Doors and windows are two of the few finish items that framers sometimes handle. It is important that time and care are taken to ensure they are installed in a proper, professional manner. Put your framing hammer in the toolbox and use, instead, a lighter, smoother-faced trim hammer and a nail set.
Exterior, pre-hung doors are the type covered in this chapter. They are the ones framers most commonly work with, and most of the skills involved in hanging them will carry over to the hanging of interior doors. The first door you hang on any job will give you the most difficulty. If you have more than one door to hang, do them one after the other; each door will go in a little easier than the one before.
Nail-flange windows and sliding glass doors will vary depending on the manufacturer. You will find here the basic principles of their installation. Use common sense and follow the directions provided, and you should have little trouble installing these units.
Stairs represent one of the more difficult challenges to a framer’s skill. As in roof framing, the geometry is a bit complicated, but taken step-by-step, the logic
soon becomes clear, leading to successful execution of the plans. There are many different stair designs. The stair layouts described in this chapter are typical. Be aware that the dimensions given on the plans do not always allow for enough headroom. Always check headroom and other dimensions by taking accurate on-site measurements. This chapter also contains instructions for laying out and framing circular stairs.
The instructions for installation of pre-hung doors, windows, sliding glass doors, straight stairs, and circular stairs are all presented in steps for easier understanding. A calculator is handy-some might say necessary-for finding the rise and tread dimensions when not given on the plans. Always double — or triple-check your calculations. Remember: measure twice, cut once. The finish floors at the top and bottom of stairs are often different. When cutting stair stringers, don’t forget to check the plans for such differences and then check the height of your top and bottom risers to allow for them.
One 16d galvanized casing nail at each hinge. Hinge
DO NOT SET NAILS
Door
View of door looking down from the top
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1. READ INSTRUCTIONS
• Usually there are instructions that come with the door. Check the instructions over for anything you might need to know.
2. CHECK PLANS
• Check the building plans to find the direction of the door swing.
3. CHECK THE THRESHOLD
• Check the threshold for level. Shim under hinge jamb if necessary.
4. NAIL HINGE JAMB
• Nail hinge jamb tight to trimmer with one 16d galvanized casing nail at each hinge. Do not set nails. Plumb both directions. Shim behind jamb if necessary to obtain plumb or if door needs to be centered in opening.
Install window flashing. (See the following section.)
Set window in place.
Place temporary shims under bottom of window. Equalize space at top and bottom of window. Shims are usually 1/b" to W. Level windowsill.
Make gaps the same between window frame and trimmer on each side.
Nail top corners from outside.
Nail one bottom corner. (Do not set all the way.)
Place window slider in and check to see if the gap between the window slider and window frame is the same from top to bottom.
Header
8. If the gap is not equal, check both the rough opening and the window for square, and adjust accordingly.
9. Finish nailing. Make sure gap is equal top, bottom, and middle. (Do not nail top of the window.)
Minimum nailing:
Two nails on each side and one in the bottom. Increase the number of nails for larger windows. Use 8d nails.
Header flashing needs to be applied when weather-resistant barrier (house wrap) and siding are applied.
2. Attach 9" wide flashing at each jamb. Start flashing 8V2" above rough opening at header. Extend below and over flashing at sill. Do not attach where it extends over sill flashing.
Moisture penetration in buildings can cause rot in the structure. New and more extensive exterior rain protective systems have been developed and used to combat this problem. Some of these systems use a special type of water resistant barrier and self-adhesive flashing. Another system is the rainscreen. It provides a whole second layer of protection, typically by installing furring strips over the initial water — resistive barrier and then an outside siding material attached to the furring strips. These furring strips allow for ventilation and pressure equalization. These systems have not been standardized yet and so it is important to follow the specifications as outlined on the plans.
1. READ INSTRUCTIONS.
Read and follow carefully the instructions that come with the door. Never assume what you do not know.
2. SEAL THRESHOLD.
Use neoprene or similar sealing compound to seal the threshold.
3. INSTALL FLASHING.
The jamb flashing with sealer is installed using a method similar to the jamb flashing on windows.
4. PLACE DOOR.
Place the door in position.
5. CENTER TOP.
Center the top of the door in rough opening.
6. NAIL TOP CORNERS.
Nail each corner of the top of the door through nail flange. (Do not set nails.)
7. ADJUST DOOR.
Adjust the door frame so that the space between the door frame and wall trimmers is equal. Check for plumb with a level and adjust if necessary.
8. COMPLETE NAILING.
Close the door and latch it. Then nail off the sides using four 8d nails on each side. Do not nail top of door.
9. ADJUST DOOR.
Adjust the slider part of the door if necessary. Usually there is an adjustment screw at the bottom of the door. Tighten this screw to close a gap between the door and the jamb at the top of the door, or loosen to increase the gap.
10. TIGHTEN SCREWS.
If screws come with the door, shim and tighten screws in the sides and bottom. Use pre-drilled holes.
The three main dimensions in stair building are for risers, treads, and headroom. The riser height and the tread width are usually given on the plans. You can generally use the tread width given on the plans. The riser height, however, is often not accurate enough to use.
1. MEASURE HEIGHT.
Measure the height of the stairwell from finish floor to finish floor.
2. FIND RISER HEIGHT.
Divide the height of the stairwell by the number of risers shown on the plan to determine the riser height. Be careful to consider the finish floor heights, which may differ top and bottom.
3. FIND TREAD WIDTH.
Check plans for tread width.
4. CHECK HEADROOM.
Chalk a line from edge of nosing at top of stairs to edge of nosing at bottom of stairs. (See “Checking Stair Headroom" later in this chapter.) Check for minimum clearance of 6′-8" to finish straight up from line to bottom of headroom.
5. MARK AND CUT STRINGERS.
(See “Marking Stair Stringers" later in this chapter.")
6. CUT.
Cut stringer spacers, treads, and risers.
7. NAIL STRINGER SPACER.
Nail stringer spacer to stringer. Spacer leaves clearance for applying wall finish.
8. SET STRINGERS.
a. At top deck, measure down riser height plus tread thickness and mark for top of stringer.
b. Set stringers to mark.
c. Check stringers for level by placing a tread on top and bottom and checking level, side to side, and front to back.
d. Adjust stringers for level.
e. Nail stringers.
9. NAIL RISERS.
10. GLUE AND NAIL TREADS.
