I liked the article in the latest FHB about building screen doors, it’s the type article I’d like to see more of in the magazine. But the photo of Andy, on page 64 caught my eye. I usually hang screen doors to hinge from the same side of the jamb as the entry door. Is that different from what other folks do? Seems like you’d lose space through the opening if you hinge them opposite, like that photo shows. Or maybe there’s a specific reason for hanging them opposite? What say you?
By the way, great looking entry door.
Replies
Jim
I noticed that also.
A friend of mine is buy a home that needs a lot of updating. She was complaining about that very thing. Nowever, in her caes it looks like it is best that way. The door *might* be reversed, but it would be a tight fit with that stair landing.
And on the outside the stoop is narrow and had an iron railing. If the screen opened the other way you would be trapped on the stoop.
But it looked like in Andy's case that there nothing limited the swing of the screen door.
Bill
PS, that is a good way to get a new door <G>
Most door jambs with brick mold will accomadate a stormdoor and it's handle when the door is hinged on the same door. but it will be close. depending on your hardware. Some locksets have a lower profile. the standard being about 2 1/4" I generally try to keep the storm handle higher.
However as far as a rule for which side the door hinges on, It depends on everything but Which side the door hinges on. i haven't read the FHB article, but this is what i do.
I always try to hang it on the most comfortable side. Not always an option. Some times you have to make concessions for those who really want that door, but don't want to tear apart their current entry door. to fix it right.
Is the threshold out of level?
Is the swing area in front of the door area flat , how wil it allowthe door to open ?
Is there a wall or porch rail in the way ?
Which way does the North wind hit the door?
Most of the newer high end doors are reversable , which is good.
My wife's old apartment from before we got married had the screen door on the opposite side. It was a real pain in the tush. You're doing it right by keeping the hinges on the same side for both.
-- J.S.
I just want to make the point that personally, I agree with you, John when you are doing it right. But you don't always have that option
jb,
In my neck o the woods, and pretty much everywhere else I've lived, it's typical to hinge the screen and entry doors to the same jamb.
However, in my own house (addition going on this fall, designing it now) I'll have one where the screen and entry are opposite. The doors run from the kitchen to the patio on the rear (lake side) of the house. The reason these hinges will be "flipped" is ease of access to each door from inside and outside the house as well as traffic patterns in and outside the house.
On initial paper layout, passage through the doors seemed odd or awkward with the doors hinged on the same jamb. As soon as we flipped the hinges, going through the doors made better sense.
New issue? There's a new issue out? Hmmm. You think there'd be some advantage living near Newtown. Timely magazine delivery doesn't seem to be one of them.<g>
Stop in for lunch, Mongo, and I'll give you a copy.
There was a big debate over which way to hang that door. SWMBO wanted it the other way, but I prevailed for once because all of the traffic on the front porch comes from the left. If we'd hung it the other way, we'd have had to walk around the screen door every time we entered. I always thought to keep the hinges on the same side too, but this setup has turned out to work just fine.
Andy Engel, The Accidental Moderator
There's no hard and fast rule. In ordere of importance, the things I look at in making that decision;
> The prevailing wind/ storm direction. Unless you want job security as a screen door replacement specialist.
>> The traffic pattern. Existing railings, steps, etc. can perdetermine which way is easiest to get through.
>>>What the customer wants. I still try to convince'm when they're wrong but sometimes I have to leet nature do it for me. Then it's back to the job security thing again.
If you hang it on the jam opposite the hinges, will there be any issues about damaging or warping the jam later on? (I imagine not) The hinge side of the jam has all the blocking or shims, or at least should have, to reinforce the hinge points of the door, so I would imagine that it is stronger. I have taken off door cases and torn down walls with doors, and the last thing standing often was the hinge side, due to, I guess, its greater strength. (This could be the way I was demo'ing, but I was just curious.)
Jay, I shim a jamb on both sides, the way it should be. Some guys don't use any shims at all and let the casing hold'er in place.
In any event, I doubt the weight of a screen door will pull a jamb loose.Excellence is its own reward!
I haven't hung a screen door yet that didn't sag. Maybe I'm just a hack, but I always put a turnbuckle rod thing on the inside of the door up towards the top hinge...anybobody got a more elegant way...we always hinge 'em on the same side as the door unless the specs are otherwise,,,
I don't remember having any sag, but I've built quite a few and I've had the grain break, right next to the glue line on the latch side. I think it's probably from the concussion caused by that danged spring, plus, that's one application where VG is probably not the best material. Now I install a closer on any I build for customers, or I won't warrenty the door. People can be awfully rough on those things and they're only an inch thick.
I had a couple problems with dowelled joints failing until I switched to 6" dowells, too. No such problems since. We usually use a spring ball catch as a latch and cabinet pulls for handles. You?Brinkmann for president in '04
My proudest is a pair with "T" Astragal. 1-1/4" thick. 42" wide by seven feet high. 4-1/4" stiles to match some Marvin French Doors.
Vertical grain Fir with dowels and epoxy at joints, closers at top and bottom. Bronze pulls from a boat supplier for handles.
No sag since maybe 1998 or 97 when we did it.Excellence is its own reward!
I built one for a friend in the early 90s out of Red Oak that has a removable storm window panel. We see her all the time and that door is holding up great.
