I HAVE BOYS!!!!!!

[Rhonda]

I have three young men in my home and a husband. Boys are tough on things. So needless to say they have ruined almost every door jam in the house. All interior I might add. So what do I do with this? How do I rebuild something like that out of "real" materials. I don't want to go back to the mobile home look on the door jams anymore. Can you please guide me with this adventure? Pics would help ALOT! TIA!

[Greg]

A lot of the answer depends on your carpentry skill level. What you will most likely find is that the jams you have are nothing but 2x3 or 4 studs covered with a strip of paneling. The question is how involved do YOU want to get?

I am in the (slow) process of making 6 panel pine doors to replace the cheap doors that came new with it. What I found to do it the way I want it, I have to open the frames up 1 1/2" to allow for a 3/4" pine door jam rather than the paneling that came with it.

There are other ways that you could do the job, and if you have pictures of the damaged jams perhaps we can come up with some. Greg

[Jim from Canada]

I faced my jams with pine. I ripped them to width and then used pine again for the trim around the doors. Finished with tung oil.

[Rhonda]

Thanks for the replys, I will have to take photos this evening and get them posted, now mind you I am computer dumb, so I will give it my best shot! Thanks!

[Johanna Bruns]

Try this:

(This is for those of us that are door-hanging challenged)
Take your floor-to-ceiling measurement in the area where the door needs to be replaced to the building supply and look at the pre-hung interior doors. If you are within the height needed to install, buy it and take it home. Gently remove all of the old door framing and reframe it with 2x4 to accept the pre-hung unit. Install the new door in a way that the 'pretty' (flush) side faces the public area. Then you can adapt the other side attachment to the existing wall in a graduated way, and maybe even make it pretty with moulding.

JMO
Johanna

[Rhonda]

So I have no idea how to load photos in here. All I know is that I have a flikr account and can get them on there. If someone can please help me with this I would be able to show what I mean with my door jam issue.

As far as my carpentry skills go, I can pretty much figure it all out. I am pretty much able to do it all. What I need is something that is "slam" proof and won't break as the boys run by or slam the door.

Thanks again!

[Rhonda]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44572658@N04/
maybe this will work?

[Dean3]

I took a look at Your pic. Do You want to replace the entire jamb and casing or only the doorstop? It would be fairly easy to simply take all the doorstop material off a door and cut/nail something stronger in it's place. When installing doorstop years ago I simply cut it to fit,close the door so the strike seats into the strikeplate,hold the new doorstop in place with gentle pressure against the door and nail with finish nails. [If it is unfinished material it can be stained in place or before installation.] Don't push against the door very hard or it might be too tight for the strike/latch to work well.

If You use say,3/4"x3/4" square stock as new doorstop then the ends can be a simple cut-and-butt with no 45 degree angles and no coping saw required either,just put the top on 1st then butt the sides up to it. Square stock is inexpensive so practice/mistakes are also inexpensive. I would nail it every 1' and see if that holds up to the rough use,more nails could be added later if needed. You could use larger stock and/or nail every 6" too,Your choice.

Dean

[Rhonda]

I need to do both. Some replace just the door stop and some the entire jam. In the bedroom, they have got the entire jam loose. It actually is pulled away (trim and all) from the wall. I understand what you are saying with the door stop. Now how do I do the entire jam so the same door will fit back in?

[Greg]

OK, It looks to me like it is just the door stops that are broken. I would rip down some 1x so you end up with 1x1 or 1x2 and nail that in place. After you install them, I would also issue a stern warning about slamming doors that hard. Something to the effect of, "slam the door - loose the door". For some reason when they loose their bedroom door for a day or two they tend to develop a whole new respect for them. Greg

[Rhonda]

Believe me, the stern warning has been applied. We parent with an iron fist at our home. Don't get me wrong, we don't abuse or beat our boys, but they are boys and they do roughhouse alot! But I agree with the losing of the bedroom door. Sounds like a wonderful idea. I appreciate the advice! I do believe that we are going to just replace the whole jam. Or better yet I should make the boys do it! Doesn't that sound wonderful?

[Greg]

I can tell you first hand that lack of door does work. The idea of them doing the work may do something also, unless they take the "I did the work" attitude. Greg