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Doors

Question
My back door has nine panes of glass set both inside and outside with wood molding that is apart of the doorframes. One of the panes is broken. How can I remove it, and more importantly, how can I put the new glass in?

Answer
First, double and triple check that wood molding. Most moldings can be pried off. If yours cannot, then it is an old door that was built with the glass set in the frame as it was assembled. This is what I would do to replace the glass in such a door. Cut the wood bead on one side of the door with a utility knife, being careful with both the knife and the glass, which can cut in a twinkling. Cut it on three sides. Take out the glass and clean out any putty that remains. Put in the new glass and tack a small quarter-round molding to take the place of the wood bead, and paint to match. More modern doors have a flat wood bead on one side that can be pried off and put back when the new glass is installed.

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Question
I have a door that insists on swinging open. How can I tighten the hinge pin so the door will stay put?

Answer
Because the door is not hung vertically, it can move when it shouldn't. There are basically two ways to fix it. One way is the right way; the other way is the wrong and dirty way. The right way is to remove one leaf of the bottom hinge and insert a cardboard shim, then put the hinge back in place. Of course, you want to make sure all the hinges are tight first. That way will work but it might take you a couple trials and errors to make sure the proper hinge leaf is brought out. The dirty way is short. Remove a hinge pin, lay it on a hard surface and give it a whack with a hammer. This will bend it slightly so that it will be tight in the hinge barrel holes when you reinsert it. You can do this with one or more of the hinge pins. The tight pin will keep the door from moving itself. You may get a horrendous squeak from those tight pins. But you can quiet them with a little WD -40 dry tube.

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Question
We have a steel outside door with a storm door. I read that a storm door should not be used with a steel insulated door because heat buildup from the sun would be excessive. Our door faces south, but does not get much sun, and only in the morning. Is this acceptable?

Answer
You shouldn't have a problem is the sun is minimal. The way to find out is to leave the storm door in place for the autumn and winter and see what happens. There are two types of damage from heat buildup: 1) Peeling paint. 2) The plastic trim on the windows of the door will become distorted. If none of these occur, then I'd keep the door on, but be sure to put a screen in the summer.

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