I measured with twine the distance between the two corners and it appears to be square. I'll start knocking out the area below the window, but since I don't have the door, I can't do anything outside yet.

Ok.
Now, measure from the top of the sil to the bottom of the header plus 1&1/2" to make sure you have the height.

When you have removed the drywall below the window, you will probably find the end of a bolt, a washer and nut, in one of the stud bays.
It's a foundation bolt and will need to be cut off even with the surface of the slab.

However, we are in earthquake country.

So, within 12" both sides of the door cutout, you will need to insert a 1/2"X 6" REDHEAD. It'll cause less possibility of misalignment if you co this before cutting the sill for the door.

I finally got around to knocking out all the drywall around the studs, and the dimensions are shown in the picture. I also received the door, and measured the width, and it is indeed 71.25" exactly. The tightest fit I measured is the top of the rough opening, which was about 71.5", while the bottom was just about 71.75". The height was about 80.5" to where the laminate hits, so there's plenty of room there. I did see the bolts you were talking about, and I was going to cut those off with a dremel. when I'm ready to remove the window. I'm afraid with such little clearance at the top that there's a chance it won't fit properly, so I'm trying to figure out what to do.

The following steps are in the order I would preform them.

In the stud bay each side of the proposed opening, remove
the drywall, between the studs, 30" above the floor.

If you do not own a roto-hammer, or hammer drill, rent one with a chuck that will accept standard shank bit, a 1/2" by 8" masonry bit. Purchase a cheap 1/2" paddle bit
and two 1/2"x6" redheads.

If the electrical wire is in the way, shut the breaker off, remove the staple, the recepticle, the box, pull the wire over to it's new location and safe the conductors off with yellow wire nuts, and turn the breaker back on.

Within 12" both sides of the door cutout, you will need to
drill the sill with the 1/2" paddle bit, then the slab with the
masonry bit, "metered" at 5.5", insert and set the 1/2"X 6" REDHEADS. Remove the nut and washer from the existing bolt.

At the intersection of the header and trimmer and the trimmer and sill, on both sides, drill a 1/4" hole, from the inside, through the stucco and insert 2-16D nails that are obvious on the outside.

Securely mask off the wall area with plastic

Attach a 1x or 2x across the window, stud to stud, to prevent it from falling in.

On the outside, with a chalk line, snap a line between the nails, because of the unevenness of the stucco you may need to follow with a grease pencil.

Now comes the dirty part. you'll need gloves, a face mask, breathing protection and a step ladder.

Rent or buy a grinder with a carbide masonry blade that will cut at least 1.25" deep, and follow the chalk line. With a sawzall cut the window sill and the bottom sill.

There are a couple more tips when you catch up.

Thanks snoony! I have a couple followup questions after reading you post:

What's the reason for knocking out the 12x30" of drywall? Is it just to get the nail lined up properly from the outside?

Is bolting the sill into the slab an alternative to caulking it down or are both of them done?

I have laminate floor inside right now directly on the slab, and poured concrete outside. I don't know if they're level, but I think the slab is about an inch higher. I should only have to cut out some laminate I'm assuming?

Thanks again.

"What's the reason for knocking out the 12x30" of drywall?"

It's to facilitate the space needed for the roto-hammer to fit into the stud bay so that the sill and slab can be drilled and the redheads installed.

You omit this step at your own peril. We live in earthquake country and if there is an event which causes your sill to be displaced because those bolts were omitted, your insurance will deny the claim.

"Is it just to get the nail lined up properly from the outside?"

The intersection of the trimmer and sill are directly below the corner of the window, where your arrow heads are.

"Is bolting the sill into the slab an alternative to caulking it down or are both of them done?"

Caulking of the sill is not intended to be n attachment method, but to address irregularities in the finish to prevent "critter" access.

The building code required that a foundation bolt be placed within 12" of the end of a sill and every 6 lineal feet in all load bearing walls.

Your exterior slab should be lower than the interior slab.

I'm going to be painting the door, and should get to this fairly soon. I'll start knocking out the extra drywall though. I may have a follow-up question before that, but I'll post a picture with what I'm asking so I'm sure I understand you correctly. Thanks!

