Things to Know Before Doing a Home Repair (Even a Little One)

It provided years of security--the original door of my house built in 1971--but termites and cats have taken their toll.

I now live in fear of something breaking.  Of course, one never enjoyed having something break--particularly as it always happened when you were broke or at the most inconvenient times.  However, it seemed to me in the old days things were simple.  You called a repairman, and often within the week they would come out and fix whatever problem you had.

We worried about the extent of the termite damage and whether the frame would have to be rebuilt.

In May of 2018, my bottom lock on the front door stopped locking.  There was nothing wrong with the lock itself.  What I suspected was that termite damage had caused the door to fall a bit, and now the lock didn't catch.  Replacing the lock, I didn't think, would fix the problem.  I thought it best to replace the entire door.  I did worry about how far the termites had gotten in devouring the frame.  Would I actually need two repairmen--one to rebuild the frame and another to install the door?  All I knew is that I had better replace this door before the deadbolt stopped working too.

My old door from the outside.

In the past, my mom was the one that handled the arrangements in getting repairs fixed.  I had done some repairs myself--installing my mom's bedroom door and changing out electrical sockets--but I didn't dare attempt installing the front door.  I suspected the frame would have to be rebuilt.  I've always prided myself in knowing my limitations.

The top of the door showed how the door had sagged in its frame, which is why I think the bottom lock stopped working.

This was the first home repair that I would arrange to get repaired.  It was nerve wracking.  My mom owns the house, and I felt her idea about how much the repair would cost was rather unrealistic (she thought it should be around $500--I thought it would be closer to $1500...I was right).  My mom had always used local people referred to her--"some guy" who was related to a friend or used by a neighbor.  While they did repairs much more cheaply, I was starting to feel that it was a short term gain/long term loss situation.  "Some guy" often did not do things correctly.  The air conditioners were not put far back enough and leaked inside our walls, causing damage.  The fascia repair fell off and made a bigger hole.  I decided that I wanted to deal with professionals.  Yeah, I'd pay more money--but I was hoping I'd have a better chance of getting it done right the first time.  If it wasn't done right, then I could sue without having to worry about offending a neighbor or friend who had referred "some guy" to me.

I tried filling in the holes done by termites, but my feral cats liked clawing the filler out.  In doing so, they often created bigger holes.

I decided to go through Home Depot.  While I was very impressed with the service and things went smoothly, I was rather shocked by what a process it was going to be.  Repairs require many steps and take longer to get done due to all the red tape.  I don't know what a person does if they have a real problem.  I went into Home Depot expecting my door to be installed within two weeks.  I ordered the door on May 21.  It didn't get installed until August.  Here's why:

My new door.  The nice thing about having a house in disrepair is that it is such a high when something gets fixed.  If my house was in better condition, I don't know if repairs would be as exciting.

Code Changes

I live in Florida, and the hurricanes have made an impact on our lives long after the damage has been fixed.  There have been many code changes.  Now, this may not apply to you if you live somewhere else--but then again, other places have their problems too even if they don't get hurricanes.  The first thing you should consider before doing a home repair is whether there have been code changes.  I wanted a door termites couldn't eat anyway, so I was just as well pleased that code requires a metal door now.  Wood doors are not allowed under the new codes, and if you install one--as a relative of mine had done--don't be surprised if you are ordered to take it down and install a code-required door.  Another code requirement that I wasn't happy about is that doors have to be out-swinging instead of in-swinging.  To me, this is asking for accidents--and I was picturing braining many a delivery man with my door (and a couple of cats too).  Apparently, though, people have gotten trapped in their homes with in-swinging doors.  While "some guy" may be happy to do a repair with something that is not up to code, professional companies will refuse to do it.  I'm assuming that their licensing requires them to do things according to code.  Home Depot, if I was going to be using their services, also would not sell me a door that wasn't up to code.

New door from the outside.

They wouldn't even let me buy the door on my first appointment because:

We aren't allowed to cover up or paint over the screws until the inspection is done.

