The "O" Word
Conservative by Nature, Christian by Choice
Wait!  Where's the pictures?  They're supposed to be right here!  I swear, you can't find decent help these days...

Especially for Jarhead

August 1st, 2006 . by Cary

Just because I have some down time, and John hinted so strongly – this is the outside of the double doors I installed to replace the old and broken Arcadia door:

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I know, I need to trim out the outside of the door. Time, people, time. That, and think about it: manual labor in 110° heat. I mean, really.

Here’s where it gets tricky. The door (you will have to take my word for it, my friend and I have both been doing this for more years than either one cares to remember) is square, true, and plumb to a point on the outside patio, measured from the center of the door opening, and equal to the height of the door. In other words, from that point the measurement is the same to the top right and top left, and the bottom right and bottom left, corners of the door. The outside edges of the door are flush with the exterior wall.

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Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

The gap at the top right measure 15/16″ while the gap at the top left is only 1/8″. The dark brown in the pictures is corner moulding, nailed to the frame of the door, to fill in the gap so when I do paint there won’t be a big splotch of caulk. Also in the top left picture, you can see where I used caulk for the side fill; that changes in the bottom left corner, where the gap is back out to 5/8″:

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Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

The gap at the bottom right is 1 1/4″. Look at the middle joint of your index finger. On most people, that’s about an inch. Go ahead and measure, tell me yours isn’t – I’ll wait. Remember – I said about an inch.

Here’s a shot from the crowded interior:

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Pardon the distortion, I was leaning sideways over the breakfast bar (why, yes, I put that in myself too…) and trying to get a straight-on shot.

Well, enough about my home improvement projects. What have you been up to? God bless you always, and keep you safe – especially those of you still on the lines.

12 Responses to “Especially for Jarhead”

  1. comment number 1 by: jarhead john

    Wow! You had said the walls weren’t “quite straight and plumb” previously, but I didn’t realize they were THAT bad. Given what you had to work with, it looks fantastic.

  2. comment number 2 by: Cary

    Thanks, John. You know what they say – a little putty, a little paint, make it what it ain’t – after the paint job, the outside trim, and the outside grill gaurds, I’ll put up some more pictures.

  3. comment number 3 by: Ebyjo

    It looks nice! I use examples like that in my classroom when we do measurement. The kids are always amazed at how crooked the school is… LOL

  4. comment number 4 by: Cary

    There’s crooked, and then there’s just plain not straight. I’ve got the last one. Crooked can be fixed – not straight is going to be not straight no matter how much putty and paint you use.

  5. comment number 5 by: Gunz

    Secret: A great carpenter is defined by how well he can cover up mistakes not by un-acheivable perfection.

    Looks great thus far Mr. Vila, looks great.

    Semper Fi!

  6. comment number 6 by: Cary

    That’s the ticket, isn’t it? Thus the reversed corner mold as a paint stop…

  7. comment number 7 by: Mary

    Lookin’ good. You keep this up they’ll sign you for Home Improvement II. Just remember us little guys, Ok?

  8. comment number 8 by: Cary

    Home Improvement II? Great – another project!

    Seriously, thanks Mary.

    P.S. to supermilarocks – once again, not pertinent, not polite, not allowed.

  9. comment number 9 by: KurtP

    I think it looks real good.
    Looking at your previous post, I think it looks even better, considering ALL the help you had.

    Two is enough for us,,,well actually the two spoiled ones don’t want anyone else honing in.

  10. comment number 10 by: Cary

    Yeah, we stopped adopting once we realized how lucky we were to have the five getting along so well.

    Have I shown you pictures of our cats? Five of them…

  11. comment number 11 by: Fight The Good Fight!

    looks good, you do good work. I myself have been a framimg carpenter and a handyman.

  12. comment number 12 by: Cary

    Thanks, FTGF.

    I’ll give you a call when it’s time to build the new house.