Can I cut 6" from the bottom of a storm door?

[Brigitte]

I recently purchased a storm door for my mobile home. When I measured for the door, I didn't think to measure the heighth, because I thought all doors were 80-81" tall. Much to my dismay, when I got the door home, I realized that isn't true. And I now realize the 32x74" storm door that I need isn't something I can just run down to Home Depot and buy.

So I now have this door that is too tall, but I wondered if anyone here has simply cut off a few inches of one of these doors and used it in their mobile? It's a 1" solid wood door, and there doesn't appear to be anything on the bottom of the door to keep me from just cutting across the bottom.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Brigitte

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Can't you return it and get a correct sized one?

[Harry K]

You are talking about removing about 6" total. You might be able to do it by removing 3" from both the top and bottom. As for it being a "solid wood" door, that is dubious. Most of them, especially storm doors, are build from a cople plywood skins glued to some 1 x 2, 1x4, and perhaps 1x6 frame members with voids filled by foam or cardboard stiffeners.

I have cut down doors myself but nothng like 6" and even then I was into the stiffening stuff.

Harry K

[Eric9822]

That is a lot to cut off. I would contact the manufacturer and ask them. My guess is no but it does not hurt to ask.

[Al Bundy]

"Brigitte" wrote in news:b3b7e$46c646ee$471fd0ce$ [e-mail]:

As someone else asked, can you return it? Trying to make a door that is

6" too tall work can get you into some really unexpected stuff.

Doesn't sound like a "storm door". Storm doors usually have some kind of glass with metal frame with it that mounts over the door molding. Mobile home can be very different.

Does it already have the hole for the knob? Hinge cutouts? If you start cutting off the top and/or bottom, where will the knob end up heightwise? If you have short visitors will they be able to reach it? :-) You going to have to adjust the strikeplate hole in the jamb? I too am a bit confused by your wood storm door.

[Brigitte]

Yes, I can return it. But getting a correct sized one isn't going to be as simple as just making an exchange. 74" is going to be a special order item.

I live in rural Nebraska and it's going to be an 80 mile drive for me to return the door, and I really needed to get the door installed this weekend. I wanted to get a doggy door installed into the new door this weekend, because I'll be leaving the house for 13 hours per day for the next 5 weeks while I'll be in training for a new job.

I'll probably end up ordering a new door, and hopefully it will be here by next weekend, and I'll install it then. I'll just have to hire a dog sitter for my 3 little guys for awhile.

Thanks to all that replied.

Brigitte

[Al Bundy]

"Brigitte" wrote in news:af320$46c703a3$471d42be$ [e-mail]:

Do you have a mobile home dealer nearby that also has supplies...or can give you a lead to one? 74" would be standard...in the mobile home arena.

[aemeijers]

The best solution- return it. If the big-box doesn't carry stuff in the right size, most towns have at least one dealer that specializes in mobile home accessories, often next door to the company that moves them around when they get too old for a particular park to accept them as tenants.

aems ends...