Internal door confusion...??? Kitchens, doors, rails, stud, tables, chairs, stair cases, garden furniture etc... Find answers and ask questions here!

[mric2000]

I need to fit 2 internal doors in my new house and should point out that I am new to the whole DIY idea! :?

Frames are in place, but were previously used with sliding doors and don't seem to tie-up with standard internal doors, which tend to be typically 30"wide. With the existing frames, the gap is typically 29" wide (although one frame varies between 28" and 29"!?!).

I am hoping to buy the doors (standard white 6-panel doors) from B&Q and fit them myself.
Can anyone advise how much I can plane the door widths? Am I able to take 1/2" off each side??
My guess is that I can't do this as the door would be relatively hollow.

If that is the case, is my only other option to redo the frames? This looks as if it would require me to cut back the plasterboard and re-fit the 'door frame liners' (i.e. the wood within the plasterboard) to accomodate a wider frame structure.

Given that a local chippie quoted me £578 (!!??!?!) for this job, I am keen to get this done myself, so any help on this is much appreciated!!

Best regards, Martin R (Cheltenham)

[DUDE DIY]

Hey martin, just wanted to offer some words of advice. Hope this helps.

-b&q isnt the only place to buy doors from, try your local timber yard. You will probably get a better quality door, even a solid door for around the same price. If it needs triming they may even cut it to an approximate size for you.

-how much wood you can plain off each side depends on the door, as they all differ depending on manufacture. Some are more solid than others. If your going for the B&Q option, you may find you dont have a lot to play with.

- if you do go ahead yourself and your new to any form of diy you will need quite a few tools to complete the job properly. Drill, chisel, plain etc to name a few. These will all cost you more £££. i would practice using the plain first on a scrap peice of wood before you start on your door if your new to using this tool.

- if i was in the same postion as you then I always find it easier to start from scratch, and I would remove the door frames as well, depending on ther condition. If your leaving the existing frames then treat them first with some wood filler, to fill in any small holes from the previous doors.

- if its a new house im sure you will want to do a good job?... based on what you have said I would get 3-4 other quotes to see if you can get a better price on a professional doing it. It will save you money in the long term and a whole lot of hassle. Can you get a better price by say, buying the doors yourself rather than a chippe buying them for you. Even try a local handy man, you may avoid VAT this way. The best way to source professionals is by word of mouth, so ask all your mates if the have used anyone before.

- If you do decide to go ahead really read up on what it takes to fit a door so you have some knowledge before you start. Its seems like a simple job, but theres so much to consider and its very easy to make mistakes or do a poor job. Hanging the door is the easy part, you then have the door handle and drum to fit as well.

hope this helps, Ive got 7 years + experience on DIY and even I would approach this type of job with some caution. im sure there will be others on this site who can comment further....let me know how you get on. Good luck!!!

dude diy

[Oddbod]

Hi, Good advice from DUDE-DIY. Not really a lot more to say, but just in case it helps…

You should get away with half inch either side, but a neat trick is to drill a small hole into the edge a quarter of the way up. When the drill breaks through you’ll know how much wood you have to play with.

Buy a power planer rather than try to use a hand plane or hand saw. Much easier for a DIYer to use. Set it to cut a max of 1mm each pass, mark a line on the door each side and plane down to the line in as many goes as necessary. Just keep your fingers well clear of the blade. Oh, and best do it outside unless you want to spend the rest of the day vacuuming!

Incidentally A door frame that varies by an inch in width is a poor quality job by someone.

[toptips]

hi,if you remove the arc you might find some packers between the frame and the structural opening,these are there to plumb the frame legs ,badly in this case but there you go.remove the required packers to plumb the legs and you just might not be far off getting a uniform measurement.