Master Brian
DIY Senior Member
My back entry door is needing raised up about 3" to deal with poor drainage. The doorway is basically over a cement slab, so I will be pouring new cement over that to create the base. I have hung a dozen or more doors over the years, I feel 100% confident I can do this, but I will admit most have been in new construction and were pre-hung doors, so I do have a few questions.
I will be re-using my old door for now as I haven't found a new door that goes with my 1915 craftsman bungalow that I love, so I bought one of the PVC Vinyl jambs and have to cut it to fit my door. I hope the PVC is a good jamb, I went that way because the old jamb was rotting due to water damage, didn't want a repeat of this.....
So the questions are, when pouring the new concrete cap, is it a good idea to use quick setting concrete mix? I'd like to try and get as much of this done in a day as possible. I've never messed with the quick setting, so I don't know how it works and how quickly it sets up. The new base will be about 3" thick over the old slab, it will come out about 8"-10" to create a bit of a step and it will go down into the ground about 8" to provide a bit more structure to it and to help keep water from seeping under the "cap". I also plan to drop the "step" portion down about 1" to also aid in keeping any water from setting and seeping under the threshhold. I will drill and pin the "cap" to the old slab put a bit of mesh or steel in as well to help hold things together.
The jamb isn't pre-assembled and it is 36" wide, so I have to cut the jamb's header and a new threshold to fit my 32" door, that shouldn't be a big deal, but I do question if I should wait to install the threshold until the concrete cures. Or if I should try to install the jamb in the opening, then pour the concrete up to the base of the jamb and while the concrete is still wet, install the threshold and screws. Again, the threshold isn't part of the jamb and needs to be screwed down.
Anyone see a problem with this? I have included a pic to give an idea of what I'm doing, if it isn't clear. Tomorrow is supposed to be decent, so that's when I'm hoping to tackle this.
Thanks
I will be re-using my old door for now as I haven't found a new door that goes with my 1915 craftsman bungalow that I love, so I bought one of the PVC Vinyl jambs and have to cut it to fit my door. I hope the PVC is a good jamb, I went that way because the old jamb was rotting due to water damage, didn't want a repeat of this.....
So the questions are, when pouring the new concrete cap, is it a good idea to use quick setting concrete mix? I'd like to try and get as much of this done in a day as possible. I've never messed with the quick setting, so I don't know how it works and how quickly it sets up. The new base will be about 3" thick over the old slab, it will come out about 8"-10" to create a bit of a step and it will go down into the ground about 8" to provide a bit more structure to it and to help keep water from seeping under the "cap". I also plan to drop the "step" portion down about 1" to also aid in keeping any water from setting and seeping under the threshhold. I will drill and pin the "cap" to the old slab put a bit of mesh or steel in as well to help hold things together.
The jamb isn't pre-assembled and it is 36" wide, so I have to cut the jamb's header and a new threshold to fit my 32" door, that shouldn't be a big deal, but I do question if I should wait to install the threshold until the concrete cures. Or if I should try to install the jamb in the opening, then pour the concrete up to the base of the jamb and while the concrete is still wet, install the threshold and screws. Again, the threshold isn't part of the jamb and needs to be screwed down.
Anyone see a problem with this? I have included a pic to give an idea of what I'm doing, if it isn't clear. Tomorrow is supposed to be decent, so that's when I'm hoping to tackle this.
Thanks
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