I have a new build house with hollow panelled doors, the type with a grain effect. I need to trim at least three of them now carpets are fitted. What is the best way to cut them to avoid chipping/splintering of the door faces? I thought maybe deep scoring with a Stanley knife etc. prior to cutting but I would have to make sure I got the cut perfectly lined up top and bottom IYSWIM. What about using a router?
TIA
John
Scoring them is a good idea,but why are you scoring them top and bottom? a carpet is on about 3 to 4mm high. You could also clamp battens either side of the door to reduce the risk of splintering but this is finicky to get right.
A good straight router bit will give you a good sharp edge but you need to put a piece of wood at the ending stage of the router cut otherwise if you don't it'll splinter the edge of the door.
Depends on the carpet. One with underlay will be more -- mine is 11mm according to spec (in practice a little more to clear a door).
An electric plane is excellent for this. A new sharp blade will not cause splintering along the sides, but you'll still need a scrap piece to prevent splintering at the end. Run the plane an equal number of times in each direction, to avoid the bottom of the door taking on an angle due to cumulative errors in the cutter setting.
When I say 'top & bottom' I mean of the cut i.e both faces of the door, when placed on my workmate, not the top and bottom edges of the doors.
:-) you mean scoring both sides.
If your going to score the door then make sure the blades cutters cut a fraction outside that scoring,thats if you are using a circular saw. The router is the better option as I hate using a elecy plane on doors. :-(
======================== Buy one of these - you'll never regret it. These saws will cut contiboard cleanly without any 'breakout'.
Take the opportunity to correct any uneven gaps by raising and packing etc. If you have any poorly fitted doors send us a picture link if you are not sure what to do. It's a mazing what you can do with 1/2" to play with.
Measure up from the carpet to the top right and left corners of the frame to see if the floor is still level. If it's out measure the door to make sure that it hasn't already had the error compensated for.
If your house was unusually well built you can scratch the bottom with a marking gauge. If more normal building practices have been employed mark it with a knife.
It's worth buying a new say if you don't have an electrical one. But use an old saw where the stiles meet the rail. There is invariably a suitably placed staple there just waiting to ruin a new saw.
Agreed, an electric plane makes the job easy and neat. I did this to the type of door mentioned by the OP, when I fitted laminate and needed about
5mm off the bottom of most of my doors.To the OP: Plane in from each end towards the middle. Planing along and off the end will splinter the end. Watch out for panel pins in the door - nicked the blade of my power plane doing that(!).
HTH
Tim
I have tried using a handsaw, jigsaw, circular saw, hand plane and electric plane, and found that an electric plane gives the best result. Saws tend to drift unless you clamp timber on the door to guide the tool. Whatever you use, the teeth or blade must be sharp. You can do a test trim first. If you need to remove 20mm try removing 10mm first to see the result.
Enquire at your local Tool Hire shop. There is available a tool that will cut the base of your doors without the need to remove the door.
True, but the OP wrote "I need to trim at least three of them now carpets are fitted." So, I assume that the doors were taken off their hinges in order to fit new carpets and cannot be put back on due to the increased height of the new carpets.
Circular saw and a clamped on straightedge. Quick and accurate, and a better finish than a plane on end grain.
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