Removing Siding & Securing the Frame

      

REMOVING EXTERIOR SIDING:
Inspect exterior siding at the rough opening site to ensure it is free of telephone wires, television cables, or other obstacles. Plan a means to protect plants and shrubs from siding that falls away after being cut off.

Siding can be cut from inside the house by drilling large pilot holes at the corners to make room for a reciprocating saw blade. Use the bottom of the header and the sides of the trimmer studs as a cutting guide for the reciprocating saw.

It may be easier to cut exterior siding from the outside with a power circular saw. Follow this procedure:

1. From inside the house, drill pilot holes at each corner of the rough opening.
2. On the outside, use a chalkline from hole to hole to mark the outline of the rough opening.
3. Use a circular saw to cut out the exterior sheathing and siding.
4. For houses with beveled siding, the circular saw base bumps into edges when cutting . vertically. To solve this, nail a board in line with the chalk lines to serve as a guide. Set the blade depth to account for the board, siding, and sheathing. Guide the saw while sliding it up the board.

It is very important to follow the manufacturer's installation instructions for your specific patio door. Those with nailing fanges will require exterior siding to be cut about 11/2 inches wider than the rough opening. This necessitates a second shallow cut around the rough opening to remove siding. Nailing fange areas are later covered with wood trim.

POSITIONING THE DOOR:
If the door frame is unassembled, follow assembly instructions provided by the manufacturer. Usually the door unit is placed into the rough opening from the outside of the house. To provide a tight seal between the door sill and the floor, run caulk across the underside of the sill before setting the unit into place. If the sill is to rest on concrete, use sill sealer insulation beneath it. In either case, make sure the sill is level and secured to the sub floor.

SECURING THE FRAME:
For patio doors with nailing fanges, have a helper hold the side jamb plumb. Drive 8d nails through the bottom on top of the sill. Be certain that the bottom is centered on top of the sill guide. at the bottom of the door panel must ride on top of the sill guide. To adjust the door: the side jamb nailing fange into the sheathing and trimmer stud. Do not nail through the nailing flange at the header. Instead, drive nails through sheathing and part way into the header above the nailing fange and then bend them over onto the flange. This way, should the header ever bow downward in the middle, pressure will not be forced directly onto the patio door frame through the nails and nailing fange.

Some patio door frames feature wide vinyl "flashing" flanges at the head and side jambs. These are not intended to be nailing fanges. To hold the frame in place after setting it in the rough opening, use C-clamps. C-clamps will also help to draw the flanges tight against the sheathing.

Once the frame is sitting in the rough opening, check the jambs for plumb and double-check the sill for level. Usually the side jambs will have predrilled holes for the installation screws. Use wood shims between the jambs and the trimming studs at the predrilled holes and drive screws in place. Keep the jambs plumb as you progress.

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