New doors in old house and fitting to frames Kitchens, doors, rails, stud, tables, chairs, stair cases, garden furniture etc... Find answers and ask questions here!

[John Joe 1967]

I am going to replace my existing internal doors. My house is nearly 100 years old. The existing door casings are not perfect i presume due to settlement. If the head of the door lining is out of level, would you cut the top of the door, (so the door is then longer on one side) to try to follow the door lining head. If you were to do so, what would be the most you would trim. I felt 6mm maximum. It would create too many other problems to take the door casing out.

[stoneyboy]

Hi John Joe 1967,
The amount you can cut off will depend on the door construction. Egg box doors tend to have narrow framing around the boxing - timber strips 20mm or thereabouts.
Regards S

[John Joe 1967]

The doors are solid, but I was thinking would the door look peculiar if the head sloped so much. Do you compromise having a sloping head with an uneven gap between the top of the door and the frame?

[stoneyboy]

Hi John Joe 1967,
If the doors have a horizontal join line or feature line near the top of the door you may notice the sloping top.
You could cut and fit tapering lengths of wood for both the stops and the rebate on the frame to correct the levels if you find the "out of level" is too noticeable.
Regards S