Expect That a Company Wants to Do Their Own Measurements and Diagnostic

You do your homework and take measurements.  You do your research.  They don't care.  When I went to Home Depot, my first appointment was to set up another appointment for the company Home Depot was contracting with to send a guy out to measure my door and do an analysis of what was going to be needed to do the repair.  This didn't result in a huge delay.  Within three days, the guy came out and had done his thing.  He reported back to Home Depot with the results.  Still, it was a surprise when I had expected to go in the first time to make my order and set up the repair.  I was pleased, though, with this extra step.  It may have been a bit inconvenient, but I felt better that they had an idea of what they were dealing with--and that would make it less likely there would be any nasty surprises.  It also guaranteed that I ordered the door that I needed.  The second visit I made to Home Depot was to buy the door, the doorknob, and set up the installation.  However, there was something else that needed to be done first--and this is what caused the biggest delay:

The installer told me not to paint over the sticker.  I forgot why--I think it was for insurance reasons.

You May Need a Permit

In the old days, you only needed permits for major repairs that would alter the property in some way.  I didn't expect to need a permit to change out a door, but I did.  The reason why this caused the biggest delay was that the permit office was backed up (no wonder if you need a permit for every little repair--it wasn't just doors that required them).  The Home Depot representative warned me that it may be another month before the permit goes through.  I went home praying my deadbolt would last until the repair could be done.  I had to wait for the company to send me the paperwork for the permit application.  It came within the week, at the same time my door arrived at Home Depot--who would hold it in storage until the company was ready for the installation (they would pick up the door).  There was another surprise I hadn't been prepared for, though:

Schlage locks--they were pretty and one of the cheapest locks, but I regret buying it.  The same key opens both locks, but that isn't my complaint.  A security feature forces you to turn the key to a particular place after locking or unlocking it to release the key.  If you aren't in the exact right place, it will hold your key hostage.  This security feature is probably good for keeping thieves and homeowners locked out of the home.

You May Need a Notary

The Home Depot representative hadn't told me that I would need to have the paperwork notarized.  This delayed the installation for another three weeks, mainly because my mom and I were having health issues and were busy with other things.  We also didn't know where to find a notary.  We wound up finding one at our bank Wells Fargo (you can also find them at libraries, online, and at UPS stores). Meanwhile, the company Home Depot was contracting with got concerned and called us--I told them the paperwork was just sent out.  A week later, they got it and applied for the permit.  Another month passed while we waited.

A new feature added to doors--a rubber strip that I assume acts as insulation.  The only problem is that it can interfere with closing the door, though the installer told me that eventually it would "break" in.

Finally, the day came that the company called me to set up an appointment for the installation.  This happened the first week of August.  They didn't have an appointment until the end of August.  Still, I was happy that it was finally happening.

It takes very little to make an out-swinging door to swing outward.  This chain keeps it from slamming into your wall and allows it to only go so far.

Well, I was happy until the week of the installation.  That was when the anxiety started to creep in.  After months of waiting for my door to be installed, I was almost tempted to cancel the appointment.  I started suspecting that one of the reasons my family had been bad about keeping the house in repair was because repairs are stressful.  I would have a stranger around for several hours while this job was being done.  I worried about the dust and mess it would create, which would not only give me a lot of clean up but wreck havoc on my allergies.  I worried about all the creepy crawlies that would crawl out of the door frame when their home was suddenly hacked away.  Most of all, I worried that the guy would take off my door but would be unable to install the new one--and also wouldn't be able to put the old one back on. I wouldn't have any door for protection.

