What we did on our Labor Day weekend

Our version of a partyin' Labor Day weekend is a bit different than most people's. No grillin,' no chillin,' just drillin' and sawin' with a little demo-in' thrown in for good measure. We figured the replacement of our old worn-out pass-through door between our garages would be reasonably straight-forward (we will NEVER learn). Once the door arrived, we realized that it was 3/4" taller than the original door. Since it sits on a concrete floor, the only thing to do was to cut the header. And, we realized the door was 3/8" wider than the original - we're installing between cinder block and brick ... it's just now starting to get fun. So, after grinding the cinder block, chiseling away the stucco on the front of the brick (we forgot to mention that), peeling up the soffit and pulling down the plywood and wood box that was behind the aluminum door header fascia - and so many dry fits we had no skin left on our knuckles - we installed the new door. Barely enough room to shim on either side. Opens and closes like butter. Always a party at 592; just remember to bring your tool belt ... and a bottle of Ibuprofen.

Old door - brown paint peeling, looks like old Peter Tumbledown's.

The rough opening from hell.

New door in place. We still have to fix the aluminum soffit. Of course, now that we've ripped this all out, we see the need for a light over each garage door AND the pass-through door. So we get to do some wiring before we get to replace the siding. (Did I mention party?)

Even from the inside, looking good. We have a keyless entry now too. (Umm, what was that combination?)