I'll post a picture just so I'm completely clear on what you're suggesting. In the picture below, A corresponds to the drywall areas you're telling me to remove. B corresponds to the bolts that are already drilled into the slab which need to be cut off at the head. C corresponds to roughly 12" in from the trimmer where the redheads will go. D correspond to the 4 points a hole will be drilled and a nail sent through to the exterior.

The thing I'm still confused about is A. If the redheads are going to be drilled vertically into the slab at point C, wouldn't the roto-hammer be vertical? Maybe I'm just confused and you're saying that something else should be drilled in from the sides where the trimmers are. Thanks

D is correct.
C needs to be relocated to A and should be "within 12"" of D.
The short pieces of 2X4 under the window sill are called cripples.

This post was edited by snoonyb on Tue, Jan 21, 14 at 1:30

I'm sorry for all the questions, but I'm still confused. I think I'm just not connecting the dots here. The sill that came with the door is 71.25" wide, just like the frame. In one of your posts you said "It's to facilitate the space needed for the roto-hammer to fit into the stud bay so that the sill and slab can be drilled and the redheads installed." Since the sill doesn't go into the "A" area, how is it supposed to be bolted down in there? Are you just saying that a redhead needs to be installed in the 2x4s on the slab in area A since they will no longer be there in "B" where they were before?

"Are you just saying that a redhead needs to be installed in the 2x4s on the slab in area A since they will no longer be there in "B" where they were before?"

Exactly.

The 2X4 at the base of the wall, attached to the floor, is a sill or bottom plate.

I have not yet discussed the wall framing demolition and door installation process.

Snoony, how firm are we on the size of the redhead :)? I went to home depot and lowes, and they're both out of the 6"x.5". They do have 5", 4", and I think 5.5" though.

5.5 will do.
I usually zoom right by the big boxes for structural fasteners to a regular lumber yard, like Terry or Ganahl.

As you can see in this picture, they shipped an in-swing door when I ordered an out-swing. I have to wait for the new one to be shipped now, but in the meantime, I can complete all the other steps you were mentioning.

Here's the updated wall. I removed the old bolts in the center and they're ready to grind off as soon as I remove the sill plate. I also opened both sides around the window. It turns out that the left side already had an anchor bolt in that area, so I left it there. The right side didn't so you'll see a new redhead over there. 4 holes were drilled in the corners and I have chalk lines ready to grind out on the exterior. There's also a 2x4 in the window to support it from falling in. Since I'm not sure when the door will be here, I didn't want to grind the area out quite yet. Is there anything else I can do at this point? I didn't want to remove the cripples if that would mean the wall would no longer by structurally sound for a while.

Excellant.
Don't forget to mask-off the inside before you do the cut.

You can cut the stucco without affecting the structural integrity. Just cut to the corners, do not go past in an effort to compensate for the blade diameter.

Wear gloves and a full faxe mask as you will be cutting the metal window frame and the weep-screed apron.

Hold the tool so that the blase exhausts away from the line you are following. Be careful not to scare the slab.

You can finish the weep-screed cut with a chisel and strait-cut tin snips.

Hi snoony, just an update: new door comes next week, and I'm cutting the stucco on Saturday. Got a little busy here, and there was light rain, so I didn't want to risk it.

Yuuup, same here, just another version of CA. sunshine.

Hi Snoonyb,

I receive the new door on Wednesday, and plan to paint it right after getting it. I re-did the chalk lines outside because I didn't think they were right on where they should have been. My plan is to cut through the stucco with a grinder just enough to hit the pane inside, and get a decent cut all around. After that, I think the next step would be to try to remove the cripples and sill plate, then remove the window. I'm assuming that the installation for the new door will be similar to what the manufacturer suggests, with the exception of needing some kind of sealer where the stucco is missing up to the door frame?

Thanks for the help.

You'll need a blade that will allow a depth of cut sufficient to cut the window nailing rails, because of the stucco texture.

when you've completed the stucco cut, complete the cut at the weep-screed.

Next, cut the bottom plate, then complete the cuts at the 2 upper window corners.

Place a 2x prop against the top of the window and cut the window sil with the least vibration as possible.

Remove the prop and protect your patio with a couple sheets of tempered masonite.

From the inside, push the wall cut out and with it on the ground, disassemble.

With the grinder, knock the texture off the edges of the cut to provide a relatively smooth surface too catlk tg

if you are near E 4th & Grand, in Santa Ana, I have enough masonite, free for the taking, for the purpose.

