Stan Harrison: How to repair a broken window using The Grandpa Method

Crash!!!

The sound of breaking glass shattered my concentration as I retrieved a small but necessary flagpole part from beneath the front porch.

"I'd better see what that was!" my younger son exclaimed as he hurried toward the back door.

I wasn't concerned. A neighbor was working on the body of an old Corvette minus windows. I figured a few remaining pieces of glass had probably fallen out.

"Dad!" my younger son called.

I walked around the corner of the house.

Large shards of glass were all that remained of the window to the mud room door. The rest of the window lay in tiny pieces on the floor.

My older son stood frozen in his tracks.

"What happened?" I asked.

I needn't have waited for a reply. The sticking door had been ignored for so long that my older son, frustrated with his efforts to close it, finally had given it a swift slam -- with disastrous results.

I always thought I'd get around to fixing it when I had time.

It looked like I'd have time now.

The remaining shards of glass slid fairly easily from the window frame. Using work gloves, I gathered the remaining broken pieces, saving one to ensure the new pane would be the same thickness.

Removing the stops

Removing the fragile, narrow stops -- trim that holds the glass in place -- would be the trickiest part of the job. It would be even trickier because of the door's age. The door had been retrieved nearly 30 years ago from an early 1960s house that was being remodeled.

Careful not to break the brittle stops, I used a wide putty knife with a stiff blade to slowly pry them off. Although some of the nail staples attaching them to the door popped through, all the stops came out intact.

Typically, windows are held in place by tiny, triangular pieces of metal called glazier's points, and the glass is supported and sealed with glazing compound. This door evidently was so old it had neither -- either that, or they'd been mistakenly forgotten.

It was a mistake that would make this job at least two steps easier when it came time to install new glass -- no compound, no points -- just a lot of hope the pane would stay in place.

But I'd have even more broken glass if I didn't first fix the cause of the problem. The door's loose top rail had been rubbing against the jamb, causing the door to stick.

Door Jam Repair - News


Stan Harrison: How to repair a broken window using The Grandpa Method
Stan Harrison: How to repair a broken window using The Grandpa Method

But I'd have even more broken glass if I didn't first fix the cause of the problem. The door's loose top rail had been rubbing against the jamb, causing the door to stick. I popped the door off its hinges, reglued the rail, clamped it and let it dry



Gere Goble's Drat It! Doing laundry actually felt really good

Theoretically, I know how to do so. It's simple, really. But if I've learned nothing else about home repair, it's that things that should be simple generally aren't. So we left the door in place and figured the threshold would cover the gap.



Top 10 consumer complaints led by car, credit gripes

Gripes about the sale, leasing and repair of autos once again topped an annual list of the top 10 consumer complaints put out by a group of consumer watchdogs. New to the list this year, coming in at No. 9, was fraud such as bogus sweepstakes and



NC grad represents US in World Air Guitar Championships

You hear a jam and it's impossible not to play along.” He seems to feel a little sorry for those who ask questions like, “When will you grow up and stop playing air guitar?” He tells them, “I am never going to grow up. I'm still like a big stupid kid,



Contemplating a project? You may need a permit

Replacement of any exterior door and jamb. The door alone does not require a permit. • Installation of any yard lines: gas, electrical and water. • Changing appliance locations in a remodel, such a moving a range or dishwater or refrigerator;




Door Jamb Armor The Ultimate Door Security and Jamb Repair Product ...

Www.armorconcepts.com. Door Jamb Armor® was developed by the partners of a real estate investment company with properties under renovation located in transitional areas. Following several break-ins, increasing property loss costs, and several failed attempts to solve the problem with existing solutions, they began to consider new alternatives. Our products strengthen the entry points on a structure and actually work to prevent intruders from entering an establishment, rather than simply alerting an owner that an intruder is already inside. The initial product is a fabricated steel solution that reinforces the existing doors on a structure and helps proactively prevent potential intruders from kicking them in. The product is also a very effective and inexpensive way to repair previously damaged doorjambs.

FINALLY! Somebody GETS IT! The weakest parts of the average door structure are the tiny screws on the strike plate(s) and the door hinges. It’s easy for a sized burglar to kick in an average deadbolted door- the metal bolt just shatters the lightweight wood of the door jamb when kicked in. Also, the door can be kicked in or pried loose from the hinge side. This product goes a LONG way toward hardening your house as a burglar’s target. (Also, get a really big dog! Rottweilers are good…)

I’ll tell you what the’re thinking, “If We be a cheapskate and buy cheapshit doors that are hollow then we can maximise our profits and give the customer what they want which is a cheap house plus we can build the house quicker and move on to the next project”.

Another thing, They also use lightweight soft woods to build with because not only is it cheap and easy to work with but it’s lighter so they can build quicker, Remember: Cheap, Quick Built and maximising profits with little spent.

I’ve re-inforced more than one door & frame so it can’t be kicked in.

BUT… What about the windows? There’s more than one way to get in a house.

It’s a bit much for the average person to accomplish armoring an entire house but doing the door is still a great thing to do.

What gets me is that many old houses still have HOLLOW back doors… What were the builders thinking?

The firemen will have a door jack to force the door open.

it’s about time americans realised that You need to strengthen the door jamb, Locks are only as strong as the door they are attached to and the quality of that lock is also a factor ie: pick resistance.


Door Jam Repair - Bookshelf

Building Your Straw Bale Home, From Foundations to the Roof

Building Your Straw Bale Home, From Foundations to the Roof

With the door in the correct position fix the door stop to the door jamb approximately 30 mm up from the floor. Close the door to ensure that the latch and ...

Old-House Journal

Old-House Journal

To fix, slide a bar or a shim in behind the hinge-side jamb and adjust. Once the door swings closed easily (a little tension at the end of the arc is OK), ...

Black & Decker Complete Home Repair

Black & Decker Complete Home Repair

Pry away and discard the old door jamb and threshold (photo G). Cut off any stubborn nails with a reciprocating saw. Remove the new door unit from its ...

Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair, With 350 Projects and 2000 Photos

Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair, With 350 Projects and 2000 Photos

Tips for Securing Doors Install plywood shims in the gaps between the door frame and wall studs, to prevent pry-bar attacks. Remove the casing molding on ...

Dare to Repair, Replace & Renovate, Do-It-Herself Projects to Make Your Home More Comfortable, More Beautiful & More Valuable!

Dare to Repair, Replace & Renovate, Do-It-Herself Projects to Make Your Home More Comfortable, More Beautiful & More Valuable!

Aligning the Door Jamb Manufacturers recommend tracing through the latch hole on the doorjamb to mark the strike box location. We discovered that the best ...

Perfect Information Directory


Door Jamb Armor Repairs ANY Broken Door Jamb
The steel jamb shield wraps around the wooden door jamb to completely fix ... Kick Proof your DOOR. Repair your Broken Door Jamb with a Jamb Shield ...

Repair and Secure Any Door Jamb with Door Jamb Armor
PSU offers inground swimming pool kits, above ground kits, pool heaters and diving boards for the lowest price internationally.

Door Jamb? Repair in 3 Steps | DoItYourself.com
Door jamb repair may look complicated, but in reality it is not really that hard.

Replacing or repairing door jambs and doors
New doors or door jambs installed in old houses sometimes do not work as well as expected and the results can sometimes be disappointing. Repair is often a better ...

How to Repair a Door Jam | eHow.com
How to Repair a Door Jam. Doors seem complicated on the surface, but in reality are made up of a very few simple parts. The interior frame, or door ...