How to trim the height of an interior door

The question of adjustment

Over time, the movement of doors can become difficult. What to do in such a case?

It depends on the situation. In order for the door to maintain its performance, it must be checked regularly and in case it needs to be adjusted, carry out the necessary work.

What are the criteria for the correct operation of door hinges? Let us list them.

• The process of both opening and closing is easy and effortless.
• The leaf adjoins the door frame evenly all around its circumference.
• The door can be held in position easily and naturally.
• There is no friction between the frame and the door itself.
• No clearances due to any kind of door displacement.

Violation of the rules listed here indicates that the door needs to be adjusted. In some cases this is possible, in others not.

Most conveniently made adjustment in the concealed adjustable door hinges. There are three special screws, each of which makes a corresponding adjustment. It is performed in connection with the adjustment of the height, nesting or fit of the door leaf to the door frame. A special hexagon wrench is provided for this purpose.

How to cut a PVC or chipboard door at home if your doorway is not the standard size?

It is easy to shorten the blade at home with an electric jigsaw or circular saw. But in order to get a neat and straight cut, you will need auxiliary tools:

• Clamps, which will help to fix the leaf and guide bars;
• A ruler and a square for marking;
• A sharp knife for working with a veneered door;
• edge tape for the fiberboard door leaf;
• sandpaper.

To protect the decorative coating of the door from cracking along the edge of the saw cut, you can use masking tape. If necessary, you can do without it.

Tips from the professionals

The solid or fibreboard panel can be cut at the bottom if it has no panels or their imitations. If there is a symmetrical decor it is better to trim from both sides, dividing the size of the cut part by 2. These measures are set aside from each edge without breaking the symmetry of the top and bottom panels. The same is done, if it is necessary to reduce the standard width of the door leaf.

The frame hollow doors must not be shortened too much. The product consists of wooden bars of limited thickness. When carrying out the work it is necessary to leave at least 1-1,5 cm of the frame bar inside the canvas. The door can be shortened as indicated for a construction with mouldings. from above and below.

When trying to install a standard door into a small opening, the frame mouldings are shortened according to the measurements and fixed in the opening. The size of the sash will have to be adjusted according to the technology described above.

The solid wood leaf sometimes swells due to excessive moisture and does not fit well into the frame. This problem can be eliminated with a planer or a grinder (hand router). Remove the canvas, put it on the workbench and process its edge with a cutting tool, removing a few millimeters of shavings from the desired side. Hang the door and try it out. If the problem is not eliminated, repeat the machining.

To get an even cut of the solid when using a circular saw, you will need a disk with a lot of small teeth. But even with this condition it will not be possible to cut a veneered product qualitatively. For the fiberboard cloth it is better to prefer an electric jigsaw, and the work should be done with observance of the rules protecting the veneer layer (gluing the adhesive tape, cutting through the veneer).

If it is possible to use a hand router, it is the only tool to choose for the job. The tool will make an even and clear cut, and the cutting line will not have to be treated additionally, neither on a solid product, nor on a fiberboard or frame model.

Use PVA glue and an iron to properly glue the edging strip. The adhesive layer should be applied to the saw cut of the fabric, let it dry. Place the tape on the edge of the door and press it through the paper with a hot iron. After cooling down, cut off the excess of the tape with a sharp knife, and wipe the edges with sandpaper.

Hollow door example

How to trim a wooden door?

How to trim the door without removing the hinges. a fairly common question. But you can call a master at 8 903 199 20 21, which can shorten the interior door even. often it is necessary to undercut interior doors after the installation of hinges when the original dimensions of the box relative to the leaf were determined incorrectly, or the error is associated with the hinges. If you made a mistake with the hinges, you need to correct the mistake. Before making the installation of the door on the hinges, you should make sure that the leaf in its dimensions is shorter than the box by about one centimeter, and the mowing lines of the door hinges and leaf are absolutely parallel. In doing so, you will be able to see that the rack (vertical) on the hinge side is perfectly flat, which is not unimportant.

However, the question of how to shorten an interior door can also arise after repairing the floor or laying laminate. In that case, you can rely on your strength and watch a video on how to cut the interior door to begin the work.

