I am thinking about installing some new prehung six panel doors. The advice I have gotten so far is to saw off the nails instead of trying to pry them out of the walls and use oak instead of pine because it stains more evenly. I am a total novice at home repair stuff and would be very appreciative of any other information that would make this process go smoothly. Anything on how to prepare and stain the doors would be most helpful as well.
Thanks in advance.
Pull the moldings off around the door jamb. Be sure to use a utility knife to cut the caulk around the moldings at the wall and door jamb. Then use a reciprocating saw to cut the fasteners, nails or screws between the studs and the door jamb. Don't waste time trying to pull the old fasteners. The Oak will most likely cost quite a bit more. If you use a sanding sealer or use shellac for the first coat, the stain will do better on the pine.
This is pretty ambitious for a "total novice." My local library has a good video on how to hang doors, put out by Taunton. It was pretty informative, and had some good tips. You might try and get your hands on a copy.
A minor quibble - Reading your last two sentences in context, a newbie could interpret it to mean:
"If you use a sanding sealer...the stain will do better on the pine (_than on the oak_)"
I don't think that is what you meant, was it? My guess is that you meant the stain on the pine, with the sealer, would do better that the stain on the pine without the sealer.
Pine is notorious for blotching because of the difference in hardness/absorption between the early and late wood. A good pretreatment is necessary to get any kind of uniformity with a penetrating stain. But even with pretreatment of the pine, my experience is that staining oak is a "happier" experience that staining pine.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
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