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TLDR - Installed a new door but old door was non-standard size by about 1/4, about 80 by 36 1/4. Added 1/4 strip to hinge jamb but now there is a gap with the weather stripping and serious draft issue with the side. Original entry door was made by Anderson and is really nice, which creates the issue. The piece that weather stripping is slotted into is routed into jamb and head. No good way to remove in one piece. How this idiot DIYer fix?

Longer story is that we bought a foreclosure a while ago in a good school district, most we could afford in the area. I have been working on various repairs for a while and replaced all internal doors (just doors as well as frame on few) with pretty decent success. Our front door was a disaster with dents and terrible paint job that previous owner did, along with other terrible DIY. The door and sidelights were installed by Anderson, possibly when the house was built in late 60s, not sure though. The installation is actually great, all the pieces fit together perfectly and interlock. Unfortunately the OG Andersen door is not standard sizze, its slightly wider than default 36x80, about 36 1/4 x 80. I didn't realize this until I installed the new door (i know measure at least once). There was a solid 1/4 gap, if not larger. To remedy this I added a 1/4 strip on the hinge side and now the door fits nice. It needs slight adjustment but overall I have seen worse.

The issue is that now with the 1/4 on hinge side the weather stripping no longer fits properly against the door, instead there is a gap that has a horrible draft and the weather in MD is only getting worse. First through was that I can just pry out the piece with channel that holds the strip but the piece goes into the head and threshold (see pics 3/4). There is no graceful way of extracting it, adding same 1/4 backing and reinserting. I'm at a loss how to fix this. One idea was simply to add weather stripping to the outside but the wife said it would look ugly, which is far the most important thing in our house. I thought about cutting out the piece of that holds the weather strip at head and sill but dont know if I can reinsert and make it look nice again. Damn you Andersen, your great construction, and non-standard door!

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  • It's really difficult to follow your question but it appears that there is a gap on the hinge side of the door. Since this is a pre-hung door, your job as an installer is to get it installed LEVEL and SQUARE. A gap in the hinge side indicates that the door frame is not square and is being distorted. Remove the door and reinstall it properly so that it's plumb and square.
    – jwh20
    Nov 8, 2021 at 14:09
  • Is repairing the old door not an option? Or perhaps moving the filler strip to the door instead of the jamb, would pull the hinges back to the jamb and close that gap.
    – matt.
    Nov 8, 2021 at 14:34
  • @jwh20 This was a DIY and doing my best to explain the problem. The door is level and square. The previous door was slightly bigger than todays current standard, not sure why. Installing new door required adding the strip seen in the picture but that bumped the door away from the weatherstrip. Otherwise door seems to be decently installed.
    – James
    Nov 8, 2021 at 19:17

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The problem is due to the location of the filler strip. Adding it to the jamb side pushes the door farther into the opening and away from the weather stripping.

I would suggest moving the filler strip to the door, mortise the hinge pockets and be done.

Alternatively, it sounds like the existing door could possibly be repaired. Dings, dents and a bad paint job are fairly easy to fix.

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