Replacing old French doors with new ones
Replacing old French doors with new ones An Angie’s List member asked me if I could replace his double French doors in the back of his house without replacing the original jamb and trim. The house is located in the historic district of Phoenix AZ. Any work on those historic houses have to be approved by the city. Installing new doors have to mach the original doors. The original doors were installed with no weather stripping and door bottom sweeps. Also the there was no T’ Astragal, or proper flush bolts. The T’ astragal...
read moreReplacing mahogany door with fiberglass door with two sidelights
Removing a beautiful mahogany door and a side light and installing a new fiberglass door with two side lights A new client of mine invested a lot in the front yard of the house and wanted to to replace the front door with a new one to go with house. I would say that the house style is ‘Ranch’ When a came to the house to visit with the owners I saw a beautiful mahogany door and one side light. They told me that they found what they wonted to replace it with at Home Depot. They found a fiberglass door with two sidelights. What...
read moreInstallation of a new Mohogany door
The Job: Removal of an old entry door and installing a new solid Mahogany door. My client found me on Google search and asked me to install a pre-hung Mahogany door he found at Home Depot. After I met with my client, reviewing the job, we went together to Home Depot to make sure the special form order are done correctly such as door swing, left hand or right hand. We also ordered interior and exterior Mahogany trim. Since the exterior walls are masonry walls made with slump blocks, I installed wood planks as ‘nailers’, that...
read moreReplacing interior hollow core doors with solid Shaker style doors.
Replacing interior doors without replacing the door jambs. We call it ‘Matching doors on site’ to fit the existing jambs. The door ‘slab’ as we call it come in full size, let say, 30″ by 80″ The existing door is 29″ 3/4″ by 79 1/2″ It means that I have to cut the door down in length and reduce the door width by using a power planer. The door jamb is not always all that square and hung right. There is a lot of fussing to do with each door to get the job right. After the door size is...
read moreTermite damaged knotty alder door jamb, replaced with custom new jamb
Termite damaged knotty alder door jamb replaced with custom new jamb. My client asked me to replace a door jamb that had bad termite damage with a new jamb. He asked me to save the door if possible and refinish the door. As you see, the door has a radius top and so is the jamb. The jamb has to follow the curve of the door perfectly. As I started to remove the old jamb I saw how much the termites had deteriorated the jamb behind the surface. Luckily they ate only the jamb and left the studs untouched. After removing the old jamb I took...
read moreCustom Bi-Fold Doors between bedroom and a bathroom
Custom Bi-Fold Doors between bedroom and a bathroom. My new client called me, she said, “my neighbour that you did some work for her recommended you to me. I would like you to install ‘Cafe Doors’ between my bedroom and the bathroom.” I came to her house and found that the opening was three feet wide by eight feet. She did not want a full size regular door, she wanted small ‘Cafe Doors’ that would swing both ways. I have never found good looking hinges for Cafe Doors that work really well. I made a...
read morePuppy Playpen / Kennel
Custom designed and built ‘Puppy Playpen’ by Shapira Builders. Puppy playpen was designed to keep a baby dog in closed area while can not be attended during the working hours. The cubical dimensions are three by three by four feet. Just the right size for a eight weeks old Chihuahua. I used 2×2 Fir, and welded wire mesh. First I cut all the wood parts to size, then each end was milled for double rabbet joint. Each 2×2 member got a grove to receive the welded wire mesh. All four sides of the Playpen were made separately...
read moreInstalling double interior knotty alder doors.
Installing double interior knotty alder doors. Here is another member of Angie’s List asked me to install double doors in his newly built home in the city of Waddell, Arizona. 45 minutes drive west of Phoenix where I live. The builder of the house left the office room with no doors. The young home owner have two babies and wanted to have doors to his office. Noise stays out of the office. The opening was five by eight feet. I gave him the option of having double standard high doors. Eighty inches tall, and to create a drywall beam...
read moreRemoving old back door and installing new one.
Removing an old back door and installing a new door My client called me and asked me to look at his back door. His back door was old and was out of shape. The old door had a pet door installed in it and my client wonted a new door without a pet door. I asked him if he want to have a window in the door, he said yes. We decided to go a head with a window that doesn’t open, a window with a dual panes that have mini blinds between the the two panes. I purchased a pre-hung door with window with mini blinds. The door has a metal skin,...
read moreWooden gate with metal straps and clavos
Wooden gate with metal straps and clavos, designed, built and installed by Shapira Builders My client, found me on Google search and asked me to come up with a design for wooden gate for here new home.She called me from her home in Colorado, telling me that her new home is under construction in Rio Verde, AZ.This new home is her ‘Snow Bird’ home.She wanted a gate to be made of wood planks with an arched top,She wanted the top of the arch to line up with two masonry posts, the idea is to make the gate pretty low so it will...
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