This dump once had security (and an ancient WAN/LAN router or switch) out the yazoo - security system, bars on doors and windows - haven’t found concealed firearms (yet).
The problem was the bars - there are 2 old Al sliding “Patio” doors which never got cleaned on the outside - and have spray residue of some sort which is NOT water soluble, will not respond to 1000 grit emery cloth, various solvents, etc.
One is 6’ wide, the other 8’ and permanently hazed.
Would love to replace with French Doors.
This is stucco on the exterior (and, apparently ONLY stucco - no sheathing, 2/x4 wall, sheetrock interior.
Would it be practical to smash the things and man-handle the new doors into place?
Home Depot parking-lot labor could get it onto/off a truck, but I don’t want/can’t afford real skilled labor for something this scale.
Would a pre-framed and hung wooden/vinyl 10-lite per side doors in such dimensions be of sufficient rigidity to knock out the old units. place 1/4’s across the inside of the openings and just “scoot” the doors into the framing?
Anybody have experience with such units?
Every once in a while a unit is ordered but ends up unusable (and non-returnable).
Is this even remotely possible?
Mods - sorry, meant for IMHO
You need a good solid frame to hold that prehung door. If it’s off in any direction you’ll end up with problems. Get the old door out, put in new framing, check for straight and level horizontally and vertically, and do the string test by running taut strings from diagnonal corners. If the strings don’t touch in the middle it’s still not right.
I just put in a new front door. I’m getting old, that’s the last door I want to do, I’ll pay the pros from now on.
I fear you’re well over your head here. If you’re thinking of smashing, manhandling and scooting the doors, you’re in for a really bad day. Prices will obviously vary depending on where you are, the kind/size of door and any other work needed, but $350 seems to be a good ballpark figure for labor.
I helped a friend who is a general contractor put a set of french doors in my house a few years ago, and it’s more of a gentle surgical approach to remove the inside casing and trim, the outside trim/brickmold, disassemble and lift out the glass panels and then remove the old door’s frame. Check the new hole in the side of my house for square and dimension, trim-out the rough opening to be a better fit and repair the partially rotted bits. Put the new frame in place, checking for plumb/level/square, shimming as needed, put the doors in, test operation, adjust if needed, install trim, paint and caulk.
This took most of the afternoon for someone who does it for a living. A site called DIYorNot says a home handyman can expect to need 9-10 hours.
For the 8’ door, I was given a price of $800/side to replace the (double-glazed) glass - and that was from a fellow who had just screwed up replacing the glass in a window.I suppose Ill keep an eye out for surplus units and then see what the existing framing looks like.
I have a recip and am unafraid of smashing a few hundred pounds of glass - luckily, the existing doors are little BUT glass, so chopping the Al frame is nothing.
The new units can be counted on to have nailing flanges, right?
A horizontal 2x8 about 1/2" above the sill and secured to the door’s framing should provide something to grab onto, should a side need to be raised - it’s just the shear brute force of moving such a monster (and no, I am nowhere skilled enough to build the units in place).
Oh well, this is another of those projects I won’t live long enough…