Sticky situation, in more ways than one:
In my apartment, I have really cheap hollow core doors. I moved here in
February, and the knucklehead who does the painting for this apt complex
sprayed the doors with oil paint, and then opened the windows for two 25
degree days to "vent out the fumes". Needless to say, the paint feels sticky
all the time, regardless of humidity. I guess it never cured correctly.
To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for the
frame. I like to close it in the morning because my significant other
doesn't need to wake up until 2 hours after I do. But, because it sticks so
badly, it makes a racket when opening or closing. The landlord doesn't see a
problem, and won't fix it. Meanwhile, this morning, the GF got stuck in the
room and I had to open it the way SWAT teams do on TV. This is a safety
hazard.
I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly. My
initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and
deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The trimming
might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would leave
some of the existing hole exposed.
That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking?
(The legalities are another issue).
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:32:15 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking?
>(The legalities are another issue).
>
I don't know how your rough opening is framed. If it is wood, I would
first unscrew one hinge leaf at a time from the jamb, drill a hole for
a wood screw so that the hole in the jamb is larger than the thread
diameter but smaller than the screw head, and see if you can pull the
jamb tighter to the rough framing. This follows the least effort
theory.
If that gets you almost there, I'd cut along the edges of the lockside
stop with a utility knife, so that the paint won't chip when you go to
step two - which is removing the stop. Once the stop is removed you
can pull the same trick on the lock side that you did on the hinge
side - the screw heads will be hidden when yo replace the stop. You
must be careful not to pull the frame apart at the head when doing
this (although a caulkable gap may be preferable to rehanging the
door).
If the door must be cut down, remove the door and look at the top or
bottom to make sure that there will be enough wood left after cutting
to maintain sufficient structural integrity. Hollow core doors are
usually framed with thin pieces of solid wood and will become unstable
if too much of this is removed.
Good luck.
Regards, Tom
Tom Watson - Woodworker
Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
http://users.snip.net/~tjwatson
>That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
>some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
>enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
Others have warned about using a circular saw, but I fail to
see the problem. I have done this numerous times with a circular saw.
You must use a straight edge to guide the saw. You must have
a very sharp blade. You must have reasonable confidence, skill, and
experience with your saw. This takes a steady hand.
You would also be wise to put a strip of masking tape on both
sides of the door and cut through it. This will prevent splintering.
Burnish it down well enough to stick but not so well it lifts paint.
You can also use this tape to mark where the hinges go, but this
should be obvious since no matter how much you cut, you will have the
screw holes to guide you.
Good luck.
Peter
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:32:15 GMT, "Doug Kanter" <[email protected]>
wrote:
[snip]
>
>I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly. My
>initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and
>deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The trimming
>might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would leave
>some of the existing hole exposed.
>
>That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
>some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
>enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
>
>
Make a long story short, I had to trim 4 doors about 3/8" each. Used a
hand held electric plane. I think that 5mm is too much to sand evenly.
Hand (non-elec) plane would do well _if_ you are good with such things and
the blades are sharp. My only problem was that someone lent me the
inexpensive/consumer plane w/ no instructions and I could not figure out
how to start at one end of the door edge -- not real pretty there. But,
once I got started the rest was smooth and even. If convenient, you can
rent one for 4 hours at a tool place or even a Home Depot.
If you do use a circ saw, suggest strongly that you clamp down a 1x2 as a
guide and hold the saw against it.
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:32:15 +0000, Doug Kanter wrote:
> That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
> some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
> enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
>
If you have a gap between the frame and door on the hinge side, you may be
able to move the door in that direction by moving the hinge pins.
Sometimes this can be accomplished by loosening the hinge screws on the
jamb and slipping a narrow cardboard shim under the hinge away from the
hinge pin and re-tighten the screws. This has the effect of moving the
hinge pins and therefore the whole door. If this method doesn't buy
enough movement, try chiseling out the jamb side of the hinge mortices to
accomplish the same thing. Then there's always the old scrap hunka 2x4
and maul method to move the whole jamb a little on both sides. Cutting
the door should be the last resort.
-Doug
Having run into this situation on occassion I have either: built
myself a custom sized, insulated door (but plain, e.g. for the
basement entry), or trimmed down a solid chunk of lumber as a
replacement for the framing I sawed out (or thinned too far). So far,
both solutions haven't presented a problem over a few years passing.
Renata
On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 15:22:56 GMT, [email protected] (Lawrence
Wasserman) wrote:
>
>May not apply in your case, but one "murphy" I've run into with hollow
>core doors and older buildings is oddball door opening sizes,
>requiring too much trimming of the door stiles (I guess it's not really
>a stile on a HC door, but I mean the upright piece of wood at the edge
>of the door) to the point of them being so thin they won't hold
>the hinge screws. When that happens it is 'sometimes' possible to
>remove the piece, cut out some of the "honeycomb" or whatever is used
>inside the door, and install a new, thicker, piece.
