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Squaring Up a Door Job: What it Is & Why it's Done

So, it is finally time to replace that beaten-up front door you have. Will you spend $250, or $5,000? Yes, that is the price range to replace a front door these days. Of course, it will not mean a thing if the door frame is not squared up. Here is more information on what squaring up a door frame is and why it is necessary prior to installing a new door follows.

Squaring up a Door Frame

If and when you were to hire door installation services, you would see the installation technician use a variety of tools to see if the door frame was "square." This just means that the door frame is not leaning to either side. The posts are straight up and down, and the lintel is perfectly horizontal and perpendicular to the posts, creating perfect ninety-degree angles. A T-square and an angle ruler check the existing door frame so that the new door does not have to be wedged or slammed into place like a puzzle piece that does not fit a hole. 

In the event that the door frame is not perfectly "square," it has to be fixed. Sometimes a door installation service can do the job, but usually you will need a carpenter or construction contractor to fix it. The company that sold you the new door may also subcontract that kind of work out to a contractor that can help.

Why Squaring the Door Frame Is Done & Why

As previously alluded to, your current door probably barely fits the door frame. Maybe you need to slam the door really hard to get it to close. Maybe in colder weather the door is warped and hard to open. Technically, it is not the door, but the door frame that is the problem. 

Squaring the door frame realigns the door frame to form the perfect upright rectangle to accommodate any door of the correct size. If the door frame is not "squared," the new door has to be forced, literally, to fit the tilting frame. Now imagine that you decided to spend $5,000 on an ultra-fancy new front door with lots of energy-saving features and a lifetime warranty, only to find that it will not fit an unsquared door frame. That would be really frustrating, right? You would be without a front door until the frame has been adjusted to fit your new door.


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