When I can’t solve even the simplest situation, I am stuck.
I need to give DW friend an estimate for a small job and have one little glitch that is holding me up.
Putting bypass doors between two walls, not in a jamb. Simple enough. But what about the baseboard?
Three solutions that come to mind are:
1. Let the doors hit the base. Leaves a large space on both sides.
2. Notch the base. Seems good, but now the wall is exposed. Not much, but unfinished looking.
3. Notch the doors. Uh, I don’t think so.
Any suggestions, before this woman, who thinks I’m her buddy, starts thinking (or realizing) that I am a dumb puttz?
Glenn
Replies
Not sure I understand - no jams? What are you mounting the hinges & stops to?
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Bypass doors. Track at top. No hinges. One in front, one in back. In parallel, 2 different planes.Glenn
My thinking is more along the lines of thinking she is the putz for thinking this can be done right with no jamb
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Paul, It's my idea. She wants to make a closet in an area of the finished basement where an exterior wall and a return wall are 4'7" apart.My idea is to use bypass doors. Screw the track to the joists overhead.Not a problem installing. Just worried about the finish.Glenn
Notch out the base board. Just before the base make a track like funnel to guide the doors into the notch so's they don't swing out of plumb and whack the un-notched part.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I think if he is just worried about the appearance of the wall bottom - unfinished SR where the base is notched away ( yes use a bevel cut to guide the door in) he could fine that up by using some Minwax wood filler ( the two part ) to fill voids and paint it there
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
That's pretty much it. I am now toying with the idea of notching the base down just far enough for the doors to slide in, as opposed to taking the full height of the base out.But the best tool for that is probably a Multimaster, and I don't have one yet.Hmmm....I feel the need to....Glenn
Here is another idear...Say the base is 9/16" and the door is 1-3/8"Make a sort of astragal strip 5/8" x 7/8" to fasten to the end of the door where it abuts the wall.That stops the door from jumping the track when hitting the base, and forms a shadow reveal there when the door is closed.you'd probably have to do it to all four door edges. some people can't remember which door closes to which side.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
That's nice. I like that.I was thinking the same way Don was thinking. Too involved. This could be perfect.Thanks Paul.Thanks guys.Maybe I'll see you next month, Don. That's the day after my birthday, so maybe I'll celibate. Oh, not that one. CELEBRATE. Yeah, that's it.Celibate bad. Celebrate good.Glenn
But the best tool for that is probably a Multimaster, and I don't have one yet.
For $59, consider getting this one instead:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65700
Just figure the price of the tool into the job. As long as it lasts for this one job, you're ahead of the game.
I have bought many Harbor Freight tools with the "as long as it lasts for this one job" mindset and I have yet to throw any of them away.
Two things, Don.1. Do you have that tool and if so, how is it?2. What the heck are you doing on Breaktime? Watch the game!Glenn
Not a big sports fan, but I just peeked in to Harrison intercept for a TD. My timing was impeccable.
I have the Fein Multimaster. The knock-offs weren't available when I bought mine. I have no regrets because I expect it to be a one-time purchase and it works great. If the HF tool is 1/2 the tool at 1/5 the cost, it should be well worth it.
My brother has the multimaster, and I just got the dremel version. I see no difference so far other than cost. Plus, I can pick up extra blades when ever I need them at the home center.
To the joists?Not a finished ceiling and you are worried about how the baseboard notch might look?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I said a finished basement, never said an unfinished ceiling.Glenn
the poor single mom routine makes things clearer to me now.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
LOLGlenn
How about a "fake" jamb. Take some 1/2" stock (or wide baseboard) about 4" wide and router some sort of finish on both edges. An ogee would look good, but even a round-over or simple bead would work.
Apply this fake jamb to the sides of the drywall opening and you're all set. You could even use it on the header to complete the look if there's enough height.
You might have a small challenge mating it to the existing baseboard. You may have to remove the top profile of the base and not router the jamb's edge all the way to the end so the two pieces meet square.
BTW, have you considered bi-fold doors. They won't make the job any easier. In fact, just the opposite, but they do make access to the closet a lot easier.
Thanks, Don. I thought of those things and felt that they would require more work and more $$ to her. Already hearing the 'single mom' routine. She made more money than I did last year.The opening between the walls is 4'7" and is pretty deep no access shouldn't be a problem. It's between two walls, no header.I think I used to see bifolds put in a sheetrocked opening, which this basically is, but don't remember how they handled the base.I'm impressed with the ideas you gave, though. You have a lot more talent in this the I think you led me to believe last year.Glenn
In tract houses in Ca., they call it a California closet. rockers wrap the openining and tapers finish tight to floor. Opening gets door trim and trim hides the sliding track.The base ends at the door trim. Inside the closet gets no trim, just base.
