Re: Trimming a hollow door

[skeezics]

Sticky situation, in more ways than one:

> >In my apartment, I have really cheap hollow core doors. I moved here in >February, and the knucklehead who does the painting for this apt complex >sprayed the doors with oil paint, and then opened the windows for two 25 >degree days to "vent out the fumes". Needless to say, the paint feels sticky >all the time, regardless of humidity. I guess it never cured correctly. > >To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for the >frame. I like to close it in the morning because my significant other >doesn't need to wake up until 2 hours after I do. But, because it sticks so >badly, it makes a racket when opening or closing. The landlord doesn't see a >problem, and won't fix it. Meanwhile, this morning, the GF got stuck in the >room and I had to open it the way SWAT teams do on TV. This is a safety >hazard. > >I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly. My >initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and >deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The trimming >might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would leave >some of the existing hole exposed. > >That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by >some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave >enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right? > >What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking? >(The legalities are another issue). >

get yourself three 3" screws and remove 1 screw from each hinge.[the screw closest to the stop.] replace them with the 3" screws and tighten them till the door pulls slightly. repeat on each hinge then check to see how far it has moved. a little goes a long way. this way you dont get stuck replacing the landlords door! also you make no mess at all. skeez

[Larry Jaques]

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:54:55 GMT, "Doug Kanter" pixelated:

I found that my Indian plane (a $10 Harbor Freight special from 18+ years ago) sharpened up well and works fine for those special situations such as this. I keep the beater for paint removal and my real planes touch only bare wood.

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[peter]

Others have warned about using a circular saw, but I fail to see the problem. I have done this numerous times with a circular saw.

You must use a straight edge to guide the saw. You must have a very sharp blade. You must have reasonable confidence, skill, and experience with your saw. This takes a steady hand.

You would also be wise to put a strip of masking tape on both sides of the door and cut through it. This will prevent splintering. Burnish it down well enough to stick but not so well it lifts paint. You can also use this tape to mark where the hinges go, but this should be obvious since no matter how much you cut, you will have the screw holes to guide you.

Good luck.

Peter

[Norman D. Crow]

This works wonderfully! I have (2), one for each of my circ. saws. Just a hint on making one - - you do NOT have to find a table saw! For the straight edge of the "guide ripper" they talk about, use the "factory edge" of a piece of plywood. You're not going to cut anything straighter than this yourself, and it won't bend, twist, or warp from changing humidity as a piece of plain wood might. My .02 Nahmie

[Rico]

When I want to make a lot of shelves that are the same depth, I make a sawboard that is wide enough so that I can put a cleat on the bottom of the sawboard. Then I hook the cleat on the end of the 4x8 sheet, cut a shelf, move it forward, cut another shelf, all with no measuring. No measuring eliminates a lot of misteaks.

Rico

[Lawrence Wasserman]

May not apply in your case, but one "murphy" I've run into with hollow core doors and older buildings is oddball door opening sizes, requiring too much trimming of the door stiles (I guess it's not really a stile on a HC door, but I mean the upright piece of wood at the edge of the door) to the point of them being so thin they won't hold the hinge screws. When that happens it is 'sometimes' possible to remove the piece, cut out some of the "honeycomb" or whatever is used inside the door, and install a new, thicker, piece.

[Ben Sure]

Better be carefull doing anything to the door as you may wind up buying a new one as the landlord will charge you as you must leave it the condition you rented or leased. It has to be a he had it.

Damage depost will be paying for a new door.

Check with your landlord first

[Renata]

Having run into this situation on occassion I have either: built myself a custom sized, insulated door (but plain, e.g. for the basement entry), or trimmed down a solid chunk of lumber as a replacement for the framing I sawed out (or thinned too far). So far, both solutions haven't presented a problem over a few years passing.

Renata

[Ramsey]

[Wade Lippman]

The one time I cut a door, it went fine. There were a few splinters, but nothing serious; and I think tape would have eliminated those.

[Doug Kanter]

I like the hand plane idea. Although I rarely have use for one, they look like such nice, simple tools that I ought to add one to the rest of my collection of tools I only use once every 3 years. :-)

[Ernie Jurick]

I second the motion on not cutting a hollow core door-- they're mostly Kleenex held together with splinters and paint. The plane is a poor tool for cutting through paint, etc. If the door "frame" is of the same construction quality as the door itself, you may be able to drive the latch-striker trim far enough to eliminate the problem. Use a hammer and a piece of junk wood to preserve the trim.

I've been replacing the junkwood door frames in our condo. They're held together with staples and have no structural strength whatsoever.

-- Ernie