Door Replacement Problem

[Dennis Putnam]

I recently had to replace an existing exterior door with a fire resistant door. The door enters from a garage into the kitchen. Anyway, all went well with one exception. The entry from the garage is brick and the brick mold of the replacement frame (or the frame itself) is about 2" shorter than the old opening on the exterior side. The interior side fits perfect. So I now have about a 2" gap between the top of the brick mold and the steel lintel. I'm looking for ideas on how to trim out that gap. TIA.

[Gregory King]

Not sure how the interior side fits perfect. I suspect that the trim/ boston header is wide enough to cover. I might have installed a piece of wood flush on the exterior rside before the frame was installed. You could have painted it in a color to match the brick or wrapped it with a piece of flat stock aluminum to satisfy your code, I suspect.

[Dennis Putnam]

I thought the same thing. Once I checked that the interior was right I foolishly didn't bother to check exterior. I don't know why I never noticed that in the years it was there. I guess I never looked up going out the door and when I took the door off for the removal it was not obvious. I didn't even notice it after installation until I was ready to caulk.There was perhaps an angle to the top plate of the frame making it higher on the outside than inside.

[Neil Gaskin]

We would remove the brick mold and go back with rough or smooth Cedar ripped to fit. If it's exposed to the weather make sure to seal it well.

[mark mcfarlane]

Fill with brick mortar?

[Gregory King]

Fill with brick mortar?

Probably the best solution at this point Mark. And maybe compress a piece of expanded metal in the cavity first so that the mortar attaches well.

[Dennis Putnam]

Brick and mortar is not really an option. The gap is less than half a brick thick and I have nothing with which to slice a brick. I hadn't thought of replacing the top brick mold strip. I'll have to see what thicknesses of other wood are available that will fit right. It doesn't need to be cedar as it is from a garage so not exposed to weather, just temperature.

I wonder if I can find a router bit that matches the brick mold profile.

[Mel Fulks]

I haven't seen it ,but since it is not the FRONT door I would make a base block for each side. Paint them and caulk to all surfaces. If done right it's a quality feature.

[mark mcfarlane]

Brick and mortar is not really an option. The gap is less than half a brick thick and I have nothing with which to slice a brick. ...

FWIW, I wasn't suggesting cut brick, only to full the gap with mortar. A picture might help...

[Dennis Putnam]

I don't think using just mortar would look right. The gap is about 1 1/2". A picture is attached. The white above the brick mold is the steel lintel.

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[Karl Andersson]

If I'm seeing it right, recommend you cut the tops of the side pieces of brick mould square (where the current miter starts or just below), rip a 1x6 to fit between the ends and the lintel, prime it and nail in place. If need be, make filler "studs" that are nailed to the top interior moulding and then you can nail the garage-side top moulding at points above the door jamb. That's what casing looked like before they started mitering all the corners- it'll be fine. If you can't take the door back out to cut it, use a small pull saw to cut the tips of the mould in place.

[Mel Fulks]

Oops, I thought the gap was at the bottom. Hard to see how much overhang the top piece has, but if there is enough I would attach a drip edge under top piece ,that would overhang the brick mould.

[Dennis Putnam]

Thanks. That would probably work as it is in a garage, perfection is not needed.

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks for the pic Dennis. Is this joint exposed to rain, or in a recessed area? I think you could still use mortar if you painted the brick lintel to match. Or go with painted wood... I prefer low maintenance solutions but painting the wood when you paint the door isn't that big a deal.

[Dennis Putnam]

As I said in an earlier post it is interior to the garage so there is no weather exposure. Karl's solution will work just fine.