How to Install a New Door Jamb in a Cinder Block Home

Door jambs are the vertical pieces of wood found in the door frame on the left and right of the door itself. Door jambs can be damaged from slamming doors, scratching pets and other abuses. If you have a door jamb that is damaged enough to need replacement, you need to securely fasten the new jamb to the rough opening. When the walls are made of cinder blocks, this requires different techniques than for wood.

Crowbar
Reciprocating saw
Hammer drill
Masonry bit
Cedar shims
Concrete screws, 2 1/2 inches long

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the face trim on the inside and the outside of the door frame using a crowbar.
- 2
  Cut the old door jamb out of the door frame by severing the nails that hold it in using a reciprocating saw. Run the saw down the gap between the outside of the door jamb and the inside of the rough opening. Pry the jamb piece out with a crowbar.
- 3
  Measure the dimensions of the new jamb and check them against the dimensions of the old jamb that you just removed. The new jamb should be exactly the same dimensions to avoid changing the dimensions of the doorframe.
- 4
  Place the new jamb in the location of the old one. Drill pilot holes through the jamb and into the cinder block rough opening using a hammer drill fitted with a masonry bit.
- 5
  Place cedar shims in between the new jamb and the rough opening. Place two shims together, sliding one in from the outside and one in from the inside so that they overlap each other. Press the shims together until they take up the space between the jamb and the rough opening.
- 6
  Drive concrete screws through the jamb and into the concrete block, being sure to put them through the pilot holes that you drilled.

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