>--
>
> Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland
> [email protected]
>
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:54:55 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> pixelated:
>"Ramsey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> DO NOT CUT THE DOOR !!!!!!! I did one time and it splintered to heck
>> and back. Sand it. As a thought , you could run a bar of soap on it or
>> wax on the spot where it is binding or try Slippit-that stuff works
>> great. Now since that didn't work, get or borrow a belt sander. It is
>> MUCH quieter. Good luck. Hey, maybe you would appreciate this . Get
>> an old fashioned hand plane. Quiet, smooth, etc..
>
>I like the hand plane idea. Although I rarely have use for one, they look
>like such nice, simple tools that I ought to add one to the rest of my
>collection of tools I only use once every 3 years. :-)
I found that my Indian plane (a $10 Harbor Freight special
from 18+ years ago) sharpened up well and works fine for
those special situations such as this. I keep the beater for
paint removal and my real planes touch only bare wood.
-
Press HERE to arm. (Release to detonate.)
-----------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming
DO NOT CUT THE DOOR !!!!!!! I did one time and it splintered to heck
and back. Sand it. As a thought , you could run a bar of soap on it or
wax on the spot where it is binding or try Slippit-that stuff works
great. Now since that didn't work, get or borrow a belt sander. It is
MUCH quieter. Good luck. Hey, maybe you would appreciate this . Get
an old fashioned hand plane. Quiet, smooth, etc..
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:32:15 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Sticky situation, in more ways than one:
>
>In my apartment, I have really cheap hollow core doors. I moved here in
>February, and the knucklehead who does the painting for this apt complex
>sprayed the doors with oil paint, and then opened the windows for two 25
>degree days to "vent out the fumes". Needless to say, the paint feels sticky
>all the time, regardless of humidity. I guess it never cured correctly.
>
>To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for the
>frame. I like to close it in the morning because my significant other
>doesn't need to wake up until 2 hours after I do. But, because it sticks so
>badly, it makes a racket when opening or closing. The landlord doesn't see a
>problem, and won't fix it. Meanwhile, this morning, the GF got stuck in the
>room and I had to open it the way SWAT teams do on TV. This is a safety
>hazard.
>
>I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly. My
>initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and
>deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The trimming
>might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would leave
>some of the existing hole exposed.
>
>That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
>some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
>enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
>
>What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking?
>(The legalities are another issue).
>
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
> get yourself three 3" screws and remove 1 screw from each hinge.[the
> screw closest to the stop.] replace them with the 3" screws and
> tighten them till the door pulls slightly. repeat on each hinge then
> check to see how far it has moved. a little goes a long way. this way
> you dont get stuck replacing the landlords door! also you make no mess
> at all. skeez
Yet ANOTHER good idea! I've made a list of all the suggestions here, and I
really appreciate them all. I'll be trying them this weekend, beginning with
the free ones and working up to the expensive ones. If nothing works by
Sunday, I'm off for a week in the Adirondacks, in a place with no TV, no
phone, no computer, just beer and fishing poles. Phuck the door until the
week after. :-)
-Doug
"Rico" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> This takes care of splintering and almost removes skill from
> the equation.
>
> http://members.aol.com/woodmiser1/sawbd.htm
>
> A little tape as a belt and suspenders approach wouldn't
> hurt. I've made hundreds of feet of cuts with these
> sawboards and they are the greatest thing since sliced
> bread.
>
>
> Rico
This works wonderfully! I have (2), one for each of my circ. saws.
Just a hint on making one - - you do NOT have to find a table saw! For the
straight edge of the "guide ripper" they talk about, use the "factory edge"
of a piece of plywood. You're not going to cut anything straighter than this
yourself, and it won't bend, twist, or warp from changing humidity as a
piece of plain wood might.
My .02
Nahmie
Norman D. Crow wrote:
>
> "Rico" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > This takes care of splintering and almost removes skill from
> > the equation.
> >
> > http://members.aol.com/woodmiser1/sawbd.htm
> >
> > A little tape as a belt and suspenders approach wouldn't
> > hurt. I've made hundreds of feet of cuts with these
> > sawboards and they are the greatest thing since sliced
> > bread.
> >
> >
> > Rico
>
> This works wonderfully! I have (2), one for each of my circ. saws.
> Just a hint on making one - - you do NOT have to find a table saw! For the
> straight edge of the "guide ripper" they talk about, use the "factory edge"
> of a piece of plywood. You're not going to cut anything straighter than this
> yourself, and it won't bend, twist, or warp from changing humidity as a
> piece of plain wood might.
