Trying to install a new interior door in an old house...HELP!

[cdgreg]

So, I'm not overly handy, but I love to try and develop my skills.  We have been in our house for about 5 years and this room has never had a door on it although one of the previous door hinges was still bolted into the door frame.  The house was originally built in the late 1800s.  I watched a bunch of youtube videos and decided to try to give it a whirl.  How hard can it be to remove the old trim, pop out the old door frame, and swap a new one in? 

I removed some old thin trim and then found a much thicker layer of "trim" almost flush with the drywall which is nailed in with square style nails.  So flush that I wasn't able to pry on it from the outside without destroying drywall.  So, instead I started from the inside of the door frame itself.  I cut through the old door frame with a sawzall and in essence yanked out the old door frame without removing the "trim" aka much thicker framing.  The "trim" looks like 2x4 or 2x6s.  I am really hesitant to rip the rest of the "trim" out before getting some second opinions. 

Should I keep going and rip the 2x4/2x6 door frame "trim" out or try to just jam a new framed door inside that somehow? 

Thanks for the advice, let me know if you need additional pics or measurements!

[Papa bear]

Well, someone before you sure did a shitty job with the drywall.  I can’t say I’ve seen it done that way. Basically, they drywalled up to the original door trim and then put some newer style trim on top of that to make it look passable.  Wow.

Honestly, I would have used the original door jamb and bought a period slab door and hand chiseled out for the hinges.  But, you’re past that now.

You can buy a new, prehung door, and use your current opening with the trim as your new rough opening. 

Or build a new jamb yourself with 1x, ripped to width to fill the space, and then chisel our for your hinges and a slab door.

Or you can pull it all back to where it should have been, which leaves you with some drywall patching to finish up. 

I love the old trim style and keep it at all my old house remodels. Pull off all the old 1x6 trim, careful not to split it. Get back to the original 2x4 framing, and use that as your RO for the new door.  Put in the new door.  Drywall patch up close to your jamb, making it flush with your finished wall. Now, you’ll probably need to build a jamb extension, because new prehung doors won’t be wide enough for the space.  Attach the jamb extension, then trim it back out with the original 1x6 wide wood.  Repeat on the other side. 

Any way you look at this, it’s not going to be a quick slap in a new door type of thing to get it to look right.  That last remodel sure didn’t do you any favors.  Good luck!


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[AccidentialMustache]

You probably know both of these, but...

With a house that old if you aren't already thinking about lead-based paint, you should be.

Also be wary of if your house's framing is actual 2x4 or even some other measure. That building is well old enough that the modern standardization of the 2x4 as 1.5x3.5 wasn't a thing.

If you actually have drywall, having to repair that isn't too hard. That old though, I would have expected lath and plaster. That's a whole different ball game to repair.

[Papa bear]

You probably know both of these, but...

With a house that old if you aren't already thinking about lead-based paint, you should be.

Also be wary of if your house's framing is actual 2x4 or even some other measure. That building is well old enough that the modern standardization of the 2x4 as 1.5x3.5 wasn't a thing.

If you actually have drywall, having to repair that isn't too hard. That old though, I would have expected lath and plaster. That's a whole different ball game to repair.

So what I’m 90% sure what happened here is at some point, someone wanted to drywall. So they just slapped it over the plaster and lathe, butted it up against the old trim, and then trimmed over the top of the gap between the drywall and trim.  You can even see the original trim unpainted!!!

So, that trim paint was painted after the drywall was installed. Might have been after 1978 with no chance of lead paint.  Still, be cautious, but this isn’t something to call in a hazmat team over. 

And that 2x4 is guaranteed to be bigger.  Probably 1 7/8 x 3 7/8.  When I mentioned above about a new prehung door, they are built for a new nominal 2x4 wall with 1/2” drywall on each side.  This wall? Almost 7” wide!  3 7/8 framing, 3/4 plaster and lathe, and then 1/2 drywall most likely, repeat on the other side.  Gets close to that 7” we see here.  No way you find a prehung door that fits the space without ripping your own jam extensions for trim.