In most cases, it is possible to cut an interior door with a circular saw. There are lots of descriptions about how this tool dashingly copes with the problem of shortening doors. But not every door will succumb to this method. Of course, if you need to saw a door Fiberboard, you can use a circular saw. However, the question, “How to saw off a veneered door?” requires a different solution. After all, veneer is a valuable species of wood, which means that it is likely to be spoiled. And the thing is that the teeth of the saw (even the smallest) in the process of trimming interior doors will tear particles of wood. In this way, crevices and chips are inevitable and the doors will be permanently ruined.

Do not despair, because we live in a developed country, where it has long been known how to accurately shorten the bottom of the door. It can be done with the help of an electric cutter (manual, with high power) and a guide ruler. You can saw the door along the guide rail yourself, but you will swallow a great deal of dust, and the curved trim is no indication that the ruler will be firmly fixed. This operation is much easier to do with an electric planer. This is the tool that professionals use during installation. A skilled craftsman forms an angle with an electric planer on the vertical part of the blade that faces the hinges. The corner is open towards the rebate. The hinges are thus slightly ajar when closed, so that the tension between the leaf and the frame is eliminated.

Before shortening an interior door, you need to remember a few rules. Before you trim the interior door from the bottom, it is necessary to remove the leaf from the hinges, and then on both sides of the bottom of the door glue the painter’s tape. The same should be done in case you decide to shorten the interior door height jigsaw, because the masking tape will protect the door surface from scratches and small chips that can finally spoil the appearance of the door leaf.

If you decide to shorten the interior door with an electric planer, you need to put a fishing line on the masking tape in advance, which will serve as a guide in the process of trimming the door. The best solution is to entrust the work on cutting the interior doors to the specialists of our company by calling 8 905 573 70 50. For a long time we have been able to prove ourselves in a positive way and have earned the trust of our customers. Individual approach combined with professional skills guarantees excellent results.

The company’s professional craftsmen know how to properly trim the interior door leaf in the shortest possible time.

How to undercut a panel door with fiberboard panels

Panel or frame-cell doors with fiberboard panels or overlays. The best solution when only the door leaf is replaced (hanging the leaf on the old door frame) and when installing doors in non-standard wall openings and partitions. By non-standard I mean openings with a height less than 2.03 m and a width of less than 68 cm, which is not uncommon in their homes, “Khrushchev”, panel, block and brick houses with cement screed or gypsum panels on the floor.

Complete door replacement. Is long, expensive, noisy, and messy. Especially if you have to widen the doorway. In homes with brick or block walls and partitions to increase the height of the door opening will have to pre-create new lintels. In panel houses, some tenants destroy the upper part of the reinforced concrete panel of the load-bearing walls. Not that it greatly reduces the load-bearing capacity of the walls, but there is enough noise and dust. In terms of time it may take you up to 2 weeks to install the door in such an opening taking into consideration the caulking. The price of installation (without the cost of the door) can be up to 200-300.

In such cases it is best to use primed panel doors with fiberboard panel overlays. Such door leaf can be bought for 15-20. After cutting and additional processing the leaf is painted and has almost the same appearance as a standard leaf.

The construction of the panel door with Wood-fibre board overlays allows to cut the door leaf quickly enough, easily and practically without affecting its appearance.

Can this be done?

It is commonplace to repair or relocate. In many cases, it is necessary to change the usual standards, to redesign the interior. Standard openings for entrance doors can change. In some cases, the opening is very wide, sometimes no door is suitable for installation. There is only one way out. it is to make the entrance door narrower.

Reducing the size of the entrance door is not a simple enough task. To perform it under force of every owner, but it requires skills and the presence of all the necessary tools. Following the instructions, you can independently adjust the size of the door leaf in width and height.

Instructions for the independent performance of works

Before carrying out the work, the canvas is removed from the hinges and prepared, removing handles and other fittings from it. The door is cut on the workbench, but if it is not available, a large stable table will do.

If the solid wood leaf needs to be adjusted to the opening due to sagging or elevation of the floor, it is best to trim the door from the bottom. Take two height measurements: at the hinge part and at the butt. Transfer the measure to the leaf, marking off new measurements from the upper edge. Draw a straight line through the 2 points. It is advisable to use a long ruler and a square to control the right angles between the edges.

