DIY Network

Going In & Out: Interior Doors and a Miscommunication From "Home IQ" episode DHIQ-108

Figure A

The front doors are in and the back patio doors are sliding smoothly, and the homeowners are happy thus far. Now it's time to concentrate on the interior doors.

• With more than 30 doorways in the Oberg home, there's a lot to think about when it comes to interior doors. Just like the exterior doors, the planning for the interior doors also begins early in the home-building process.

• On the plans doorways are marked with a break in the wall lines (figure A), and a pie shape will indicate which way the door opens.
  

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  	Figure B
  	Figure C

• Even though the interior doors are specified on the plans, they are not written in stone. In fact, during the framing phase of the construction the homeowners can change their minds, but each change can result in more money being spent.

• During the framing stage Brad and Lynn took a tour of the second story of their home to discuss the access doors to the attic. Since these doors divide insulated living spaces from non-insulated storage spaces, the doors must be insulated in order to provide an air barrier.

• Once the framing is complete all work on the doors stops until the drywall is installed. At this point the door supplier is called in, and he or she walks through the house and notes each opening and assigns it a number (figure B). The following is noted:
  1. Size of the door.

  2. Which way the door swings.

  3. Where the hinge will go.

  4. The number of the actual door for the site supervisor for future references.

     These numbers also help the carpenters when they go to install the doors.

• There are many different variables that impact the direction of the door swing, and some are determined when the plans are drawn up and others are determined on-site. Closets can get tricky according to where the shelves will be installed. For example, sometimes the door will swing out in order to have more shelf space.

• The site supervisor has a walk through the house with the door supplier to go over everything and make sure no there's no confusion so the door order can be completed. Unfortunately, during the walk through of the Oberg home, a stumbling block was discovered. On the spec sheet six-panel doors (figure C) were listed, but when Brad first saw a six-panel door go in the house he assumed it was a work door (a mock door that is sometimes used by builders so the real doors won't get beat up), not a real door. The remedy was to re-order the doors, which in turn delayed the process of installing the doors -- four weeks of delay, in fact.

  Lesson learned -- stay familiar with your spec sheet throughout the home-building process!

In the next segment a quick trip to the door factory, and then the carpenters install the doors.

RESOURCES :

Windows and Doors
Andersen Windows
Website: www.andersenwindows.com

Lumber Supplies
Adelman Lumber Co.
929 Beaver Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Phone: 412-231-0770
Fax: 412-231-1048

Garage Doors and Electric Openers
Betlyn Door, Inc.
530 Moon Clinton Rd.
Moon Township, PA 15108
Phone: 412-264-7751

Wholesale Builders Supply
118 Marlin Dr. East
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
Phone/Fax: 412-344-1180

GUESTS :

Brad and Lynn Oberg
Homeowners
Company: IBACOS (Brad)
Title: Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer
Website: www.ibacos.com

Greg Allen
Site Supervisor
Hendolhurst Homes
955 Markman Park Rd.
Baden, PA 15005
Phone: 724-935-5658
Fax: 724-935-0884
E-mail: buildm@zoominternet.net
Website: hendolhursthomes.com

John Holton
Senior Architect
Ibacos
Website: www.ibacos.com

Tom Holloway
Door Specialist
Wholesale Builders Supply
118 Marlin Dr. East
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
Phone/Fax: 412-344-1180

Howard Wolff
President
Adelman Lumber Co.
929 Beaver Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Phone: 412-231-0770
Fax: 412-231-1048

Jim Brzoska
Trim Carpenter
LemanKiewicz Construction
PO Box 1033
Mars, PA 16046
Phone/Fax: 724-776-5554

Jack Gault
Owner
Betlyn Door, Inc.
530 Moon Clinton Rd.
Moon Township, PA 15108
Phone: 412-264-7751