Installing back door?

[Janeway]

Is this something you would feel you need to hire someone for? The frame is damaged so we have been advised to just replace the whole thing. The door had holes in it from the past owners having blinds on there, but that was just cosmetic. The frame issues need to be repaired as it is water damage from the outside. Anyway, point is, is this something where you would pay a contractor to do, or something you would do yourself? I have always been a do it yourself kind of person, but the employee at Home Depot said they would hire someone. But they were also a sales person.

What do you think?

[alisoncooks]

I'd do it myself. And by "myself," I mean my dad would do it for me. He's relatively handy but he's not in construction or anything like that. 

Eta: for me, DIY is born of necessity. We don't have the money to pay people to do "doable" things (like painting, tile work, replacing flooring, etc). Google teaches everything.  If I had money, I'd totally hire out. And I'd sit next to my pool, sipping an umbrella drink. 😉

Edited May 2, 2019 by alisoncooks

[hornblower]

I'd get a prehung one and DIY the whole frame + door. Doing just the door isn't impossible but it is harder (because houses are never square. It's relatively easy to shim the frame but fixing a door out of alignment is tougher).  

[itsheresomewhere]

How handy are you?  That will answer the question the best.

I would do it myself but I am handy and so is DH.  I would get a prehung one as most houses are not square.  Shimming a frame is easier than trying to fix a door that is out of alignment. 

[StephanieZ]

Easy peasey DIY, IME. 

We replaced the back door in our first house when I was 23 or so, and we knew very little about that sort of thing at the time. 

Just remove all the trim around the door, then it becomes easy to see where/how you remove the door and it's framing. You'll want to buy a pre-hung door for the new door if possible, as that's much, much easier than hanging the door yourself. 

You can put in new trim or re-install the removed trim if you have unique or nice trim and were able to remove it intact. 

Do it in good weather, and figure out how to blockade the kids/dogs/etc from escaping during the time you have the hole in the house. 🙂

[Katy]

I will build my own cabinets but I wouldn't mess with door framing.  Too much could go wrong if you don't get it water tight.

[theelfqueen]

We are hirers. Experts are often worth the money... plus the original builder of our house made weird decisions such as... our back door was a non standard size so we had to have changes made to install a new door - but professional installation has also come with lifetime warranty that we have had to use and been glad of! Plus we bought better doors through the private company than what we were seeing at Lowes/Home Depot. 

[gardenmom5]

if only the door was water damaged, we'd probably diy.  you can buy a door that is already in a frame. (make absolutely sure everything is PLUMB).   it that frame is water damaged - there is a real risk the wood the frame is being screwed into is also water damaged.  depending upon how bad - you might be able to get away with painting it with a water repellant - or you might need to replace the studs so it is structurally sound.  that's something you won't know until you get the drywall off.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I'd get on YouTube and watch a few videos about replacing pre-hung doors so that I'd understand how to make sure everything is squared up and plumb.  I know that if it's not, then the door won't swing correctly, may not shut correctly, may gap, etc, and I'd want to know how to adjust everything.  

If you plan to re-use the trim, take extra care not to damage it or the wall when you're prying it off.  (putting some kind of sheet metal behind the pry bar, like drywall scraper thingie, will protect the wall.  There's probably a youtube video for that as well.

After watching several videos, I'd decide whether it's in my realm of DIY.  

[almondbutterandjelly]

My dh is very handy, and he won't do exterior doors.  So my vote is hire someone.

[Miss Tick]

Last time I had an exterior for replaced we were having other work done on the house so I added that task. The door should have been standard but somehow wasn't? In the end they had to Sawsall the hole bigger and I was so, so, so glad we weren't trying to do it ourselves, because that would have been at least 24 hours with no front door, plus my mom was visiting. Awkward!

I agree with the YouTube suggestion and trim removal to really see what is going in. Then make your decision.

[marbel]

4 hours ago, perkybunch said:

My dh is very handy, and he won't do exterior doors.  So my vote is hire someone.

 

Same here. He can do a lot of things, but door frames can be very difficult if things are not straight.