Fix the guide rail along the marked line. If using a power tool, it is best to use a metal strip or ruler. If you cut the door with a manual wood hacksaw, a guide bar made of straight slats is suitable. Use clamps to clamp the template to the sheet above the marks.

To preserve the varnish and veneer layer on the polished door, treat it with an angle grinder. The tool blade will leave a smooth-edged cut that cannot be made with a saw. Guide the angle grinder along the guide bar. Before machining over the mowing line, tape the markings and transfer the straight line to its surface.

If there is no angle grinder, remove the lacquer coating on the removed part with an emery cloth and cut through the veneer with a sharp knife on both planes of the leaf and its edge parts. Then the door can be sawn off along the guide.

Remove the clamps and trim the edges of the bevel with emery paper. Glue the edge banding to the veneered door by matching its shade to the veneer. If the solid panel is painted, the cut should be covered with paint or varnish. Hang the door leaf on the frame, remove warps and attach the removed fittings.

In the same sequence of work performs and when replacing the leaf: the standard dimensions of the new product can be changed in height and width. When carrying out the work, take into account what the product is made of.

Mark out the blade

And if, we make a cut with a circular saw, from the back side we attach a board to the door in order to get an even, without burrs, saw cut.

If the work will be carried out with an angle grinder, it is necessary to make a wooden structure on both sides of the door. By gluing and fixing the boards on both sides. This design will serve to stop the circle in it.

Do-it-yourself instructions

Before carrying out work, the canvas is removed from its hinges and prepared by removing handles and other fittings from it. The door is cut on the workbench, but if it is not available, a large, stable table will do.

If the solid wood leaf needs to be adjusted to the opening because of sagging or elevation of the floor, it is best to trim the door from the bottom. Make two height measurements: at the hinge part and at the arbor. Transfer the measurements to the leaf, setting aside new dimensions from the upper edge. Draw a straight line through the 2 points. It is advisable to use a long ruler and a square to control the right angles between the edges.

How To Cut Down Doors (Shorten Door Height)

Attach the guide rail according to the drawn markings. If using a power tool, it is best to use a metal strip or ruler. If you cut the door with a hand saw on wood, the guides made of even slats will be suitable. The template is clamped to the blade with clamps above the marking.

To preserve the varnish and veneer layer on the polished door, finish it with an angle grinder. The tool blade will leave a kerf with even edges that cannot be made with a saw. Guide the angle grinder along the guide bar. Before machining over the scythe line marking tape, and the straight line is transferred to its surface.

If you do not have an angle grinder, remove the varnish on the part to be removed with an emery cloth and cut the veneer with a sharp knife on both surfaces of the leaf and on the edges. The door can then be sawed off along the guide.

Remove the clamps, process the edges of the cut with sandpaper. On the veneered door should be glued edge tape, matching its shade to the veneer. If the solid blade is painted, cover the cut with paint or varnish. Hang the door leaf on the frame, remove the warping and attach the removed hardware.

In the same sequence perform the work and when replacing the leaf: the standard dimensions of the new product can be changed in height and width. When carrying out the work, you must take into account what the product is made of.

Where/how the door leaf is neatly trimmed?

You will have to make several approaches, while gradually deepening the leaf. But do not forget that this method is more reliable and it will be easier for you to avoid irreparable mistakes. Experiment, try to achieve everything on your own, but do not forget that your actions should be carried out within reason.

Few craftsmen know exactly how to shorten the door, because it requires certain skills, and, of course, experience. After all, damaging the door is a minute thing, and fixing it is a complicated and tedious process. Of course, the most ideal option is to contact professionals who have the necessary knowledge and tools for this “operation”. Today you can get confused in the variety of firms that offer these services, and even more so to understand which of them is the best and most profitable option for you. But do not despair, you just need to know a few rules:

• Do not apply to a company that has recently announced itself, but in the information says that it has been in the market for decades. In this case, the shortening of interior doors can end up buying new.
• If you decide to save money, you should not order the services of private companies, it is better to use the state proposals for the repair. So you will save a certain amount of money, and you will be happy with the results.
• In order to find a cheap company, you must first compare the of services offered. After that, you can safely order a master.
• As soon as the handyman crosses the threshold of your home, once again check the price of his services. If they are much higher, you can immediately call his company, and once again clarify the terms of the deal.