mobilehomerepair.com

I need to replace an exterior door on a manufactured home and I have a question. I have replaced a few where I had to cut the metal door down to fit with no problems. But I had a friend ask me about the last one I did.

The opening in the home was approx. 74" tall. A standard door is approx. 80". I cut out the cripple studs and the 2X4 laying flat under the cripple studs. I then used 2-2X4s on edge for a header directly under the top plate. I only had to trim approx. 3" off of the door and frame for it to fit.

Would it have been OK to put the door right up to the the top plate without the 2x4 header? That single 2x4 laying flat could not have helped that much.

If I could have went to the top plate, I could have used the full sized door with no cutting.

Thanks in advance,
Steve

If you are in an area that gets no snow you might get by. Personally I would rather have more support.
If you can I would cut the door down a few inches and get a small header in.

Greg

You can cut the door a few inches so that it fits in the frame and then install it. Many times there is a problem in the installation of the doors which results in air gaps. There are impact doors you can browse around here that are impact resistant and easy to install. When you are installing the doors just make sure that they fix in the frame and give the house complete insulation.