John Neel
05-13-2010, 8:55 AM
I had to replace the jambs on an outside door. As the new jambs were tight, it became apparent that they would have to be very close to the wood behind the jambs. In fact it would need to be as tight as possible and I would need no shims. So, I decided to use screws rather than nail the jambs into position. There was either brick or an ibeam behind the wood was screwing the jambs to [ There are three layers looking from the doorway 1. door jamb 2. a 3/4" board, 3. brick or i-beam.] The screws thus needed to be less than 1 1/2 " or they would jack that wood away from the brick or the ibeam. I used 1 1/4" screws.
My real worry was that the screws would jack the jamb away from the wood behind the jamb and that would make the opening too narrow for the door. The screws I used would have left about 1/4" of thread in the jamb and I was concerned that would jack the jamb away from the wood, again narrowing the doorway. So I decided to file off the the last two threads of each screw. I did that, pre-drilled and countersunk the screws. It worked very well; everything is as tight as it needs to be, the door fits perfectly, one of my better projects.
So, the question is: Did I do well to file off those last two threads and prevent jacking or was I just being my occasionally compulsive self and wasting my time? Would the screws have just pulled through the last 1/4" of the jamb and pulled the jamb tight? Did I somehow reduce the effectiveness of the screw? [ Will my house fall down? :) ]
John Neel
My real worry was that the screws would jack the jamb away from the wood behind the jamb and that would make the opening too narrow for the door. The screws I used would have left about 1/4" of thread in the jamb and I was concerned that would jack the jamb away from the wood, again narrowing the doorway. So I decided to file off the the last two threads of each screw. I did that, pre-drilled and countersunk the screws. It worked very well; everything is as tight as it needs to be, the door fits perfectly, one of my better projects.
So, the question is: Did I do well to file off those last two threads and prevent jacking or was I just being my occasionally compulsive self and wasting my time? Would the screws have just pulled through the last 1/4" of the jamb and pulled the jamb tight? Did I somehow reduce the effectiveness of the screw? [ Will my house fall down? :) ]
John Neel