There are two ways to buy doors for both the interior and exterior of the home. By far the most popular of these two are the prehung doors. The other option, which is often used only for interior doors, is a slab door.
The difference between prehung doors and slab doors is very easy to remember. A slab door is the door alone. It may or may not be pre-set for hinges and handles, which is another important consideration.
A prehung door comes with the door and the frame, with the hinges already correctly positioned and the door and frame designed to slide simply into the existing rough opening. With prehung doors, there is still the need to level and square the frame with the opening and the floor.
Ease of Installation
With the ease of installation of prehung doors, many people may be tempted to try to set the door in the rough opening on their own. The reality is these doors are heavy, and they do need to be leveled correctly or the door will not swing open or close properly.
However, the installation is much easier than trying to fit a slab door into an existing frame. This is especially true with exterior doors where the frames may have warped or shifted with time, exposure to moisture, and even shifts in the home itself.
Lower Cost of Labor
When prehung doors come from the manufacturer with the frame and door in place, it takes minimal time to install the door.This translates into less for you in the cost of paying a carpenter or other professional to put the door in place.
Spending the few extra dollars to have custom made or top quality prehung doors installed is well worth the expense. The professional will ensure the door is working correctly and perfectly level, saving you trouble and costs later on.
Enhanced Construction and Features
A door frame is a very complex struture. There are specially designed components to consider as well. Depending on the specific door and installation, these can include sidelites and transoms, which provide you with more options to create just the look you want.
When you select prehung doors the door and additional features will come already assembled with the frame and all elements correctly positioned in relation to each other. This makes the installation easy, but also ensures everything looks perfect when the door is in place.
At Nick’s Building Supply, we sell all our top quality exterior doors as prehung doors. To learn more how we build and ship your door see us at wesite. You can also follow us on Twitter for more information.
