hi I need to install two doors in my basement, the r.o. opening (height) for both doors will only be 79″ so I will need to cut approximatley 3″. Should I ?
a) order custom doors at almost twice the price – leaning toward this
b) buy the standard prehung and cut them my self (3″ seems like it will make the knob too much )
c) build them my self even though I never build a door.
d) hire someone to build them
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Replies
What kind of door do you want to use? Solid or hollow core? Flat, or paneled?
How much use are they going to get? How important is appearance?
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Edited 1/18/2006 9:02 pm ET by dustinf
Edited 1/18/2006 9:03 pm ET by dustinf
you have several options
puchase a door and separate frame and hang the doors,in the usual manner, ie cutting and installing jambs and header then mortising hinges and drilling for the lockset
cut down a prehung, cutting both top and bottom of jamb and door to maintain proper hinge spacing, this will drop the lockset but not as much
if the header in the framing is level and straight, the door frame clearance above the jambset can be reduced to almost nil, minimizing trimming of the door, dont forget about finish flooring clearance
If cutting down a hollow-core door, be sure to salvage the internal blocking, clean it of residual fibres, glue up, reinsert into the shortened door, then clamp lightly.
Once dry, consider lightly chamfering the new cut edges, then priming/painting the wood if bare.
Doing this restores the door's structural integrity at the top and bottom edges, and protects the fix from basement moisture damage, or getting hung up on tall carpet pile.
Edited 1/18/2006 11:02 pm ET by Pierre1
If money is no problem have them cut to size and prehung at the shop. Your hinges will be more evenly spaced, door will look right, no problems.
If you have paneled doors I would cut 1" off the top and 2" from the bottom to keep the rails looking right.
If it was me I would probable hang from scratch but I do this every day...
Please provide more info....
What does this situation in my life ask of me?
Cutting 3" off the bottom of the will not affect hinge spacing. The top hinge is 7" from the top of the door and the original bottom spacing of the hinge will be 9 to 11 inches. DO NOT cut the top of door! The standard knob height is 36" yours will be 33" big deal.
Put a decent blade in the circular saw, clamp a straight edge and cut and 3" off the bottom of the door. The piece that falls to the floor will have a block in it.
Remove the block with a utility knife, sand smooth.
Lightly knock back some of the cardboard supports inside the door that will impede the replacement of the block in the door. Use a chisel or utility knife to remove any pieces left behind.
Squirt a bunch of carpenters glue inside the hole you have created inside the bottom of the door.
Insert block. 3 or 4 Clamps overnight.
Sand off any excess glue in the morning.
What Pete said...
Install
Gord
Edited 1/18/2006 9:54 pm by gordsco
Thanks for your responses, some more insight one door will sperate the laundryutility area from the game room so I assume that one will get alot of use. The other will be for the seprate the bathroom from the hallway at the bottom of the stair well so that will probably get alot of use also. I am thinking to isolate the noise of the laundry and bathroom I should use solid doors.
Masonite¯ sells a door that has a solid core which they advertise as reducing noise. Cutting it down may not give you the results that you want because the interior is probably styrofoam (or similar) and you won't be able to re-insert the cross-piece that is removed from the bottom and/or top.
If you've decided on a a solid door, you may as well just plan on cutting 1 1/2" off of the top and bottom.
If it were me and I was installing hollow core doors, I would just order them at the size that I needed. I've never been thrilled with the way the door looks after I cut it down myself.
-Don
You have been given all good options. The bottom line is if money isn't the problem then just order the right sized door prehung and then all you have to do is hang it and trim it and your done.If the money does matter than pick which option everyone has given you that you feel you can do.Joe Carola
hello, okay i guess I am gonna spend the money and order the custom size doors. Figure it will save me money in long run, since I dont do this for a living. Having spent years finishing my basement, I have a great deal of respect for you guys that get it done right and in reasonable amount of time, But i have to add that I learned alot doing most of it my self, including respect for the true craftmen thats more interested in getting it done right than getting it done fast.
Dan
Two questions......
(a) Why would you not cut an inch off the top of a solid door?
