Doors and Windows - bad job installing entry door

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bwv11
08-08-06, 12:24 AM
we had a new front entry door installed a few days ago. it was a sloppy job in the first place, but looking it over yesterday, my wife noticed a crack in the door, about 3 inches long and maybe 1/8 inch deep, apparently caused when the installer worked out the area for the deadbolt. it is possible to 'grab' the point of the cracked area with a fingernail and pull it out slightly from the main body of the door.

i am wondering about how major such damage may be in terms of security, in terms of weakening the door, as well as just general principle. our first inclination is to 'demand' a new door, but wonder what the standards in the field are like?

i am now also wonderomg if this job should have required a building permit - but the installer did not obtain one.

finally, he left about a 1-inch trough along the entire width of the door, which he said should be filled in with grout or covered with a quarter-round - a friend said that was right and fitting the door to the tile floor the same as the last door was fit was not the installer's job. but now i'm having second thoughts about letting him off the hook for that one, too.

thanks!


marksr
08-08-06, 06:26 AM
Not sure I understand about the crack in the door. Is the wood split? Depending on the severity and location of the crack it could mean the door should be replaced but often just filling the crack [to make it dissapear] is all that is needed. Has the door been finished [paint/poly] ?

Generally a building permit isn't required for small repairs. Localities differ but usually any repairs under a set $ amount require no permit.

Grout would be a job for the tile man, not the carpenter but installing quarter round would be his job. He should have asked if you wanted quarter round or grout. IMO grout would look better. In a perfect world this would have been discussed prior to any work being done.

bwv11
08-08-06, 08:11 AM
thank you. very nicely framed response!