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[Fishindude]

You need to get the rest of that white casing removed and get back to the studs and the actual rough opening.

[cdgreg]

Thank you for the feedback and ideas everyone!  It's shocking how much I've learned in the past 24 hours from research and talking with friends who have a lot more experience with this.  Hindsight being 20/20, buying a new solid door, cutting and planing it down to size probably would have been the wiser strategy.  You live and you learn.  Good call on the lead paint, I am sure one of the multiple layers of paint is lead, will keep a close eye on that.

It's definitely plaster & lath up to the frame with all custom cut trim from there.  The good news is, the rough opening from stud to stud is 32.75" and the pre-hung door casing is 31.5", so only a 1.25" gap, or .625" on each side.  Is that gap size shimmable or should I cut a 2x strips of plywood and connect to each side stud and then shim from there? If it matters, it's a light hollow door and I can sink some serious screws into the massive studs if necessary.  I swear the studs look like true 4x4s.

I don't think I'm going to be able to re-use any of the original trim as-is because of how much further in the new pre-hung door casing will sit.  The current trim would jut way out beyond the door casing and thus I don't think the door would open and close properly.  I think I'll have to try to either cut the old trim, create new trim all together, or dry wall up to it then use a more typically sized trim like Papa Bear said. 

[Fishindude]

Old house lumber was goofy dimensions, so you will probably find that a new pre-hung door jamb is not quite the same thickness as your actual wall is.   You can rip some material on a table saw to the correct dimensions and build out (add to) the jambs to make jambs flush with wall surfaces, so some type of a normal casing trim works.

[cdgreg]

Update:

Called in some help from a friend with a carpentry background who helped me tear the rest out, mount the door, and build out the jams.  From there I took over with the finish work.  Here's what I'm sort of stuck on.  I know technically the top trim should be at least as tall as the side trim width.  The side trim on the front of the door is 8" to cover the gaping hole and wall damage.  Putting 8" on the top looks ridiculous.  I put 4" on the top to keep it "level" with the other door in the room and the wall art (see pic) but it looks a bit tiny.  Technically, I have a 6" board that I bought as well.  Should I pull down the 4" top board and replace it with a 6" or leave it as is and call it a day?  Just need to touch up the paint and figure out how to finish the floor area. 

Thanks for the advice before, now that I re-read it after learning from my friend, I actually understand what many of you were saying lol. 

edit: not sure why pics show sideways in thumbnail, they show properly when opened.  Sorry about that.

[Papa bear]

You need to make it match the other door or your always going to notice the difference.  The 8” does look really off.  Drywall patch and finish it back so that 4” door casing will work. 


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[geekette]

I just stumbled on this, and I agree with Papa bear - no way should that left door stay that way.  It doesn't look balanced at all.

[lthenderson]

Just got back from the holiday weekend and read through this post. I also agree with Papa Bear. It needs to match the other door trim even if it means you are going to have to do some drywall patching and mudding. It is way too visibly different and you will be kicking yourself every time you look at it.

[Papa bear]

Now you’re probably thinking, what do I do where it meets the base trim?  That’s 8”!!

Well, go buy yourself a piece of 5/4 (it’s really 1”) stair tread so it’s a bit thicker than your 1x (really 3/4”) trim.  Use that as a “block” at the bottom so it frames out where the door casing meets the base. 




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[cdgreg]

Thank you everyone for the feedback, and lol, yes @Papa bear I have literally been thinking about that exact question for the past 3 days!  Appreciate your time and expertise.

[Papa bear]

Thank you everyone for the feedback, and lol, yes @Papa bear I have literally been thinking about that exact question for the past 3 days!  Appreciate your time and expertise.

There are other ways to do it, like if you had more base trim somewhere, but that’s going to be the easiest. If you have a router, you can fancy up the block by rounding off the edges.  Or use an orbital sander, or a sanding block.  See if there is anything else similar in the house you can replicate. 


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