Extend a door

On 06 Nov 2003, John Jacob spake unto rec.woodworking:

You will likely find that disassembling the existing door will be a challenge. The M&Ts are likely to be pinned and glued, so getting one or both stiles off without turning the tenons on the rails into splinters is your first problem.

I would suggest that you true up both sides of the door, and make a full length dado, about 1/3 the width of the edge and at least 1/2" deep, down each edge. Make corresponding new pieces, with matching full length tenons, to make up the added width. Some long screws through the new pieces, in addition to a solid glue-up, should be give plenty of strength. You could do this just on the hinge side, but I'm a guy who likes symmetry.

The casing is another story. The top jamb is mortised into the two sides, and though you could conceivably remove one side, make a wider top jamb, and then put it all back together with the original side jamb, getting it apart cleanly without removing it in its entirety first is not a job for the faint of heart.

Good luck - you're in for a challenge!

Scott

j.jacob wrote:>Then there is the frame to deal with. I was hoping to remove one side of

Ay-yi-yi. The header kinda helps hold up that which is above the door. so scabbing onto it (which I assume you meant by "adjust") is not recommended. Not sure about the way Sears kitted the house, I'd wanna be sure that the header is every bit of what it should be. Tom Someday, it'll all be over....