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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsIt just took me 8 hours to hang a door.
Yep, 8 freakin' hours.
1.5 hours to get the old door and jamb out of the hole.
1.0 hours to clean up some 60 year old crap that made its way under and behind the old door jamb. I actually think it was a dead mouse from the 50's that turned to some type of gelatinous substance and then hardened.
1.0 hours to go to the big box for a tool.
1.0 hours to figure out how to use the tool.
1.0 hours to clean up the blood from a finger cut of unknown origin that I was spraying on the walls before I noticed it because my blood thinner makes me bleed half to death if I even think about a sharp object.
0.5 hours to feel around because I was sure I gave myself a hernia lifting the door and jamb unit (over 100 pounds).
1.0 hours to shim and hang the door.
1.0 hours to rid my garage of sawdust.
Yep, 8 hours for a door. But that's probably not too bad, considering that I'm kind of stupid. And old. I'm old too.
True Dough
(17,095 posts)And fingers crossed that your finger heals quickly!
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)My floor is horribly out of level, side-to-side, jamb to jamb...so I just cut the jamb down on the high side. That keeps the top jamb level, and everything works good after that.
Thanks for the well wishes on the finger. It might take a couple of stitches...I'll take another look at it in the morning.
safeinOhio
(32,531 posts)No house was ever built square.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)I helped a friend build a house in the 90's. Stick built from the ground up. Laid out roof rafters in lieu of using trusses. We did pretty good as far as getting walls and floors plumb and level. We had an older friend who was a master carpenter building the stair cases, so he told us some tricks to get everything reasonable (3-4-5 triangle rule for squareness, etc.)...but it still wasn't perfect...but close enough.
My house is so out of whack, I think some drunk pre-teens built it.
Freddie
(9,232 posts)Last year we bought a refrigerator that would *just* fit the space provided. Nope. The one walk was not straight towards the ceiling. DH had to shave 1/4 off the counter to get it to fit. Not an old house either, built in 1998.
shanny
(6,709 posts)Well done.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Rorey
(8,445 posts)I haven't had a lot of time to be here lately, but you had some of us worried because we didn't know where you were. Perhaps you already gave an explanation, but, whatever the case, it's good to *see* you.
Don't feel too bad about it taking so long to get the door hung. I asked my husband to build a simple house for an outside cat. It took him THREE DAYS. It was basically just a box about 2 feet by 4 feet with a hinged top and two doorways (no door). You know that "measure twice, cut once" rule? Well, he measures over and over and over........ He stands and stares at the project for long lengths of time too. Drives me crazy.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)but I guess I have! I think I posted in GD a few times recently, but I would have to look. Thanks for noticing!
I understand where your husband is coming from. A lot of it probably has to do with him being a perfectionist? Also, he may be apprehensive about ruining a piece of material and then having the cost and hassle of having to get more. Speaking from my own experience, next time just tell him that you would be really happy if he just scabbed together something that is functional, and you will relieve him of his inner angst!
Rorey
(8,445 posts)Yes, he's a perfectionist when it comes to constructing something. It's highly unlikely that I'll be making any requests of him. We'll be living in different zip codes very soon.
Rorey
(8,445 posts)I wasn't the only one to notice. Some of us are quite amused by some of your posts.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)I'm the only one who laughs at my crap. haha
House of Roberts
(5,122 posts)in a historic district. We are mostly finished outside with some trim left to apply.
Inside, this house is seldom square and plumb, so eight hours to hang a door sounds about right.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)More character in my opinion. I bet your house looks nice. My floors are so out of level that a marble would roll around forever on them.
Rorey
(8,445 posts)I can roll a toy ball to one of the cats and it goes all over the place. It has distressed my husband because he laid the hardwood (with help), but I think it's hilarious.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Also, I bruised terribly when I first started them. Even though the one I take is traditionally used to prevent heart attacks, I take mine as a preventive because they found a piece of plaque that had dislodged from somewhere and lodged itself into my retina. If it had decided to go further north, I would have had a stroke, so the doc put me on this.
Do you mind me asking which one you take?
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)It also has the mixture boring commercial. While people on other drugs do fun things or go to exotic destinations, apparently Brilinta just leaves you in your own kitchen to make a smoothie.
(cardiac stent)
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Heck, I built a 90 sq ft shed from scratch, and the absolute most infuriating thing about its construction was hanging the damned door. You would think that a brand new building would have nice angles. Not so when it comes to finicky doors.
BTW: I got to buy a tool for putting up siding that I really liked. Buying tools is the fun part of any project.
Check this out:
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Good color choice too!
The tool was a Ryobi 15 gauge battery powered nail gun. Takes 34 degree collated nails. I'm used to air compressor nail guns, and I've never used a battery powered finish nailer before. Came in useful today...15 gauge nails are more like a true finish nail thickness.
Yes, doors are a pain in the neck because you run across something different with each one. Doors are one of those things that most people, myself included, take for granted, but there are a million things you have to consider when you hang one.
Really nice job on your shed.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)I have never used a nail gun (I screwed that shed together, and it is NOT going anywhere). Man, I need to come up with another project! I do, however, get to buy a lot of cool tools to use fixing my car (including a welder).
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)I've taken a mild interest in welding lately though, and have been watching some youtube videos. I never used a nail gun in my life until I did my kitchen a few years ago, now I love them.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,750 posts)and I probably should be, or remind myself this is why I hire such projects out to other people.
For one thing, given that despite my screen name I'm a female, age 70, I could not possibly have hauled the door around, so I will salute your patience, ingenuity, and work ethic.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)I just texted a contractor friend of mine to see if he will install the remaining two doors, with my help. They are just too heavy for one person to be slinging around.
rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)And on top of that you have a old home that has moved over time, which means you have to be good at door installation, and good at working with old homes. 8 hours seems right to me.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)The hardest part for me is as follows:
Even though a pre-hung door can be made perfectly square, the rough opening walls in an old house are usually not vertical in a front to back direction, and this messes me up when it comes to installing the door without having a lot of cross-leg, while still getting the casing to look good (no gaps between casing and jamb) on both sides. You have to kind of balance out the cross-leg and the requirements for the jamb edge to be close to the wall edge (or slightly wider).
drray23
(7,587 posts)I've got tons of screws, etc.. yet I never have the right thing when in the middle of a project. Hardware store is 20 miles away..
BlueSpot
(851 posts)Was it cattle rustling or something?
KT2000
(20,544 posts)that is usually how it goes. At least it didn't go into the next day.