Mind The Gap!

Weather-stripping isn't really meant to seal gaps more than an eighth-inch.

So the way to solve this problem is to shrink the gap.

In an ideal world, I'd move the jamb over where it's supposed to be.  But that would mean filling a gap in the base molding next to the door.

Piecing in 3/8-inch chunks of a 4-part base molding is Not Feasible.

Fortunately, I found a big box store that carried flat trim that will work to fill the gap.  It is the right width, can be cut to length, and is mostly the right thickness.  It means the reveal from the jamb to the casing is off by a little bit, but that's something I can live with for "the servants' door".  This stuff is only $.30 a foot.   So $3 vs. close to $1K for a custom door; the math on that is left as an exercise for the reader... ;-)

The gap is a little narrower at the top, so once I cut it to length I scribed it and shaved it down to the right thickness everywhere.  A plane, a sanding block, and a few minutes time is all it took. Then primed it on all sides and nailed it in place.

Oh, I forgot - I filled the old screw holes and cavities from the strike plates first.  Then measured and chiseled out their new locations and...

Voila!

A door that stays closed.  With a deadbolt that works.

And, even without *any* weatherstripping, seals better than it did before.

Later I'll caulk the joint, paint it, and install new spring bronze weather-stripping.

And those are projects for another day.