How To: Fitting a New Mobile Home Door

So, you’ve decided that you need a new mobile home door. Either your old one was damaged or drafty, or it’s just time for a new look. Whatever the case, I’m here to help you find and fit your brand new door. Before you begin, you’ll need to decide between the two main styles of mobile home doors: out-swing and combination style. It’s mostly a matter of preference as the installation is similar for each.

Before you begin assemble the following:

• Cordless Power Drill
• 1/4in hex-head bit
• Phillips-head bit
• 3/4in putty tape
• Putty knife
• 1-1/2in hex-head screws
• Wood shims

1. Size it up

On both styles of mobile home door, you’re going to measure from the outside of the casing on each side. Do this from the inside. This will determine the size of the rough opening in the wall. If you have a combination style door, you’ll need to remove the trim from around the jamb. Doors are sized in 2in increments, so you should round up slightly to find the size you need. If you’re going with a new combination door, also measure the depth of the rough opening. To determine if you have a right or left-hand hinge, stand on the outside of the door and see what side the hinge is on.

2. Unpack

When your new door arrives, remove all the packaging but leave the shipping clips in place. Keep the door closed and locked, too. It’ll be much easier to handle if it’s not opening up and flopping around.

3. Putty Tape

Make sure the rough opening is clean of any residue from the old door. Next, run your new putty tape around the inside of the flange on the door. Once it’s in place, remove the paper backing and place the door in the rough opening and make sure it sits flush. Use your putty knife to finesse the tape and tuck it in under the flange if it pushes out.

4. Begin securing the flange

Put the first three screws in the pre-punched holes on the hinge side of the flange. Then do the same on the lock side. Then put the remaining screws in, beginning with the hinge side, then the lock side. Then, if you have an out-swing door, secure the door sill, skip this if you have a combination door. Last, secure the header of the door with screws.

5. Finishing touches

You can now remove the shipping clips and let the door open. Install any door hardware like locks, safety chains, and damper shocks for the storm door. If you have an out-swing mobile home door, you’re already done. If you’re using a combination style door, you may need to shim the door frame inside the rough opening and put a few long screws through the jamb into the frame of the rough opening. Once the door is shimmed, reinstall the interior trim that you removed when you measured.

That’s it! You can step back and enjoy your handiwork. It’s a fairly simple process and only takes about an hour just for installation. If the mobile home door that you selected can be painted, feel free to do that to add a splash of color to your home. You’ve now got a much better door that is solid and won’t let drafts in.

Tags: mobile home door

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2015 at 2:26 pm and is filed under DIY Project Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.