My fears were unjustified.  The company Home Depot had contracted with--they are called J&G Carpentry--were well prepared.  The installer came earlier than my original appointment (which was between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.).  His first appointment had canceled.  Though I was still in my jammies and still hadn't had breakfast, I was pleased.  I worried about some unforeseen complication and wanted it resolved before nightfall.  The installer was a bit intimidating at first.  He was a big bear of a man, short cropped hair, bushy beard, and covered in tattoos...but the minute he opened his mouth, I was at ease.  He was a friendly, soft-spoken fella who was very efficient.  He worked steadily, came prepared, and knew what he was doing.  His easy manner made him a pleasure to be around.  While there was dust, it wasn't as bad as I expected, and he was good about cleaning up after himself.  I didn't even get the sniffles.  Only two baby roaches came running out for dear life when the door frame was taken away, but it was nothing like I imagined (I was picturing the scene in The Mummy--the one with Brendan Fraser--where a mass of scarabs rise up from the floor near the end of the movie).  I was also very relieved to find out that the termite damage was superficial, and my house was still structurally strong--and that doing repairs will probably fix it, and setting it on fire and running away was definitely not necessary.  By noon, the door was installed.  My only difficulty was with the Schlage locks, who did not want to release my key after I put it inside them.  I called the installer, who had already left, and he was nice enough to give me information about how to remove the key after locking or unlocking the door.  This wasn't due to him installing them badly--it was a security feature.  The locks will only release the key when they are in a certain place.  I don't think I like the locks that I chose, and I'm hoping in the future to find a more user-friendly brand.

You would think the story ends here, wouldn't you?  The door is installed.  It is done, right? Wrong!

You May Need to Have an Inspection

I am now waiting for a sticker to be sent to me.  When I get this sticker, I will call a number to have an inspector come out to make sure everything is kosher.  In the meantime, I cannot cover the screws or paint over them.  The installer also told me not to paint over the sticker on the side of the door.

As annoying as this may all be--all these steps--I think in the end it is meant for our protection.  After the inspector comes, will that be it?  I have no idea.  I'll keep you posted. 

UPDATE:

I write this on October 11, 2018.  Yesterday we had our door inspection, and happily we passed.  I am hoping that this is the end.  I am told that this was the last step.  I had expected to get a new door within two weeks, and it has taken five months in all to get everything done.

The sticker proved to be troublesome.  The sticker was supposed to come with the door, and it didn't.  I called the company that installed the door, and they called Home Depot.  Home Depot contacted the vendor that sold the door, and they supposedly sent the sticker in the mail.  We were having some problems with our mail at the time, but we never received it.  After several weeks passed, the door installer asked Home Depot to send another sticker because I never received the first one.  A woman named Josephine called me from Home Depot and said the vendor dropped another sticker at the store, and can I come pick it up.  I texted back where I should collect it, but she didn't answer me that day.  The next day she asked me to come get it, still not saying where--but that day I had a dental cleaning.

My mom had been having me handle everything, but at this point she started to think we were being horsed.  She thought Home Depot was stalling and started suspecting they had switched doors on us.  Maybe this door wasn't up to code, and they knew it wouldn't pass inspection.  She called Home Depot and told the associate to send the sticker.  When I called to confirm if the sticker had been sent, they said yes.

I decided to write an update of the situation to the door installer.  I told them that Home Depot claims they have sent it.  I also told them that my mom thought we were being horsed.  She thought this particularly after speaking to our city's building inspector.  He said that all we needed for an inspection was a permit, which we had.  He knew nothing about a sticker.  Playing good cop, I assured them that I didn't think we were being horsed.

That same day, I got a call back from Josephine.  It turns out the sticker wasn't in the mail after all.  She said she would come to my house the next day and deliver it, which she did.  I called my door installer, and we scheduled the inspection for the next week.

It sucked that I had to get up much earlier than I'm accustomed to, but I was glad I did.  The guy came early.  Everything checked out, and that was the end.  Oh, two things to note here.  We had to put our papers outside, which frankly made me nervous.  One, we've had bad weather, and mainly I was worried about my feral cats--who love to carry off any type of item.  The sticker had to be put on the door, though I put it on with scotch tape so I could easily remove it.

All in all, this wasn't a terrible experience.  I think with any home repair, you have to expect some difficulties to arise, some inconvenience.  Still, I can't believe that it took this long to get everything done.  Some of it was our fault--we took a while to get the papers notarized.  I'll tell you, though, after this...I'm a little worried about how long it will take to remodel a kitchen or bathroom if it takes five months for a door installation job to get done.