Hollow Core Door. Q: I am replacing an interior door that needs to be cut down. Either Ibought the wrong size door or the opening for it is not a standard size.
The door is hollow and I need to cut it down by about an inch in heightand one- quarter in width. What is the best way to do this, and does itseverely weaken the door? A: If you bought your door from a home center, chances are you will haveto trim it for width. You say you need to cut ? That sounds excessive. My guess is that the opening may not be standard or maybe the height ofyour flooring is taller than most. Anyway, cutting the door is not big deal; you just can't cut too much offof it. Let's face it, a hollow core door is a cheap door. If you were to peel theveneer off of one, you would see a wood frame around the perimeter of thedoor (there is some additional wood around the hole for the doorknob). Tosupport the veneer sides inside of the wood perimeter are cardboardsupports that wander throught the door. This explains why hollow coredoors are so light and inexpensive, as well as being inexpensive. Needless to say, since you are working with only one frame of wood totrim, you have to be careful about how much to cut. The amount you need tocut from your door is fine with a few caveats. When cutting the width of the door, cut it on the hinge side. If you cutmaterial away from the doorknob side, it will change the backset (thedistance from the doorknob to the edge). If that happens, the doorknoblatch will be exposed, it won't fit correctly, and then you'll have to buya new door. So cut your sliver from the hinge side, but make it clean,square and thin. A tablesaw is ideal for this, but a circular saw will also work. If you'reusing a circular saw, clamp the door to the work surface and make sure theblade is set to 9. If you have even the slightest bevel on thehinge side, when you mount the door, you will put stress on the hinges. Inturn, that puts stress on the now- thinned- out frame and you will haveproblems. Use a straightedge and clamp it to the door. Finally, run a piece of tapealong the area where the blade will cut. This will help prevent tear- out,as the blade comes up through the door. If you take too much material from the hinge side, the screws that securethe hinge to the door won't have enough wood to bite into. That could takeaway the needed support for the weight of the door. The long and short ofit is that if you need to cut a good amount of wood from the width of thedoor, you may need to order a custom- size door. Expect to pay double andwait 7- 1. Cutting the height of the door is not nearly as risky. Generally, a doorgets cut on the bottom due to the tall carpeting that may rub on it. Buttake a few measurements before you cut. If you door has a pre- cut hole forthe knob, make sure it is going to line up with the stike plate on thejamb. If it doesn't, you may consider taking a little off the top as well. You can cut the height of the door in the same manner as the widthdescribed above. If you have a significant amount to cut, you are going to cut beyond theframe and into the hollow of the door. This is fine, but you shouldreplace the frame piece back into the hollow to strengthen it. You willhave to chop the veneer from both sides of the frame to get it to fit backinto the hollow. Use a chisel and a hammer and cut the veneer away. You may have to sandthe frame piece to get it to slide smoothly back into place. Slather theframe piece with wood glue and slide it into the hollow area and wipe awaythe excess glue before it dries. Then clamp it together until it dries. The only thing left now is to hang the door. How to Repair a Hollow Core Door. Although they are not made of solid wood like exterior doors, hollow. Window & Door Repair; How to Repair a Hollow. Fix It Chick: Fix a hollow core door. Email; Print; Facebook; Tweet. Replacing door handles on hollow doors. Repair & Advisorys. Line up the hinges and cutout the mortises for the hinges (the hinges lay in the mortise so theentire edge is flat). Mark lines for the hinges and chop out the areausing the hammer and chisel (or you can buy a template and bit). Pre- drillholes for the hinge screws and screw the hinges to the door and then thejamb. Remember, don't crank the screws completely tight until you arehappy with the overall fit of the door. Fix a hollow core door / LJWorld. Holes in hollow core doors are problematic to be certain, but often, repairing the hole is a viable option over replacing the entire door. Keep in mind, if the door has been painted, the repair job will be easier to camouflage than if the door has a natural wood finish. Step 1: Begin by removing any loose material around the hole. Use a carton knife to cut away rough edges or splintered material. Photo by Richard Gwin. Fixing a '6. 0s- style hollow core door is an easy fix. A screen mesh is put over the hole, and a bonding material is spread over the mesh in several coats and sanded down till a smooth finish is completed. Learn how to repair holes in a hollow door. Find out how you can use a thin wood veneer and contact cement to repair a damaged hollow wood door. Step 2: Once the hole is free of loose material, sand the area to be repaired with a 1. Step 3: If the door has fiber board filling, you may be able to fill the void behind the hole with some minimal expanding spray foam insulation. Use a small amount of foam to fill the hole, adding a little at a time to avoid over filling. Once the door has been filled, use a carton knife to cut away any excess foam. Ideally, the foam should be level with the inside edge of the door surface material. Sand the opening smooth and proceed with patching. Step 4: If you are unable to fill the void behind the hole with spray foam insulation, purchase a metal drywall patch and adhere it to the face of the door over the hole. If the patch is not self- adhesive, use a small amount of wood putty to hold it in place. Step 5: Once the hole has been filled, whether with spray foam or a drywall patch, you are ready to cover the imperfection. Choose stainable wood putty or for natural wood doors, choose colored putty that most closely resembles the existing finish. Step 6: Use a flexible putty knife to spread the wood putty over the patched area. Apply a second coat of putty if needed and allow to dry. Step 8: Sand the patched area with fine grit sand paper until smooth. Use a tack cloth or rag soaked in mineral spirits to wipe away any dust and residue. Step 9: After the putty has dried completely, paint or stain the area to match the existing finish. Copyright 2. 01. 6 The. Lawrence Journal- World. 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