Thanks Snoonyb! I'm making all the cuts right now and will let you know how it goes. I'm in north county san diego, so that's a little too far. Thanks for the offer though. I'll let you know how it goes.

I've got the rough opening cut out. There was also a metal angle bracket attached to the sill plate covering am electrical wire running parallel with the concrete. I left the wire on tact. The concrete also has lots of bumpy areas that I'll try to sand down. Once this is all prepared then I think it's ready for the door. I bought some flashing from home depot and 4 tubes of caulking. Also, the door has the sill installed on the inside. Does that seem normal to you? I guess it makes it flush on the outside that way.

Here's a picture of the progress

Like the little guy says"things are lookin up"/
.

Can you please send a couple photos in the shade.
It appears as if the weep-screed is still there, and os that the metal angle you are speaking of?
Can you take a photo of the wire?
Os the bottom plste removed?

Use the grinder to remove the rough spots in the slab.

You shouldn't need any flashing. just caulk..

Here are a bunch more photos. in the picture of the left corner close up you can see both the metal angle I cut, and the wire still there.

Slab

Right side close up

Here's the top. I think I'm going to have about an inch to spare at the top because it's over 81" and the door is 80". I'll measure to see if a 2x fits and put it up there if so

Interesting!

It looks like they used mil-core instead of weep-screed.

Is there an obvious entry and/or exit for the conductors, because they look like speaker wires for a high powered stereo system.

Is there any identifying lettering on the wire?

measure from the inside of the outside trim to the inside of the door sil to make sure you don't have to either cut the flooring or fill in the slab.

You should be able to find some 4" wide tile to fill in the step in the slab.

Actually, filling to the height of the finished floor may also serve to reduce the opening height.

Thanks again. I'm assuming the door siding will be flush with the stucco for the measurement you're talking about?

Here's a picture of the side of the door, with the siding being the standard 4 9/16. The sill sticks out 2 3/4" from the door face on the inside

And to answer your other question, I just checked the wire and it's 14/2. They ran an outlet to the barbeque area outside where there used to be a refrigerator, so I'll try to keep that in tact

The inside of the trim is caulked to the stucco for a weather seal.

Hopefully, you didn't buy silicone.

I did get silicone since the home depot guy grabbed it. Is silicon okay for under the sill, bit use something else around stucco? I can make another run there tomorrow morning before putting the door in.

I just noticed the stuff I got can't be painted anyways. I'll go pick up some polyurethane tomorrow morning.

This post was edited by shaklee3 on Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 0:30

Before you apply the caulking wipe with a damp sponge.

I prefer the POLYSEAMSEAL exterior siliconized by LOCKTITE because it's user friendly and paintable.

Apply 2 beads to the sil area and liberally at the bottom corners of the opening. Then up the sides and across the top near the edge of the cut.

Before you set the door, remove 1 hinge screw from the upper and lower hinge on each side,

The screw should be closest to the center of the jamb.

When you set the door, tilt the header out slightly so the caulk under the sil is not displaced. Tilt the door in and using a 2-1/2" or 3" DECK screw and a #2 square bit through the previously removed hinge screw hole, secure the doors in the opening.

This also allows you to adjust the assembly at will.

The interior of the jamb should be equal with the drywall.

Here's the door in place but with no screws. In not really clear on what you were saying about the jamb being flush with the drywall since that leaves the jamb on the outside about .5" inside the stucco on the outside. Is that correct? I'm getting a lot of sag in the middle too and the doors arent closing without pushing them outwards

Here are some more pictures from the inside. You can see the drywall isn't flush with the jamb, but it is with the stucco.

You can see the stucco is flush here

Here you can see how much the sill overhangs

I'm also worried that if it's flush with the drywall it won't open correctly since it's an outswing.. The hinges would be inset a little more than .5".

Edit: never mind. The door only opens 90 degrees, so it won't hit the exterior. My only problem now is that it's squeezing very tightly on the astragal, and the doors are very hard to open, and only close when pulling them both out first. I don't know screwing in all of the hinges will fix this, and didn't want to screw it in just yet

This post was edited by shaklee3 on Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 15:18

One more picture showing the uneven gap on the header, which is pushing the doors together

After spending all day trying to get the door square without success, I'm trying to think of what could be wrong. I removed the door and put it on the ground, and the doors still didn't open. According to a guy here:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/windows/msg1223302113426.html

If the slab isn't perfectly level before putting the door in, you might see this effect. I'm at the point where I'm second-guessing how level that slab was. I grinded it down quite a bit, but it's possible that it's not perfect. One alternative would be to buy a 3/4" plywood and glue it down to the concrete while trying to get it level. I have about an inch to spare above the header on the frame, so I could just do a transition on the inside to make up for the difference in height. I think it will be about .5" after all is said and done since the laminate is just over 1/4".

