Author Topic: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet  (Read 9024 times)

Displaced

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Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« on: February 28, 2013, 01:11:51 PM »
Hello, I have a 1960's house with the old type closet slider doors (where you can only see half the closet open at a time).  I'm thinking of changing to bifolds to update for use-ability and potential resell as a "cheap" update. 
Standard pre-fab closet bifolds cost $100 for about the right size.  Or $150 for the custom right size.  I have 3 closet doors I may replace.  So, the pre-fab doors would measure out to < or = 1 inch in width difference from the actual opening.  At first (pre-Mustachian) I figured I would just buy them custom, but after 3 doors that could be $150 savings so now I'm reconsidering. 
The problem?  Pre-fabs are hollow so I know there's not much I can shave off.  The other problem is I have no tools appropriate.  No table or saw.  No sander machine.  No wood plane.  I also have minimal wood-working skills.  I am meticulous and follow instructions well but it will take me forever and be the first time doing something like this.
Should I attack this project?  And which tool would likely be easiest/cheapest to accomplish this with? 
I've checked DIY forums and they mostly say to buy custom built.  But that's not exactly Mustachian enough if I could do it myself.
Thanks!

NumberCruncher

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2013, 01:29:03 PM »
I don't necessarily have an answer to your question (though it sounds like it might be better to just cough it up for custom in this case)...but I would caution against getting the cheapest, "standard" option.

I've had bifold closets that get stuck, jammed, need to be opened just the right way, etc growing up and personally haven't seen much appeal to them because of these issues. Going to a lot of open houses recently, closet bifolds seem to have a 50/50 chance of opening smoothly. Then again, maybe these problems could have been fixed by someone with know-how and a little grease.

5inatrailer

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2013, 02:29:08 PM »
bi-folds are on their way out.
Hang a regular door or a pair of them (like french doors)
not good if u don`t have tools
good if you are a stickler for details (there`s only one way to learn, and that is to DO)

pre-hung doors are simple to hang, but if you dont have saws, get some handy friends!
You`ll still need to put casing in after the doors are hung.

tooqk4u22

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2013, 03:08:25 PM »
Hollow doors can only be trimmed ever so slightly on the sides and probably not enough to make up the difference you will need.

And if you don't have the tools and skills this could be a low cost error but one that is highly noticeable.

It is good to save money and DIY, but not in all situations.

paddedhat

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2013, 09:58:12 AM »
Hollow core INTERIOR doors can be cut down to whatever size you desire. Want to take a six panel masonite door and create six tiny single panel doors? No worries, it just takes a bit of skill, glue and clamps.  I have worked at a millwork shop and we would take hollow core doors and make all kinds of crazy shapes to fit whatever the customer needed. This included clipping a large piece of a top corner off (at the pitch of the roof) to fit in tight attic renovations. Cutting doors in half to make knee wall or understair access (we did hundreds of these and shipped them out prehung, with a reworked frame and hinges, easy money) , and cutting doors to odd widths, or intentionally making them horribly out of square, to replace a damaged door in a crooked old house. the basic concept is easy. Cut the door to the size you desire, install a new piece of pine to fill in the edge, generously coat the new edge with yellow glue, position the filler properly, clamp until glue sets. Clean up dried glue with a chisel, dress up edge with a hand plane and a touch of sandpaper.......that's all. Hollow core doors are junk, they have internal reinforcement made of cardboard, and the edge fillers (rails and stiles for the true woodworkers among us) are one step up from cardboard in most cases. If you rebuild the door with a nice straight piece of 3/4" pine, it is often a bit sturdier that it was from the factory. Steel doors and other types of exterior doors can also be reworked to some extent, but it can be a lot more involved. Hope this helps. 
« Last Edit: March 04, 2013, 09:59:45 AM by paddedhat »

paddedhat

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2013, 10:18:16 AM »
. Going to a lot of open houses recently, closet bifolds seem to have a 50/50 chance of opening smoothly. Then again, maybe these problems could have been fixed by someone with know-how and a little grease.
actually it takes five minutes and a phillips head screwdriver. no lube required. Try this. Fold the door open. Grasp the entire assembly and gently lift straights up. Swing bottom of door away from the opening, into the room. Now study the hardware left in place on the floor. See the slot with all the notches? This is where the lower pin rests. The pin can be relocated to different positions by gently lifting up on the door and slightly repositioning the pin. Look at the bottom of the door. See the pin? It threads up and down, allowing the doors to be adjusted so the are even at the tops when they close. Look up at the track in the top of the doorway. The piece in the track, near the ends is when the upper door pin goes. you loosen the phillips screw in this piece to move it back and forth. This allows the doors to be adjusted so that they are parallel to each other and the door jamb. The spring in the upper track slides around until the doors are nearly closed, then it "snaps" them shut, conversely it also helps cleanly "pop" them open, when you pull on the knob. This needs no adjustment, it just stays there and does it's job. To reinstall the door, place the door in position with the lower pin in the slotted rail. reach up and compress the spring loaded upper pin with your finger, and guide it into the hole on the upper bracket. There may be sheetmetal "fingers" located down low, on the backside of the door, where two doors meet in the middle. these are aligners that keep the meeting edge of the two doors properly aligned. They should be self explainatory, but they are often boogered up, and just need a little tweeking with a pliers. That's it. Once you learn how they work and have adjusted one, or two, there is no need to hate bifolds. I have several sets of the cheapest masonite units in my home, and they require very little work once they are properly set-up.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2013, 10:21:02 AM by paddedhat »

paddedhat

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2013, 10:37:30 AM »

Hang a regular door or a pair of them (like french doors)

When it comes to doors in general, a set of true french (both sides active, no center post) are beyond a doubt the biggest pain in the ass in the industry. When building new homes, I will just about refuse to put them in for a customer. They are a bitch for a pro to install properly, especially if the framing isn't dead level and the wall totally "in plane". they are also far more likely to result in call backs to adjust because the won't operate properly, or the doors warped slightly, and the installation now  looks like hell. IMHO, after a long career in this game, if found a house I wanted for myself, and it had a set of true french doors, either exterior or interior, they wouldn't last long.

tooqk4u22

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Re: Changing closet door size from pre-fab to fit closet
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2013, 11:48:16 AM »
Hollow core INTERIOR doors can be cut down to whatever size you desire. ............. the basic concept is easy. Cut the door to the size you desire, install a new piece of pine to fill in the edge, generously coat the new edge with yellow glue, position the filler properly, clamp until glue sets. Clean up dried glue with a chisel, dress up edge with a hand plane and a touch of sandpaper.......that's all. 

Notwithstanding my comment above, I agree that this can be done.  But while the concept is "easy" it still requires some skill and can just as easily be screwed up. 


Hang a regular door or a pair of them (like french doors)

When it comes to doors in general, a set of true french (both sides active, no center post) are beyond a doubt the biggest pain in the ass in the industry.

+1 on this, and if the frame and hinges are shit the fit will be too.