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Tech Question about hanging a screen door

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May 22, 2025, 09:13 PM
wrightd
Tech Question about hanging a screen door
So my wife has a "She Shed". Aka an outbuilding for chick stuff, though I've never actually seen any women spending time in them. When guys have a man cave or a nice garage, they are often in there enjoying themselves or fixing something or building something, as I do, but I've never seen any woman in their own version of a woman cave, bat cave, she shed, or whatever they call them.

Anyway she wants me to install a screen door. So I go to the big box store, and the standard door size for that particular door is 80 inches tall by 36 inches wide. I originally thought it would be a nominal size, but it's the actual size by tape measure.

So I measured the door already hung in the shed, and the actual opening size is 79x34-1/2. Now the door already there is a hung unit that came from the factory with the frame already installed to the door as most do, as far as I can tell, so I'm a at a loss about how to proceed.

Any advice from you guys ? I know there are LOTS of members in Building and Facilities Maintenance trades, so I'm just wondering what is my next step, or what I'm I missing in the little mystery of mine. Actually it's a big mystery for me, but I know it's probably not at all.

I thought maybe those screen doors are for the rough out size, but I've never seen a screen door hung in a rough opening. So no dice there.

Anyway what about that ? Calling me confused.




Lover of the US Constitution
Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
May 22, 2025, 09:16 PM
BigSwede
Assuming it already has a door, what about one of those magnetic screen thingy's


https://www.homedepot.com/pep/...ALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds



May 23, 2025, 07:06 AM
arfmel
Buy a wood screen door and cut it down to fit the opening?
May 23, 2025, 07:18 AM
architect
Don't the pre-hung aluminum screen doors go over top of an existing interior door? By "over top" I mean as a surround to the trimmed out opening. You simply remove the trim, if any, and the door fits around the outside of the opening. The measurements called out in the OP seem to be about right for this scenario. Measure te inside of both the jamb and the screen door and you might just have a match.
May 23, 2025, 07:21 AM
trapper189
Solid wood or vinyl, cut the door around the edges to fit. In your case, 1” off each side so the door is 34” wide so you have 1/4” of clearance on each side to open and close the door. You’ll also have to remove 3/4” from the top and bottom of the screen door as well.

Alternatively, you could trim out the existing opening with 1x3 and attached the screen door to that.

And yes, prehung aluminum screen doors go over the existing opening. Ours were attached to the trim.
May 23, 2025, 10:39 PM
wrightd
quote:
Originally posted by trapper189:
Solid wood or vinyl, cut the door around the edges to fit. In your case, 1” off each side so the door is 34” wide so you have 1/4” of clearance on each side to open and close the door. You’ll also have to remove 3/4” from the top and bottom of the screen door as well.

Alternatively, you could trim out the existing opening with 1x3 and attached the screen door to that.

And yes, prehung aluminum screen doors go over the existing opening. Ours were attached to the trim.

I think that's a bingo trapper, thanks very much. I forgot that pre-hung screen doors are mounted on the outside. So if can remove the existing trim, since it's not flat, I could custom fit a compatible trim to make it work.

Sometimes a good swift kick in the head is what it takes.

Thanks trapper.




Lover of the US Constitution
Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
May 24, 2025, 12:05 PM
6guns
quote:
Sometimes a good swift kick in the head is what it takes.


Big Grin




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