interior door replacement -- nonstandard sizes

[Terry Coombs]

No , you need to cut 3/16" off each side of a standard 24" door . I prefer a table saw for this , and don't forget to angle the latch side 5? .

[CHW3]

Thanks Snag one, appreciate it, but let me ask this - are builders cutting these doors down from 24 inches wide, to something less (in my case 23 5/8 inches)? My guess is no they are not. I am really not trying to be difficult - but its ridiculous that a builder can get a door that size but no one else can. Are they buying in bulk from a manufacturer and specifying a non standard size just to be difficult? Guess I'll go back to my builder and find out where he gets his doors in bulk. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem selling one to me. Stupid to have to put a hundred dollars of effort into a 30 dollar door. If I have to do that, I may as well just give him the hundred bucks.

[Terry Coombs]

It's not the builder . I'm just guessing , but I'd bet he bought the doors as pre hung units .

[dadiOH]

You are 100% correct. That would be incredibly stupid...unless he had to do so to make a standard door fit because somebody had screwed up the rough opening size.

[Mayayana]

| Thanks Snag one, appreciate it, but let me ask this - are builders cutting | these doors down from 24 inches wide, to something less (in my case 23 5/8 | inches)? My guess is no they are not.

I'm afraid your guess is wrong. It's just as Terry Coombs said. Doors typically come in sizes at every two inches. Even hollow core doors can be trimmed a bit for height and width. They generally have wood around the outside. A door replacing an existing door often has to be trimmed, especially in old houses where one side of the door frame can be 1/2" higher than the other side.

The typical way to get doors is by ordering through a local lumber yard for items in the Brosco catalogue, which is a supplier that will deliver stock items to lumber yards within 2-3 days. (Home Depot actually has better selection at better prices, but it takes *weeks* to get anything through them.) If you can find a Brosco catalogue you can see the way doors are typically sold. The options depend on the door, but the typical option is 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, or 36" wide and 78 or 80" high.

You don't need a table saw to make a good cut. Just clamp a straight edge onto the door as a guide and you can cut it with a circular saw.

What you have, hollow core 6-panel, is almost certainly masonite (junk, but they look pretty good... until someone kicks a hole through them) that came pre-hung. If it's

23 3/4" that's probably a 24" door, but you're not likely to find the exact same thing sitting around a lumber yard or in a Brosco catalogue. Your options are to buy a stock 24" wood panel door or find a place to order a masonite panel door. In either case, expect to do some trimming to fit, and unless you find exactly the same brand you may have to settle for slightly different panels. (Wood, for instance, will probably have more relief than the masonite version.) If you can find the brand and exact model you might be able to order a 24" replacement at Home Depot. You may or may not be able to get just the "slab". (Not prehung.)

[Unquestionably Confused]

+1

Take a look at any door manufacturer's site, Jeld-Wen, for instance. All of their doors come in widths sized in an even 1" increment. You won't find a 23 5/8" or 28 ½" in the lot.

Somebody screwed up the rough opening and accommodations had to be made.

How many doors this size are in your home? That could be a clue as well.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

23 5/8 inches is almost exactly 60cm. Is it possible that that is a standard metric-sized door? I understand that some parts of the USA started moving toward the metric system, but then the whole thing fizzled out. (My wife was trained to teach metric conversion. Her late mother said that if she could get used to the crazy US system when she was in her 40s, all Americans could get used to it if they learned it as children.)

Perce

[Mayayana]

| 23 5/8 inches is almost exactly 60cm. Is it possible that that is a | standard metric-sized door?

Not likely. I've never seen such a thing. (Nor do we have $2.50 nails to replace 6 penny nails. The system has been in place for a long time and would take a lot of trouble to convert.)

| I understand that some parts of the USA | started moving toward the metric system, but then the whole thing | fizzled out. (My wife was trained to teach metric conversion. Her late | mother said that if she could get used to the crazy US system when she | was in her 40s, all Americans could get used to it if they learned it as | children.) |

I've never understood why we *need* to convert, but it has become a problem with imported cars, hardware, etc. European hinges in the US often come with directions only in metric. Two sets of tools or bits are often needed. There's something absurd about getting directions in 3 languages but without native measuring standards.

Awhile back I accidentally bought a dual tape measure. I had to throw it away. One edge of the tape had metric, so I could only measure using the other edge. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but it turned out that it was.

I actually keep a VBScript on my desk to convert between F and C, so I know what those wacky Brits are talking about when they claim to be having a "brutal heat wave". :) Despite seeing C temps for years, I still have a hard time getting used to it. It's not enough to merely know how to convert. One needs to get used to it.

[clare]

Having worked in the window and door business in the past, yes, builders are cutting down standard doors to make them fit, Custom doors are MUCH more expensive (and in most cases, it is still just the standard door cut down - but cut at the factory instead of on-site) This is particularly true of the "styled" doors - the ones that look like raised panel doors. They don't make non-standard dies to press non-standard panel sizes - they just cut down the styles

[clare]

Generally "non standard" sizes are used where something happened in the planning that precluded the use of a "standard" door. I've seen "prehung" doors modified, as well as "slab only" doors being modified to fit into modified "jam kits"

[CHW3]

I hope everybody who has replied to my query can read this, because I sincerely appreciate everyones input, thoughts, etc. You have all, collectively shed much light on this isdue and as a result I, and everyone else is much better for it. I have a much better understanding of the workings of this faction of the home building industry. I have acuired a 24 in wide door and am cutting it down. The thing that bugs me the most is that we purchased the house new, from a very reputable builder in Maryland who has a long and distinguished history. The house is solid. Couldnt figure the door issue, but it appears as though its just one of those inditry quirks, and a stick built house I guess can exacerbate these things. You guys rock! Thanks so much! :-)

[Mayayana]

| I have acuired a | 24 in wide door and am cutting it down.

One last thought: Check the fit after cutting the width and before hinging it, to make sure you don't also need to cut the top at an angle. In a new house that shouldn't be necessary, but frames can get out of square.

[CHW3]

Gotcha! Thanks! :-)

[Tekkie®]

Uncle Monster posted for all of us...

So they hung you up and let you dry.

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

Also doing this the backset and hinges will be right.

[1940's homeowner]

replying to CHW3, 1940's homeowner wrote: Try reclamation/resale shops. Many big cities have them as folks desire to replace materials with a vintage look. Older homes were just built differently.