measuring stuff

Posted by dpb on July 1, 2006, 7:51 pm

cas wrote:

> Eric in North TX wrote:

> > 6' 8" (80") is the standard for doors in the USA, my bet is that yours
> > was cut down. doors would be more outrageously priced than they are if
> > there wasn't some standard.

> Yeah, I'm trying to replace the entry doors in my home and they're all
> 84" doors. Try finding those at a local store.

7-0 entry doors are quite common and any quality distributor should
have no problem at all. That, of course, doesn't mean a HD or Lowes
will have them in stock, but I'd be surprised if even they didn't have
at least a few in a larger market store.

Posted by cas on July 2, 2006, 9:57 am

dpb wrote:

> cas wrote:

> > Eric in North TX wrote:

> > > 6' 8" (80") is the standard for doors in the USA, my bet is that yours
> > > was cut down. doors would be more outrageously priced than they are if
> > > there wasn't some standard.

> > Yeah, I'm trying to replace the entry doors in my home and they're all
> > 84" doors. Try finding those at a local store.

> 7-0 entry doors are quite common and any quality distributor should
> have no problem at all. That, of course, doesn't mean a HD or Lowes
> will have them in stock, but I'd be surprised if even they didn't have
> at least a few in a larger market store.

I thought I'd find more of them since there are a lot of old homes
where and 7' doors are very common place. The HD guy told me to
install a 6-8 and put a header in to make up the gap (I was there with
a friend, I don't go HD). Lowe's said they could special order them
from Pella but I could order them myself and get the same deal.

Back to the op, I've seen a lot of doors trimmed at the bottom so
they'll clear the carpet.

Posted by on July 1, 2006, 8:48 pm

Eigenvector wrote:

> Now onto the windows. When I measured them I measured from the inside box.
> I mean the rectangular cavity that the window fits into. When I was looking
> at the windows at Lowe's, they are something like 36"x72", nice normal
> dimensions and slightly larger than my window's dimensions. Again the
> similiarity tells me that I simply mis-measured the window.
> But if I did, how do I measure a window when trying to find a replacement?

How old is your house and what are the actual dimensions you measured?
Your house may not have standard size windows to begin with.

But unlike doors, windows come in a huge variety of sizes. It could be
that Lowes just doesn't stock a window that fits your opening exactly.
But they can likely order one for you; you just have to choose a window
that comes in sizes other than what they carry. (I know this because
I'm in the process of ordering some Pella wood windows through them
now; they come in 1/4" increments so you can get pretty much any size.)

It sounds like you measured your window correctly. The only potential
problem is the sill. Most older sills have a built-in slope (I guess
for water runoff) and so it matters whether you measure the front or
the back. You should be measuring at the front, where the opening is
smallest. (Just remember that after interior sashes and sash trim is
removed, the replacement window frame has to fit into the smallest part
of your existing frame.)

Posted by Eigenvector on July 1, 2006, 10:41 pm

> Eigenvector wrote:

>> Now onto the windows. When I measured them I measured from the inside
>> box.
>> I mean the rectangular cavity that the window fits into. When I was
>> looking
>> at the windows at Lowe's, they are something like 36"x72", nice normal
>> dimensions and slightly larger than my window's dimensions. Again the
>> similiarity tells me that I simply mis-measured the window.
>> But if I did, how do I measure a window when trying to find a
>> replacement?

> How old is your house and what are the actual dimensions you measured?
> Your house may not have standard size windows to begin with.
> But unlike doors, windows come in a huge variety of sizes. It could be
> that Lowes just doesn't stock a window that fits your opening exactly.
> But they can likely order one for you; you just have to choose a window
> that comes in sizes other than what they carry. (I know this because
> I'm in the process of ordering some Pella wood windows through them
> now; they come in 1/4" increments so you can get pretty much any size.)
> It sounds like you measured your window correctly. The only potential
> problem is the sill. Most older sills have a built-in slope (I guess
> for water runoff) and so it matters whether you measure the front or
> the back. You should be measuring at the front, where the opening is
> smallest. (Just remember that after interior sashes and sash trim is
> removed, the replacement window frame has to fit into the smallest part
> of your existing frame.)

I measured 70x34 and one 90x46, but it sounds like I already mis-measured
them. I measured from the inside of the house, not the outside - so right
there is 2 inches of frame that I missed - which would account for the
differences

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on July 1, 2006, 10:06 pm

> So I measured my door and it came out to be 30x79" and the windows were
> 34x71"
> Looking at the doors, the hollow core doors were only in 30x80" My
> assumption is that I mis-measured my door and didn't worry about it. On a
> lark I re-measured my existing door - yup it is literally 30x79 and the
> replacement is 30x80. Did my door shrink? It certainly wasn't altered,

I've has a similar problem. I measure my penis and get one dimension, but my
wife insists it is much smaller.

Your door was probably trimmed at the bottom. Very unusual to find a 79" as
stock.

As for the windows, take another look and be sure you are measuring the full
size, and not hidden by trim. Years ago, there were a lot of odd ball
sizes, but for the past 50 or so years, there have been standards.

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measuring stuff - Page 3