(b) What made you assume the door was hollow?
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
A(a):I would not cut the rail off the top of a solid core fiber panel door. I think it would harm the integrity of the door and cause racking. I would not cut the top rail off a wood core panel door for the same reason. However, if the door was solid stile and rail panel door I would consider balancing the top and bottom of the door.
A(b): I assumed the door was hollow because he mentioned pre-hung.Gord
Gordsco,
I am also curious as to why you believe it is important not to cut the top. If you cut the bottom only the space from the hinge to the top of door will be approc 7" and to the bottom about 8" - that always looks odd to me. I like the proportion to be closer to standard so 1" from the top and 2" from the bottom gives 6" from hinge to top of door and 10" from hinge to bottom of door. Also if the door is a paneled door cutting the top and bottm of the door also balances the thickness of the rails so they stay balanced. I've never had a problem, but I would be interested in learning something new if I am missing something.What does this situation in my life ask of me?
Cutting both the top and bottom of the door and re-blocking might cause the door to rack. Unless of course the door was clamped to a perfectly flat surface while the glue dried. He seemed like a novice, hanging a door is enough trouble without the complications of a twisted door.
Besides, If you don't like the hinge spacing, it's easier to move the hinge.
With only 3" being removed off the door I wouldn't give the panel dimensions a passing glance, had I not known the door was cut.Gord
"Cutting both the top and bottom of the door and re-blocking might cause the door to rack."
?
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
What?Gord
it's a hollow core door right?
why's it gonna rack.
have cut literally hundreds of them ... never a one racked.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I think he was qualifying that twist potential was there when bottom and top are cut enough to remove endrails, necessitating endrail replacement.
With the endrails gone, the door panel can twist like a ribbon. Most of its torsional rigidity comes from the rails and their bond to the skins.
When doing the re-rail insertion and glue-up, care is taken to make sure the door panel is dead flat, without twist. Without that care, the door can be glued up with a permanent twist.
Thank You Stinger. For putting my thoughts into word.
Well spoken.Gord
Rack was not the proper word to use.
Stinger explained very well what I described so poorly.
Gord
cut it ...
stuff it ...
rehang it.
no problems so far.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Gordsco,
Thanks for the response, I've cut lots of doors and never had one twist on me... or I guess it is possible they did but not enough to get a call back. So I am going to pay more attantion to that from this point forward to see if I am causing problems with the doors without knowing it.
As a side note...the doors I am used to using are filled with cardbord that criss-crosses in side....would not think that would do anything but keep the door stable even without the rails put back in. I'm still going to watch the doors before and after the cuts though.What does this situation in my life ask of me?
No other way ?
I always cringe when someone talks about a less-than-standard ceiling or door height.
Greg ( 6' 7" )
Two doors? That's it? Order them to size. Time is Money. Besides, you're out of aspirin.
The input you've received for cutting down doors or custom ordering is good. But I just have one question: Why the low clearance? If there is a header, can it be cut down, or if that doesn't work, do you have room to install a steel lintel to raise your rough opening height?
At the upcharge for a custom door, there may be some reasonable options on your R/O height, unless you're already up to the bottom of the top plate and/or you have a critical bearing load.
The 79" is the result of the wall being build under a lam beam, plus the duct work running along the beam which I had to encase with soffit.
Dan
Put the deadbolt in the bottom hole and the knob in the top hole so the handle will not be too low. And 3" is not too much for a panel door. The bottom rails is about 10 inches.
Shop atround. I've never had to pay double for a 6'6"
Maybe a 20buck upcharge is all.
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It is a regional thing, P.
The houses are older in the NE than elsewhere in the country, and the oldies with their shorter ceiling heights require those 6/6 doors.
My experience is from ThermaTru, but other doormakers probably do the same. The NE market gets 6/6 doors factory-made and shipped into stock at no cutdown charge, and no other markets get that deal.
Want a 6/6 in Chicagoland or metro Atlanta? You'll pay the fee for the whack.
TTis extyerior doors tho. This guy is in a basement.
I could get 6'6" doors in the mtns of CO too with a couple weeks notice.
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