replace a door jam?

Ceedubya · Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:20 pm

my (large) dog managed to push the outside door hard enough to break out the strike pocket in the jam. There is about a 12" section of the jam that is broken out on the inside of the house. I have to put a weight on the inside of the door to keep it closed!

What is the best way to replace or fix the strike side of the jam? bear in mind that it is winter here and having the door held open for a long period of time doesnt sound like much fun!

Thanks!

Greg · Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:16 pm

Hi & welcome. There are a few things you could try that may work for now. The first and easiest may be to try longer screws in the striker plate, You may be able to screw into the stud with a 3-4" screw and use the plate to help hold the broken section in place.

The other idea would be (if the jam is close enough to the stud) to cut a section of the jam say 24" and screw in a section as a replacement until warmer weather.

It sounds to me like you may need to do some security upgrade work if the dog can break in.

Greg

Brenda (OH) · Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:09 pm

I have cut out the busted section on the jam side, and put in a section of trex balaster (composite wood decking) it is like 1 1/4 inch square and 36 inches long. I can then use the spade bit to make the hole for the dead bolt, or the striker part of a lock. I can also carve it to make the striker plate fit flush.... and it is really really strong.

I helped a friend do this repair on his front door of a house, it takes longer when the person wants all the edges to line up perfectly lol...

Brenda (OH)

bobfather99 · Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:09 am

When I repaired a friend's mobile after a break-in attempt(no dead bolts), we cut out everything on the lock side of the door. Found out all that was holding it in was a 2X3 and staples. We ended up using two 2X4s butted together(we screwed them together with long screws), then installing a better quality door and lock/deadbolt set. I guess the thinking is you want the lock/deadbolt to "grab" as much structure as possible to make it a strong and secure door. A bad guy might be able to bust in, but he has to break a sweat this time.