Mildly Amusing

Today I did more online reading about building your own door frames, and for fun, installing pre-hung doors.  I also watched a handful of videos of installations.  The first thing they all said to do?  Put a level on your header, and make sure that it is, indeed, level before you attach your new door frame to it.

Header?  Yeah.  I don't have one of those.

I can see clear through to the other side, no obstruction .  Guess I'll be doing a bit of retro-fitting... Probably not the last time.

Stepping Up to the Edge

Two days after proclaiming that I am taking the door frame plunge, I've still just put my big toe in the water.  My suit is dry.  But I've done more research, more questions have been asked and answered, more decisions made, and now I'm firmly committed to a plan.  I am not sheetrocking the entire wall and I am building my own door frames. 

Yesterday I got out my big Do It Yourself hardcover book my very handy sister (she even does her own plumbing!) gave me for my housewarming and read about hanging doors.  Picked up a few good tips.

Then I went to Home Depot to look at pre-hung doors.  A part of me admitted that if they suited my needs and were reasonably priced (they were -- about $60) I may relent and buy one instead of building one, but there were many reasons they were wrong: 

1)  The jamb wasn't wide enough so I'd still have the same issue;

2)  The wood that the jamb was made of was pieced and not matching -- clearly meant to be painted not stained;

3)  The door was hollow (which seems to equate poor quality) and just a plain flat box -- not the style of the house;

4)  The hinges were brass, not brushed nickel.  Granted, those could be changed out, but it's additional hassle and expense.

It was a worthwhile trip, though because I could examine the whole gizmo closely with an eye on re-creating it at home.  Again, I'll say, gosh, it doesn't look like there is that much to it -- but I am positive that I must be missing the finer details and underestimating the required engineering...

I had a guy in the door section of Home Depot answering my questions and trying to troubleshoot with me, and eventually he said, "Are you doing all this work yourself?"  I replied that I was.*  His reply"  "Wow.  That's cool."  (Which from my perspective sounded like, "Wow.  You're crazy.") 

Red asked me if I plan to re-hang the doors that are currently hung.  You know, re-hang the white ones with 81 years of paint on them into my new beautifully stained door frames?  Unfortunately, yes, that's my plan for now.  I do plan to learn how to make interior doors, but it just too freakin' hot outside to spent that much time outdoors right now.  I thought about just not putting all the doors back up -- but that's probably not realistic.  I need the bedroom door for the dog/alarm system, I need the bathroom door for obvious reasons, the swinging kitchen door (I know, I know:  swinging.  Won't THAT one be a fun one to tackle?  I'm in total denial about that one) I need for the dog -- so ultimately that wouldn't be a workable plan.  I'm also toying with the idea of pocket doors or sliding barn doors... but I haven't devoted enough thought to them yet to have an intelligent conversation about them. 

I'll admit that the project is a tiny bit daunting. But I'll just as readily say that I am positive that I can figure it out. (Thanks mom, thanks dad -- somehow you raised me to have such confidence!)  And this guy assures me that it's all in a day's work on the job site -- and just look how happy he is!

* Unless I can make it appear so intriguing that Red can't resist jumping in.

Taking the Plunge

I've stood around and stared at my door frame and associated door jamb several times in the last few days.  Sounds exciting doesn't it?  Well, it IS sort of hot here... and staring at a door jamb and thinking is about the peak level of activity you can do without sweating.

The upshot is that I've decided to take the plunge and take on the whole door jamb replacement.  My famous last words -- it just doesn't look like it would be that difficult.

My next steps?

1)  Dig around in my memory bank and in my shop and determine what stain I used on the baseboards to ensure that the trim matches.  There's a chance I wrote it down in my "home book" that I keep.  If not, I know I have some leftover stain cans in the shop, and some leftover pieces of lumber, so I'll do a few test pieces and see what matches.

2)  Now that I have a new plan of attack, I need to re-evaluate the need for sheetrock filler.  I think I will still need it. 

A tiny part of me is tempted to go ahead and re-sheetrock the whole wall, and put in insulation at the same time. With just filling in the gap I'm still going to have the unfortunate sheetrock seam right along side the new trim.  And while I'm told that interior walls rarely have insulation, I'd like some just for noise insulation.  Of course that brings up the whole wall texturing issue... Oy.  But my walls have minimal texture anyway, and...?  Uff da.  I don't know about that part.  (And don't they sell something you mix into your paint for minimal texture?  Couldn't I just do that?)