Another I built about the same time has an arched top and raised panels below the waist high rail to match the entry door behind it. That one was VG Fir (have to bow my head when I say that) and it's still holding up fine.
Those were probably the two fanciest I ever built, although I did build a pair with an astrigal for a friend's farmhouse in Rochester. Those folks bought a farm back in Wisconsin, so I haven't seen how they stood the test of time. They weren't anything special, like yours sound though, Piffin.
Yeah, geez, I probably can make 5...maybe even 6 bucks an hour building screen doors. But it sure is fun. Don't see many wooden ones out this way. I really enjoy that, building something special like that for people I know.
Brinkmann for president in '04
If you're trying to compete with a door factory, you will only make minimum wages but when A customer wants a special door, it becomes custom work just like any other job I do at top dollar.Excellence is its own reward!
what kind of warranty do you give on your screen doors Piffin?
Same warranty as all my work - If anything goes wrong because of something I did wrong, I back it up.
I don't see callbacks or warrantee work as something to fear or avoid. Since I'm a perfectionist, more or less, I get very few calll backs to begin with but when I get one, I respond as soon as possible. It becomes a marketing opportunity because the impression they get from the fast response is more valuable than any other advertising I can invest in. Most always, when I'm there, They ask me to also take care of something else I can bill for or they recommend me to a neighbor and the referal works out.
Excellence is its own reward!
I don't build 'em, I just install what builders bring me, and they all sag. We use a knob and lever handle (Ives makes one), with Stanley spring loaded screen door hinges. The turnbuckle runs up the bottom section of the door from latch side to hinge side. What do you guys do for protection from dog and little gremlin attacks?
Actually, now that I think of it, I did build my own screen door once out of half lapped , glued and screwed 2x4s, never sagged...most of what I hang is for screen porches, why not a thicker door, sure would give a better bang for the buck!
Pet screen. That frikkin' stuff is indestructable, man.
Brinkmann for president in '04
Petscreen: expensive too! It always reminds me of my favorite Bluegrass Band "the Screendoor Chicken Peckers".
I've noticed that Screen doors that I have removed, from screen porches. tend to have a shorter lifetime than those on a door. Anybody else have any thing to say about that.
Petscreen? Did I mention I was a hack? Whut is petscreen? 'nwhere do I gets it?
Yeah. What the snort dood said.
I've got a cat that wants in when she wants in. Or out...
I keep threatening to kick her little butt whenever I catch her picking at the screen with her claws, but still, I don't expect the screen to live a long, natural life.Quittin' Time
Pet screen? It's similar to fiberglass screen, but way tougher. I think it might have nylon fibers, or something because it's tough in a serious way. You can't tear it with your hands, even if you start at an edge at really try.
Another really nice thing about it is that ultra violet rays don't break it down like they do fiberglass...you know how fiberglass gets kind of fuzzy after a few years? Not this stuff, at least according to Larry, at Yelm Glass. I've been talking shop with him for as long as I can remember and I can't remember him ever b.s.ing me.
There is a negative to pet screen though. Because the fibers are heavier, the openings between them are quite a bit tighter than regular window screen, so it does block...I'd say...maybe 40 or 50% more light from coming through.
It's not that expensive, about the same price as aluminum. I still really like aluminum for windows, and fiberglass for doors, but for customers with pets, that danged pet screen is great. You spline it in, just like fiberglass.
They sell it at our local glass shop. I'd be surprised if the big box stores didn't sell it, but I've never checked. Surely you guys will be able to find it if you ask around a little, no problem.
Hey, 'snort, send me your snail mail address, will ya? I got some alder here with your name on it.
Brinkmann for president in '04
> I'd be surprised if the big box stores didn't sell it, but I've never checked.
I got some at HD here in LA.
-- J.S.
No pet screen on my door, just a coil from an old Farmall wired across it. <G>Andy Engel, The Accidental Moderator
ROFLMFAO
I suppose it works just as well for rugrats ???
: )Quittin' Time
Petscreen? And here I've been using expanded metal lath all these years!No problems, only opportunities.
I thought of that. Even have some that might work. But I hate the idea of having to cover the whole screen door, inside and out with it.
If she can't bugger the screen from the outside, she can still do so from the inside, if I don't cover inside as well. And if I cover only the bottom half, she will climb that to the upper half.
With screen made especialy for the purpose, I don't have to worry about it. And I won't have the closing problems associated with having all that extra material sandwiched between the door and the screendoor. (I live in a trailer. The screendoor is inside of the regular door. Yes, I'm trailer trash. LOL)
Quittin' Time
Have you ever thought about electrifying the door? One good zap and Kitty won't do that again. I can just see it now the neighbours drive by and say "Look Martha the neighbours have a cute kitty porch light".
Now before the dog lovers out there start yelling yeah!!!! and the cat lovers start giving me the gears. I must make it quite clear that I love all animals, I just thought this was a funny visual.
the Petscreen i used was stainless. heavy duty! I bought mine from Cumberland Wood Products, it came in one of their Victorian Storm Doors. not too cheap. Special Order.
Home Depot used to carry it in this area, no longer does. I am told Lowes now stocks it. Or you can contact the company direct and ask for a local suppier. http://www.ny-wire.com
New York Wire Company
152 N. Main StreetMt. Wolf, PA 17347Voice (717) 266-5626Fax (717) 266-5871