I installed my tiny house windows and doors after I finished nailing in the sheathing and air sealing the exterior. I decided to have external insulation for my tiny house so the process for installing windows and doors will be slightly tweaked. Before I install the tiny house windows and doors there are a few steps that I need to take place to prepare.
How many tiny house windows and doors?
| Square footage | 150 SqFt | 200 SqFt | 250 SqFt | 300 SqFt |
| Doors | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Windows | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
How do I prepare for installing tiny house windows and doors?
I built my house using huber zip system so it was nessasary to coat the inside of the window and door frames with huber zip tape. You want to coat the window sill and jack studs with zip tape in the case of a water intrusion. You want to coat the door sill and jack studs with zip tape. The zip tape is water impervious and will protect against any rot if water is able to get into the window or door casing.
The process is the same for all the tiny house windows and doors. My tiny house had 2 regular doors, 1 french door, 3 windows and 4 pop vent windows. It took a while to water seal all of these openings with zip tape. This is a worthwhile endeavor as it will protect the longevity of the house.
How do I install windows?
Windows are relatively easy to install. They will come in one piece and can be laid inside the window frame before being screwed down. Make sure the outside of the window is facing outside. The part of the window with the lock will face inside the house. The window sills should all be level from installation so it should be as easy as placing the window in the frame and centering it.
Make sure the window is even with the outside of the house. Place shims in the gap between the window frame and window opening to make sure it doesn’t move when you screw it in. Drive screws through the window frame into the stud of the house. The window should be plum and square and sitting level on the window sill so double check this with a level.
The final step is to bend the metal nailing strip over the sheathing of house and nailing it in. The metal nailing strips on all sides should be covered with zip tape to make sure there are no penetrations around any tiny house windows and doors.
How do I install doors?
Doors are a bit more tricky than windows. If the door is prehung on a door frame than the process is easy. Simply place the door frame in the opening and make sure it is centered and standing plum and square. You may need to cut the bottom of the door frame to make an desired distance from the ground.
Place shims between the door frame and framed opening of the house. After confirming the frame is square and plum test the door itself to make sure it closes properly into the frame. It should close with a little 1/8 inch gap to spare to account for weatherstripping.
How do I hang a door?
My situation was a little more complicated. Since I got many of my materials salvaged I had to hang the doors on the door frame myself. I should warn you hanging doors is a major pain. To start I bought a door frame kit that included a threshold. I then measured the door I was hanging and cut pieces accordingly from the door frame kit.
My door was 79” by 31.75” so i cut the dimensions of the door frame 80” by 32.25” to add a gap on all sides. This gap would allow the door to swing freely but also be sealed properly by weather stripping and threshold sweep. I used brad nails to nail the two 80” pieces to the end of the 32.25” pieces creating a frame.
How do you make a door threshold?
The bottom part of the door frame should be nailed into a door threshold. I decided to make one myself by using leftover 2×6 lumber. This was a reclaimed beam that looked really nice once I polished it up and sealed it. I measured the width of the door rough opening and cut a peice accordingly. This peice slid into the door rough opening. The door frame sits on top of threshold pieces of wood.
How do I place a door in the frame?
Stand the frame up and door and lay the door inside the 3 sides of the door frame. Prob the door up into the top of the door frame using a piece of wood to ensure the door is set at a good height. It should fit in the frame snuggly. Mark where you would like to install the hinges on the door and frame. If the door is reclaimed it may have screw holes where it was previously installed. I reuse the old screw holes.
Mark on the door frame where the door hinge will attach. Take the door off and screw the hinges onto the door side first. Then prop the door up again so the hinges sit inside the door frame. Check if the door still fits properly in the frame with the addition of the hinges. If it is too tight you may have adjust it by chiseling a notch into the frame for the door hinge. Use a chisel and hammer to make any notches.
How do I attach a door to the door frame?
