Monterey Park Windows & Doors: Window to Door
A back window cut down to make a garden door in an older Monterey Park house: the wall below the sill, a longer header, the threshold and the step outside.
Can the back window become a door to the yard? It is worth settling on the first site visit, since the answer sits in the wall below the sill. Turning a window into a door in an older Monterey Park house means cutting that wall down to the floor, carrying the load above on a longer header if the opening grows, and giving the new threshold a landing outside. When the framing allows it, the door goes where the window was.
What sits in the wall below the sill
An outlet, a heating register or a run of pipe can hide in the short wall under a window, and each has to move before that wall comes out. We open the plaster to see which. The cripple studs below the sill are removed, the bottom plate is cut at the new door width, and king and trimmer studs are set to the new size. If the door is wider than the old window, the header is sized for the longer span and posts carry its ends. The plaster around the new frame is then patched to meet the existing wall.
The threshold and the floor under it
A door puts weight and daily use on floor framing that used to sit under a wall. We check the joists and rim where the threshold will land and add blocking so the sill is fully supported. A sloped sill pan with a back dam goes in before the door, and the threshold height is set to the finished floor inside. Outside, a landing is built so the step down is comfortable and its surface drains away from the house. A French door or a single hinged door is chosen with panel lines that suit the rest of the house.
About our Windows & Doors serviceEverything we do in Monterey Park
Windows & Doors in Monterey Park: common questions
The windows left beside a new door are judged on their own. Where its wood is firm and the corners hold, that sash is reglazed and rehung, and it keeps its old glass next to the new door. A sash with rot through its rails, or a frame pulled out of square, gets a new unit sized to match its neighbors.
Where a new door stands beside original windows, the bars in its glass should line up with theirs. We measure the rail heights and grille lines of the old sashes and order the door so its lites fall at the same heights. Frame width and outside casing follow the originals, so the door looks as if it was always there.
A window that becomes a door goes through the Monterey Park building and safety office. The plans show the header, the posts and the door, any moved outlet goes on an electrical permit, and glass in the door must be safety glazing. Framing is inspected before plaster closes it, and we prepare the paperwork and meet the inspector.
Windows & Doors in other cities
Other work we do in Monterey Park
Talk to us about your house in Monterey Park
Send the details and we will set up a walk-through and a written scope.