Tips for a whole-house door overhaul that nobody talks about

We did something similar when we moved into our 1970s split-level. I had a three-year-old and a newborn, so those flimsy hollow core doors had to go immediately. We swapped out every single interior door for solid core Masonite slabs. Doing the doors and the casing before we even moved the furniture in was the right call. The noise reduction alone made the nap schedule actually possible while my father-in-law was still trimming out the baseboards in the hallway.

I will say, the cost of those prehung units adds up fast. We spent about $4,500 just on the hardware and the doors for the main floor. But having actual privacy and a door that actually latches for the office while the kids are in the living room is a lifesaver. We prioritized the heavy stuff like the front entry and the back sliders too. Getting the perimeter secure meant I could let the kids out back while I spent my weekends painting the trim. If you wait, you end up living in a construction zone for years, which just isn't sustainable when you're already sleep-deprived.

Beyond the slab material itself, I woud strongly urge you to verify the gauge of your hinges, as standard residential 3.5-inch pins are frequently insufficient for the increased weight of solid-core units and will inevitably lead to significant hinge bind or latch misalignment within a few years of heavy use. If you are allready committed to the labor of a full overhaul, upgrading to 4-inch ball-bearing hinges—provided your mortising allows for the extra height—is a negligible cost that ensures the door swing remains perfectly fluid even when humidity fluctuates. Also, did you verify the floor clearance for high-pile carpeting or are you sticking with a standard half-inch undercut for air return?

Since you're dealing with young kids, you really need to look at the Jeld-Wen ProCore line. We put these in our last place and the sound reduction is night and day compared to standard doors. If you're doing the massive overhaul now, don't just get any solid core; get the ones specifically built for acoustics. They handle the abuse of toddlers slamming them way better than the generic stuff. Plus, if you're alredy doing the trim, the ProCore units come pre-primed and save a ton of time on that DIY painting you mentioned. It’s the only way to get a truly nap-friendly house while you finish the rest of the renovation.

I learned the hard way to install heavy-duty floor-mounted stops the same day I hung our new solid cores. With kids, those cheap springy wall ones just get ripped out or the door handle punches a hole in the new drywall because the door is so heavy. Also, if you're still doing floors or painting, keep the plastic wrap on the slabs as long as possable. I pulled mine off too early and ended up with drywall dust embedded in the wood grain that I’m still scrubbing out two years later. Getting them hung early is great for sanity, but keep them covered until the messy stuff is finished.