Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 2/1/2009

Question
We are replacing a 70" window with a french door. The rough opening given by the manufacturer of the pella door is 66-3/4"W x 82"H. The door will open into the basement.  The foundation is 40" tall will a framed wall set to the outside with a brick veneer.  (I can see roughly 3" of concrete at the top of the 40" foundation in the basement.)  There will be a finished framed wall covering the concrete wall inside of the basement.  How do we frame in the door to take full advantage of the hinge swing? Or what is the best way to frame the door?

That would leave part of the foundation exposed on the outside.  The wall depth listed on the spec is 6-9/16", the widest available.  How do we finish the exposed foundation outside?

Answer
Hi Becky, the best way to do an inswinging door to allow maximum swing is to mount the door jamb flush to the interior wall surface this way you can trim out the jamb with a thin casing that will allow your doors to open almost 180 degrees.  In other words: if your interior wall finish is drywall then the surface of that drywall will be what you set your jamb to as closely as possible.  The hinge point gives you nearly 3/4" of distance between your door and your jamb when open.  You can case out your door as needed to match your existing decor.  On the Exterior, it can be a little more complicated depending on how much room you have to work with.  I like to use brick molding around exterior door jambs that abut brick.  You can install a jamb extension to bring the exterior jamb out to the backside of the brick.  If you have two to three inches on each side between the brick and the new jamb you can either rip your brick mold to fit or find brick mold that is close enough to just caulk the opening.I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters,sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com