Sorry for all the messages. Very frustrating day.

The web site shows an exterior trim that is missing in the picture enclosed with this msg;"Here's the door in place but with no screws. In not really clear on what you were saying about the jamb being flush with the drywall since that leaves the jamb on the outside about .5" inside the stucco on the outside. Is that correct? I'm getting a lot of sag in the middle too and the doors arent closing without pushing them outwards"

Did you remove it or was it not included?

"In not really clear on what you were saying about the jamb being flush with the drywall since that leaves the jamb on the outside about .5" inside the stucco on the outside."

This means that the jamb was not wide enough and should have been 5&1/8".

So, now align the jamb with the stucco, however nake the adjustment so that the jamb to drywall is the same all over.

In all the questions I've ask, I've assumed that there was an exterior trim attached.

You can check the level with a line and level or a strait peice of 1x and your 4' level/, or set the door, secure it, open the doors and level the sil.

once the sil is level, move the bottom and top to adjust the operation.

If you need better advice send me a private e mail and I'll give you my phone number,

Hi snoony. No, there's no trim attached. Just a frame 4 9/16" all around. I don't think I can go even with the stucco since the hinge screws are about the same depth as the 7/8" stucco from the outside, so they wouldn't sink into the studs unless the door is flush with the drywall. The guy at home depot told me they didn't make doors in anything but 4 9/16" and 6 9/16" jambs, and I believed him.

Also, that piece was not included. What you see in my pictures is what was shipped.

Hello again Snoonyb, I had a door company come out to give an estimate on finishing the job just to see what it would cost should it start raining (it's hard to get help to life that thing during the week). Since they charge for the service call, they were also able to see exactly what I was working with and give advice on the amount of work left, and confirmed two things:

1) The concrete is not level and will need to be raised a bit
2) The gap on the sides only leaves about 1/4"-3/8" at most. If the door cannot be squared in that little space (it's hitting the trimmer in certain spots), the space will need to be widened a bit.

I'm going to give it one more shot of just shimming the sill to try to level it as a test to see if it can be squared, but if that doesn't work, I'll need to widen it a bit. Once widened, I'd have to add the 4" tiles you suggested and get the whole surface level. I'm hoping I can remove a trimmer on one side and replace it with this http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/HH.asp, and cut the stucco back to accommodate the extra 1.5".

How does that sound? I can take a picture of all 4 gaps if you're curious how much room I have. It's really hard to get pictures of it though since the lighting can be misleading.

This post was edited by shaklee3 on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 22:17

At this point do not use any caulk.

As we discussed, remove the doors from the assembly so that your only dealing with the jamb.
Set the jamb in the opening and use shims in the top corners to hold it in place.

A note about using shims. Because they are tapered, use then in pairs, inserted equally from both sides.

Level the sil, then square the jamb in the opening using the screws mentioned earlier and measuring diagonally.

If you find that you are restricted by the existing framing.

Set the doors, individually, paying attention to the fit of the hinges.

Hi Snoony, I finally had time to make some progress this weekend. After tapping one of the trimmers to the side with a sledge hammer and removing the doors, the frame was able to be mounted squarely in place. I think there just wasn't enough room to the sides, which was making it look like other parts were not level. Because of the large gap above the top of the frame, I had to get some fairly large 4" trim to cover it up, but it looks decent. There's still quite a bit of drywall patching to be done inside, but at least the door is in and working. Thanks!

Thats great!

So, your next gig is a constant at Home Desperado.

Thanks, both of you, for sharing this very detailed dialog. How nice it is to know there is still a" helping hand" (no matter the distance) to offer one's time explaining and trouble-shooting during the entire process. "We" (haha-my diy husband) are going to be doing a similar project, and it has helped immensely to read through this very realistic process with all of the snags and glitches and ever-consistent responses to the many questions. Your'e good people - both of you!