Skip to main content
FamilyEducation
FamilyEducation
Family Education

FE-Menu

  • Pregnancy
    • <blank>
      • Pregnancy Tracker
      • Trying to Conceive
      • Signs & Symptoms
      • Pregnancy Health
    • <blank>
      • Baby Names
      • High Risk Pregnancies
      • Preparing for Baby
    • <blank>
      • Concerns & Complications
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
    • <blank>
      • Browse All Baby Names (A-Z)
      • Top Names for Boys
      • Top Names for Girls
      • Baby Name Generator
    • <blank>
      • Baby Name Lists & Ideas
      • First Names By Origin
      • Browse All Last Names (A-Z)
      • Last Names by Origin
  • Babies
    • <blank>
      • Caring For Your Baby
      • Baby's Health
      • Feeding Your Baby
    • <blank>
      • Your Baby and Sleep
      • Baby's Growth & Development
      • Baby Hygiene
    • <blank>
      • Baby Safety
      • Baby Products
    • <blank>
  • Toddlers
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Growth and Development
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Behavior and Discipline
    • <blank>
      • Your Toddler and Sleep
  • Kids
    • <blank>
      • Health
      • Childhood Development
      • Fitness & Nutrition
      • Childhood Safety
    • <blank>
      • Communicating with Your Kids
      • Childhood Behavior and Discipline
      • Fostering Responsibility
      • Instilling Values & Manners
    • <blank>
      • Childcare
      • Neurodiversity in Kids
      • Adopting Children
  • Teens
    • <blank>
      • Teen Health
      • Teen Puberty & Sex
    • <blank>
      • Behavior & Discipline
      • Teen Social Development
    • <blank>
      • Values & Responsibilities
  • Activities
    • <blank>
      • Printables
      • Indoor Activities
      • Learning Activities
      • Arts and Crafts
      • Performing Arts
      • Food Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
    • <blank>
      • Books
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Online
      • Quizzes
      • Games
      • Celebrities
    • <blank>
      • Parties
      • Travel
      • Toys
      • Holidays
      • Gifts
  • Learning
    • <blank>
      • By Grade
      • By Subject
      • College
      • Preschool
    • <blank>
      • Back to School
      • Study Skills
      • Learning Styles
    • <blank>
      • Homeschooling
      • Parental Involvement
      • Your Child's School
  • Family Life
    • <blank>
      • Mom Life
      • Dad Life
      • Family Relationships
      • Having a Healthy Marriage
      • Divorce
    • <blank>
      • Health & Fitness
      • COVID Resources
      • Managing Your Home
      • Moving Your Family
      • Pets
    • <blank>
      • Family Finances
      • Work
      • Families and Food
  • NewslettersNewsletters
    Newsletters

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Family Life
  3. Managing Your Home
  4. Home Improvements and Maintenance
  5. Install A New Combination Storm-Screen Door

Install a New Combination Storm-Screen Door

Here are directions to help you install your new combination screen-storm door.
  • facebook share icon
  • pin
  • twitter share icon
  • email share icon
  • Print page icon

In this article, you will find:

  • Page 1
  • Page 2

Page 1

Install a New Combination Storm-Screen Door

Storm doors may try to put on airs, but their basic job is simple: keeping out airs—and other annoyances, like mosquitoes. If your storm door is AWOL, bandaged with duct tape, or swinging in the breeze, attaching a new aluminum door is one of the simplest home improvements imaginable. You'll need an electric drill and a few hand tools; but unless the doorway is savaged or seriously out-of-square, it's a one-afternoon project, and a short one, at that.

Aluminum storm doors are sold hinged to an aluminum frame, painted white or whatever other color happens to be trendy. The door should come with instructions, which helps because you may have to adjust the following process to mount your particular door.

Step 1: Choosing a Storm Door

Building Smarts

It's a rare doorway that is not marred by signs of old hinges or hardware. With the storm door removed, it's relatively easy to make repairs. To fill an old mortise for a hinge or a door latch, using a filler like Plastic Wood, and follow these steps:

  1. Scrape and gouge to remove loose and protruding junk, and improve the filler's grip.

  2. Apply enough filler to fill the bulk of the mortise. Don't worry about getting it level.

  3. Briefly sand to make sure nothing builds above the final surface level.

  4. Add more filler.

  5. Sand with a sanding block or power sander to make everything flush.

  6. Prime and paint.

Durability, appearance, and a good seal are the three considerations in choosing a door. Although storm doors are pretty basic, you may have some choices, especially in the upper price ranges:

  • Whether to buy a wooden-core door, which is stronger, quieter, and more costly

  • Where the door will store the glass in summer

  • Whether to spring for a spring-loaded, retractable screen, which will improve your winter view (but be another part to break down the line)

Size is critical. Most doors fit an opening that is between 80" and 81", or 84" and 85" in height, by 32" or 36" wide. If you need a custom size, expect to spend a fortune, and to wait while your door is made. Also decide if you need a “hinge-right” or a “hinge-left” door—depending on where the hinge is when you pull the door toward you—in this case, when you're standing outside the house.

Almost all aluminum storm doors are surface-mounted, meant to be screwed to the outside face of the door opening (generally the jamb edge, although this can vary). The beauty is that the door need not exactly fit the opening. The opening does need a flat surface, at least 1" wide, on the top and both sides of the opening, for the screws to grab. If the jambs are recessed, as shown in the diagram, the flat parts of the recesses must be at least 1" wide.

Measure the horizontal gap between the brick mold at three places, and the vertical gap from the brick mold to the threshold in two places. Bring these dimensions, and the hinge-left or hinge-right information, to the store when you buy your door. (It doesn't hurt to demonstrate what you mean, because a hinge-left door is not the same thing as a “left-hand” door.)

Next: Page 2

What's hot

  • Eye color genetic chart Family LifeWhat Color Will My Baby'…
  • 10 Signs of Divorce Family Life10 Signs Your Marriage is Over
  • woman standing on scale Family LifeWhat's a Normal BMI for…
  • Young girl eating a oatmeal with berries after a workout Family LifeCalorie Intake for Weight…
NewslettersNewsletters
Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.
Family Education
FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found here.

FE Footer

  • Newsletter Center
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Editorial Team
  • Expert Panel
  • Cookie Policy
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info (for CA Residents)
sandbox learning logo
Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. 

factmonster logoinfoplease logoTeacherVision logo

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.