3)  Buy the estimated project supplies -- just a starter supply -- a few pieces of lumber, the minimum purchase of sheetrock, tape, etc.  My hope is to not have the door frame disassembled for days and days.  If I can have supplies ready, I hope to minimize the chaos.  (Yeah, you can start laughing now.)

4)  Put up about a hundred drop cloths to protect my bedroom chandeliers and bedding from dust. Complete demolition...remove door in a fashion where I have some hope of being able to re-hang it.  Pay special attention to where and how door hanging hardware is installed...  Take photos!  Save all the pieces!

5)  Figure out what the re-assembly process will be.  Measure.  Measure again.

6)  Rip, sand, and stain lumber. Build.  Re-hang door.... Clean up.  Admire.  Possibly brag.

I'll really have the process down to a science by the time I complete all my doors.  I could probably hire myself out on my street doing trim/jamp replacement for the next several months...

Door Frame Dilemma

I was all excited last night for a trip to Home Depot to get sheetrock and related supplies, and some 1"x4"s in anticipation of starting the installation of the new door frame trim in my bedroom.  Red came over and we stood in front of the trimless door frame to conjure up a plan.  Hmmm.

We concluded that when the trim and sheetrock was originally installed (we shall not guess what year that was...) that the trim was installed first, and then they sheetrocked around it.  Having done it that way means that the sheetrock butts up against the edge of the trim, as opposed to the trim laying on top of the sheetrock.

This photo shows that the trim was 3.5" inches wide -- precisely the gap left between the door jamp and the edge of the sheetrock. (The measure shows 4, but you can see that my tape wasn't flush against the jamb on the left.)

I want the trim to go on top of the sheetrock so that I get a cleaner look.  My plan was to add a vertical strip of sheetrock and then affix the trim on top of that.  But when I do that, the sheetrock bumps my trim out away from the jamb and gives me a gap.  Here I am holding a scrap piece of 1"x 6" up along the door for illustration (my finished trim will not be that wide.)

And, the resulting gap on the side

We talked about moving the door jamb over/out to match the sheetrock, but that only leaves me with the same issue on the other side of the door. 

Also complicating things is that I was going to use 1"x4"s for the trim -- which in reality would give me the 3.5" trim.  But that isn't wide enough to cover up the would-be new sheetrock seam; the seam would be right next to the edge of the trim.  Does that matter?  Maybe not.  Is it optimal?  Definitely not.  So I may have to rip 1"x6" into 4" trim and have my trim a bit wider than I wanted.  (My baseboards are 6" but I think that would look too heavy around doors.)

Then Red suggested since I'll be ripping the boards anyway, to rip a narrow piece to insert behind the trim to fill the gap.  Here I am holding a random block of wood up to illustrate (obviously the final product would be the same stain... ahem.)

Yes, for a while it will be natural wood trim against a painted door jamb; not the most asethetically pleasing scenario, but hey it's a work in progress.  I don't know how to build new doors and jambs yet... although perhaps I should tackle all that now... hmmm.

We also talked through whether or not pulling down all the sheetrock on that wall and re-sheetrocking it would solve the problem, but it doesn't seem to.  When we arrive at the door frame, we're in the same situation.

We also talked about re-building the door jamb, and using a 1"x 8" rather a 1"x 6"... or possibly ripping it down so that it's 1" x 7" -- but then I'm back to doing the door jambs and doors before I am really ready for all that. 

Do all doors (pun intended) lead to just a total door trim, door jamb and new door project on a doorway by doorway basis vs. doing the trim now and the jambs and new doors later?  Inquiring minds want to know.



About that De-Cluttering...

Speaking of downsizing and de-cluttering...

The last time I visited one of my sisters she was radically cleaning out clutter and downsizing in preparation for a 9 month backpacking trip across several countries.  I knew her trip was on the horizon, although it was several months away.

When I got back to Dallas and unpacked, I found a little framed item that she had stashed in my suitcase when I wasn't looking.  It held some quotes credited to Don Miguel Ruiz.  I realized that during my visit I had remarked that I really liked the quotes, and that they really spoke to me.  She apparently had decided that I should have them!  I was so touched by her thoughtfulness...  I don't have a lot of knick knack items in my house (I loathe dusting) so I removed the quotes from the frame and taped them to my bathroom mirror.  I do love their sentiments, and I really do find they serve as good daily reminders for me.  It's a little bit of clutter on my mirror, but it's okay.

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally

Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best

Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

                                                                                      ~~ Don Miguel Ruiz