# door and separate sidelight installation



## lee12

Hi

I am getting ready to install a door with sidelight. These have already been purchased and the sidelight is a separate unit. My question has to do with the installation. 

1) Should I join the door and sidelight together so they can be installed as one unit? If so, how would I go about attaching them? Or is it better to frame out 2 separate openings and install each one individually? I have the option to do it either way, this is part of a new addition.

2) Any suggestions on how to prep the threshold/sill (bottom of framed opening)? I was just going to use some flashing tape like would be done for a window. Is that enough? 

Thanks


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## kwikfishron

I’d set them separately. 

Think about your finish, how you want things trimmed, inside and out. 

Set the door as you would any door but set the side light to accommodate your trim detail.

I have door pan flashing made at a local sheet metal shop. At the very 
minimum you can flash it with your sticky tape but if the door will be exposed to the elements a door pan is a must IMO.


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## lee12

Thanks for the advice. Would I need a separate pan for under the sidelight? Or is that not so much of a concern since it will not open?

I found an adjustable pvc? pan (suresill.com) - anyone have experience with these? Looks like it would work pretty well. For 20-25$ is that a good option over a custom pan from a sheet-metal shop?


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## kwikfishron

I get Stainless Steel pans made for about $40.

I have them made because the measurement from the back of the pan (inside) and the front (outside) often vary due to the thickness of sometimes layers of siding down to just the sheathing. I want the outside down flange to fit snug. 

Also the pan you link to relies on tape to protect the sides. The pans I use are bent up on the sides along with the back with soldered corners.

Depending on the flooring you can sometimes see part of the pan on the inside so a thin piece on SS tight against the threshold looks much cleaner than a thicker piece of plastic.

As far as your sidelight, is yours a full length frame same as the door or is it a flanged window?


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## lee12

Thanks for the continued help with this.

The sidelight is full length (same height as door) with no flanges. It essentially has the same frame as the door. As for what you mentioned about the siding depth, that is good to keep in mind. At this point I am not entirely sure what siding I will be using so maybe my best bet is to just temporarily tack the door in for now and have a metal pan made later? The flooring will be 3/4" hardwood.

Do you happen to have any pictures of the metal pans you have made? Might be good for me to have when I go ask someone for one. Thanks again.


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## kwikfishron

I must be missing something here, any doors with full frame sidelights I’ve installed have come as one unit with a continuous threshold. In that case the pan would be the full width (+ 1/4") of the unit. In your OP I assumed you had a door and separate flanged window.


I have no pictures of the pans I use but there similar to the one you linked. The only difference other than material is the flange that comes up behind the inside of the door continues around the sides.

In a new construction situation the front flange would come down over the ½” sheathing and building paper.

In some retrofit situations you may have the sheathing, T111 over that and lap siding over that in that case I’d order a deeper pan.


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## lee12

The door and sidelight are separate, each one has it's own threshold (if I'm using the term correctly). No flange or brickmould on either. I'll try to remember to post a picture tonight.


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## lee12

here are some pictures, hopefully this gives a better idea of what I'm trying to figure out. thanks for taking the time to help me out.


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## Jim F

Why were they purchased that way instead of being framed together as a single unit?


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## kwikfishron

Back to my original response. What do you want the trim to look like?

From a trim prospective, say you wanted 3 ½” trim between the units with one continuous piece of head trim you would set them so you had 3 ½” between the thresholds. That would require one continuous header which should be no problem. If you where using standard casing on the inside and brick mold on the outside that would be different. It’s all about the trim and how much room you have.

What do the plans show for a header?


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## lee12

Separate is the only way they were available from the place I got them, which had them for significantly less than anyone else. I had done a little bit of research beforehand and I didn't think it really mattered. I've seen a few other houses that had them separate so I didn't think it was all that uncommon. For now, I really just wanted to know if there was any advantage to installing them separately (2 rough openings) or attaching them together beforehand (1 rough opening).

As for the trim, I really had not thought that far ahead. I have someone who will be making the trim so everything is more or less custom. I just figured I could have the trim whatever way I wanted so I hadn't really thought it through. I don't really have a preference aesthetically for any specific style and I have the ceiling height and space around the door to accommodate wider trim if that's what I decide.

The rough opening already exists and I built it with one continuous header so I have the option of doing this either way. My inclination was to install them separately with a 2x4 in between as this seemed like it would be more secure but I wanted to see what other people thought.


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