In your case you don't have door legs or header. Maybe you could make a jamb out of "KD" 2 x 4's and trim it out. No drywall work at least. Mike
Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.
You have a lot more talent in this the I think you led me to believe last year.
Thanks. Just be careful not to mistake a moment of clever for a measure of competence :-).
Its a good thing he didn't see that sandwich you ordered last Tues.
talk about questioning your competence... LOL
LOL. Yeah, first my menu-reading competence and then my eating competence.
View Image
Geez, Don. What the heck is that thing? And for how many people? And for how much $$?Tell me you didn't finish that.Glenn
That's the signature corned beef sandwich at Harold's Deli in Edison. It's about 5 pounds of meat. That's right 5 pounds! (yes, I weighed it)
And no, I didn't finish it. It will easily serve 10 people. I had no idea what I was getting into when I ordered it. Nor did I know how much it would cost. Hey, it's a sandwich, how much could it cost? It was expensive, but half of it is still in the freezer waiting to serve the family.
I can't believe you finished half. That is one HUGE sammie.Glenn
Yeah, I finished half. Some at lunch, some at dinner that night with my wife, the next day's lunch, a late night snack for 2 of us and then I threw away the rest of that half. It's really good corned beef, but I really don't want to see anymore for a little while.
LOLGlenn
If you're hanging 6/8 doors from an 8' ceiling, what's the problem?<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
snort, I KNEW there was something about that bothering me!snort
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
7'5" floor to ceiling. Having doors cut to my specifications.Glenn
Just curious, is having custom doors made saving money over framing the opening down, then trimming and casing in a conventional manner?http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
two flush masonite doors. $88 each, pre cut.Works for me.Glenn
As long as it works for her!http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
That is what's important here, isn't it? I hope I'm right. I'm sending her an email now.Glenn
Both Don and DelawareDave each ordered that sandwich, the triple decker. The expressions when the waiter showed up with their food was priceless.
I ordered the regular sandwich, and it was big enough to easily get two meals out of it.
And it was really good corned beef.
I don't generally see high-falutin homes to know what goes on there (do they even have bypass doors in McMansions?) but what I generally see is either the base notched or (more often) the base simply dead-ended before the corner turns into the opening. This means that the mudder needs to be a little neater near the floor, but no biggie.
That's very common around here and I handle it by leaving the baseboard off where the doors will touch the wall. The bottom track usually shows where the base needs to be removed and in most cases, the end of a wall would have no base. I either cut the base flush with the wall end, or do a return that's flush.
Since it's pretty common to find that a door can only be adjusted to match one wall surface, I sometimes make them "right and left" (adjusted to match only one side) then do the base so only the "correct" door will meet the wall. The other door its the base before it can get to the wall.
barroom hinges....
no jambs.. no worries...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I went thru this exact scenario about a month ago. I got tired of trying to come up with inexpensive fixes and just told the single lady I would need to put in jambs and trim to match the other openings in the overly-expensive house. I left out the overy-expensive part.
Probably took less time to jamb, case, and hang the door properly than most other solutions I could come up (some of which are mentioned here.)
Edit: Installing jambs ensures the openings are dead plumb and the doors fit tightly
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Edited 1/31/2009 7:18 pm ET by NickNukeEm
I think I would cut the base and install one of these mouldings as a faux jamb/filler :
http://www.eastcoastmouldings.com/main.cfm?pagename=products&category=11&subcategory=108
Ok, cut the existing base out and slip in a finished pseudo-jamb the width of the door head. This piece ought to be a bit thicker than the thickest part of the base. That gives something for the doors to stop plumb to.
Since using door stop might be complicated, consider dadoing the pseudo-jamb for the doors.
The other reason for having this pseudo-jamb is to have a place for bumpers for the doors, too.
One problem with bypass doors over bifolds is that the opening can never be more than about half open with bypasses. With a bifold, the opening might lose 25 or 30%, but that's still more open than a bypass door. Note too, as a longtime forced user 9over ten years) of bypass doors, that ones without a bottom track are hugely annoying (and ones with bind seasonally--and always have a toe-stubbing spot).
If I fall between studs on the walls, what am I nailing to, without having to open up the wall?Glenn
fall between studs on the walls, what am I nailing to
Same thing the doors will be smacked into after you hang them <g>.
All sorts of ways to anchor stuff to in-place drywall.
If you really want a jamb-less install, scribe the doors to the base profile, which will want doing four times (two doors, two sides).
Note that, given my long experience with bypass doors, the sheetrock will develop a "door imprint" after a while. Whether that's ok or not, I cannot surmise at this remove.
I only bring this up to be in full disclosure, as having more information tends to make better informed decisions.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Ever use any glue?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Gosh, no.Do they sell that at HD, cause I might stop by and check it out.Glenn