost-effective and quick way to a savings in energy cost.
Installing a storm door can make a huge difference when it
comes to protecting your entry door, however, it will do very
little towards blocking drafts, and when the weather gets
warmer, a storm door fitted with a screen can allow a great
deal of air circulation without letting in bugs. |
|
| Hiring a Professional for Door
Repair |
|
| Entry door repair is
a project that generally doesn't take too much time, especially
for an experienced professional. If you're not the do-it-yourself
type, you may want to hire a professional to come and do the
job for you. Even folks with some experience in fixing things
around the house might want to call our service department
for door repair and group it together with a few other odd
projects. Make sure to let the us know when you contact us
about each individual project you need done, as this will
allow us to come to your home prepared, and allot enough time
for your job. |
|
| Common Styles of Doors |
|
| Hinged Doors— The most traditional
door is still the standard but may not be practical if the
door swing interferes with the room's space. You'll also want
to carefully consider which way the doors will swing. For
double hinged doors, you may want to have each door open into
a different room. |
|
| Sliding Doors—
Sliding doors come in their own different styles. Pocket doors
slide into spaces in the wall. Bypass doors slide by one another
and can work especially well in three section panels. |
|
| Folding Doors— These doors
combine the mechanisms of hinged and sliding doors. They open
and close like an accordion. If you like the dynamics of hinged
doors but have an opening too wide for conventional hinged
doors, folding doors can be the way to go. |
|
| Door
Ideas |
|
| Your entry door may
be the first door a visitor sees, but it also has to endure
the hardships of the weather. An interior door can be a more
decorative material at a more reasonable price. Interior wood
doors don't need to have the same premium grade and exotic
softwoods that would be impractical for exterior doors can
add the ambiance you're looking for. Privacy is also less
of an issue for some interior doors, allowing you to choose
a decorative glass door in some areas of your home. |
|
| Interior Wood Doors |
|
| Even interior wood
doors aren't cheap, but they won't break the bank and are
often cheaper than their exterior wood counterparts. While
you can still achieve the warmth of wood doors, the heavy-duty
solid wood doors typical of exterior doors are often unnecessary,
unless you are concerned about noise control, or just plain
like the feel and weight of a solid wood door as you use it.
|
|
| Interior Glass Doors |
|
| Glass doors are easily
broken and usually aren't the best idea for exterior doors.
Interior glass doors, on the other hand, can bring a polished
decorative element that even wood doors struggle to compete
with. You can choose between different degrees of transparency
and opaqueness to meet your demands and preferences. The most
luxurious interior glass doors are still encased in a wood
frame but still offer the distinct look of decorative glass.
Choose the glass pattern carefully. Something too ornate may
simply be distracting, but you still want your doors to stand
out. |
|
| Interior Door Styles |
|
| Expanding your options for interior
doors is about more than just a reduced need for durability.
Different styles create doors that will make your living space
more versatile. French doors encapsulate many kinds of doors
that can open between two adjacent rooms and nurture an open
mental landscape. Closed, these doors give you two distinct
rooms that allow multiple household members. |