Prop the door up into the frame and turn the door in slightly as if entering the room. Exterior doors will swing into the house. The hinges should be visible against the door frame so they can be screwed into the door frame. The door hinge should be placed within the door frame that it seals the door tightly when closed.
How do I attach the door frame to the rough opening?
Attaching the door frame is the same as when installing a pre hung door. Place the door frame in the rough opening so it is even with the studs. Use a level to make sure it is standing plum and use shims to hold to door in place for adjustments. Drive screws through the door frame into the stud of the house.
How do I add weather stripping to a door?
The door should have an 1/8 inch gap in the frame on all sides and 1/8 gap to the ground. Weatherstripping will close this gap so your door is air tight. The door frame kit should come with weather stripping material and the frame already notched for weather stripping. Simply cut the stripping material to length and slide it into the notch.
How do I add a threshold sweeps?
The threshold sweep is like weather stripping that attaches on the bottom side of the door and sweeps against the threshold closing the gap. The sweep should be installed on the back side of the door with the sweep part covering the 1/8” gap between the door and the ground. I went a step further and added a smaller rubber sweep on the front of the door to cover the gap from the front side too. This will protect against drafts and bugs crawling in.
How do I insulate the door jamb?
The door jambs are an area that are often neglected when it comes to insulation. They will be covered up with trim on the inside and trim on the outside and if they are not filled can create an insulation deffeciency. I insulated my door jambs by running zip tape on the outside covering and air sealing the opening. I then filled the opening from the other side with spray foam to seal and mineral wool to stuff the gap.
How do I insulate a window jamb?
The process is the same for insulating window jams as it is for insulating door jambs. Cover the outer side of the jamb with zip tape and roll it on. Spray foam the inside of the jamb and stuff the rest with mineral wool. Make sure all tiny house windows and doors have spray foam to ensure an air tight finish.
How do I Install the hardware for a door?
Doors require the installation of a door knob, strike plate, door tongue. First the holes must be drilled to allow hardware to be installed. The first two holes you want to drill is the hole in the door itself and this is where the door knob and deadbolt will be installed. I decided to make the holes 37 inches off the ground. There are door lock installation kits I would recommend buying because it provides a measuring guide and a door hole drill bit.
The next two holes will be drilled in the door frame, a hole for the deadbolt and hole for door tongue. Use the door lock installation kit to figure our where the holes will be drilled on the frame. Mark the holes with a pencil. Use the smaller drill bit provided in the kit to drill holes for the door tongue and the deadbolt.
The door tongue will slide into position with the door handle fitting into the mechanism. Screw down the door tongue and door handle. Check if the door tongue lines up over the hole drilled and mark where it swings. Install the strike plate into the hole where the toungue slides into. It should close like normal door now.
Next is the deadbolt. I chose a brinks digital deadbolt. The process is a about the same as installing the door tongue. Slide the deadbolt into the hole an then attach both sides through the mechanism of the deadbolt. Once installed on the door extend the deadbolt function and see where it hits on the door frame. Mark this spot with a pencil and then install a strike plate right where the deadbolt will end up.
How do I add L flashing around the windows and doors?
I decided to add external insulation to the house so I needed to add L shaped flashing around the windows and doors so it covers the reveal of the insulation. The insulation will butt up against this flashing. This L flashing will be nailed right into the framing around the window. The flashing I chose is 4” by 6” in an L shape.
Use tin snips to cut each piece to size. I nailed the 4” side of the sheathing to the house so there was a 6” part that extended around the perimeter of the window and doors. After I nailed all the pieces on the tiny house windows and doors I went over the nail holes with huber zip caulking to seal the penetrations.
Conclusion: Water tight tiny house windows and doors
The house should have all windows and doors installed now. The windows and doors should be air sealed and insulated. I chose and external insulation design so the perimeter of all the tiny house windows and doors were surrounded by L flashing to prepare for that.
Next Step: Install External Insulation
More resources: https://www.fischerwindow.com/wise-window-tips-for-tiny-homes-under-500-square-feet/