> My .02
> Nahmie
When I want to make a lot of shelves that are the same
depth, I make a sawboard that is wide enough so that I can
put a cleat on the bottom of the sawboard. Then I hook the
cleat on the end of the 4x8 sheet, cut a shelf, move it
forward, cut another shelf, all with no measuring. No
measuring eliminates a lot of misteaks.
Rico
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"Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
: Sticky situation, in more ways than one:
:
: In my apartment, I have really cheap hollow core doors. I moved here in
: February, and the knucklehead who does the painting for this apt complex
: sprayed the doors with oil paint, and then opened the windows for two 25
: degree days to "vent out the fumes". Needless to say, the paint feels sticky
: all the time, regardless of humidity. I guess it never cured correctly.
:
: To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for the
: frame. I like to close it in the morning because my significant other
: doesn't need to wake up until 2 hours after I do. But, because it sticks so
: badly, it makes a racket when opening or closing. The landlord doesn't see a
: problem, and won't fix it. Meanwhile, this morning, the GF got stuck in the
: room and I had to open it the way SWAT teams do on TV. This is a safety
: hazard.
:
: I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly. My
: initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and
: deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The trimming
: might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would leave
: some of the existing hole exposed.
:
: That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
: some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
: enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
:
: What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking?
: (The legalities are another issue).
:
:
If it is a safety issue take it back up with the landlord. IF you cut the door and the landlord does
not approve of you doing it say goodbye to your deposit and possibly more.
"Ramsey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> DO NOT CUT THE DOOR !!!!!!! I did one time and it splintered to heck
> and back. Sand it. As a thought , you could run a bar of soap on it or
> wax on the spot where it is binding or try Slippit-that stuff works
> great. Now since that didn't work, get or borrow a belt sander. It is
> MUCH quieter. Good luck. Hey, maybe you would appreciate this . Get
> an old fashioned hand plane. Quiet, smooth, etc..
I like the hand plane idea. Although I rarely have use for one, they look
like such nice, simple tools that I ought to add one to the rest of my
collection of tools I only use once every 3 years. :-)
I say trim. Worst comes to worst you can replace the door for $20.00.
Sam
"Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sticky situation, in more ways than one:
>
> In my apartment, I have really cheap hollow core doors. I moved here in
> February, and the knucklehead who does the painting for this apt complex
> sprayed the doors with oil paint, and then opened the windows for two 25
> degree days to "vent out the fumes". Needless to say, the paint feels
sticky
> all the time, regardless of humidity. I guess it never cured correctly.
>
> To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for
the
> frame. I like to close it in the morning because my significant other
> doesn't need to wake up until 2 hours after I do. But, because it sticks
so
> badly, it makes a racket when opening or closing. The landlord doesn't see
a
> problem, and won't fix it. Meanwhile, this morning, the GF got stuck in
the
> room and I had to open it the way SWAT teams do on TV. This is a safety
> hazard.
>
> I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly.
My
> initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and
> deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The
trimming
> might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would
leave
> some of the existing hole exposed.
>
> That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
> some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I
leave
> enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
>
> What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of
woodworking?
> (The legalities are another issue).
>
>
Doug Kanter wrote:
> To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for
If you make a mess, you'll have to buy another door, or lose your damage
deposit, whichever is cheaper.
I have a lot of hollow core doors here that someone did an incredibly poor
job of cutting to allow more clearance for the new, fluffier carpet they
installed. I've found a great many of them have needed touchups.
No one has yet suggested what I consider the *best* tool for this job. Hand
planes are great if you have the patience to keep screwing with the iron
until it's sharp, and properly adjusted. It's an art, and there's a pretty
significant learning curve. For lazy people who don't do enough plane type
stuff to justify the study time, Stanley makes a Handy Dandy Fantabulous
product called a Surform plane. You can get them at Lowe's in the US for
about $6, though I have no idea how you'll fare finding one in whatever
country you live in. (Canada?)
It's a lot like a fine-grained Bondo file, if you've ever done any body
work. Sort of a cheese grater thing under tension. I know the fine
woodworkers here are cringing at the thought of using one of those things,
but I love'em. They do a very good job in this particular situation
because they have dozens of tiny little cutters making individual shavings.
There's a lot less tendency to splinter the door. Done well, you can get
by without sanding. Done poorly, you'll wind up with a lot of little
grooves to clean up.
Good luck with the landlord. In spite of the bad drainage, the termites,
the midew, the rotten wood, the poorly-laid roof, the bad gutters and
myriad other problems I have with this place, I'm sooooooo glad to be a
homeowner. Renting sucks. Landlords especially suck. I fscking HATE
landlords!!!!!
Anyway, if this sounds like a good idea to you, and you can't scrounge one
up, I can mail you one from the US should it come to that.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 17192 Approximate word count: 515760
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
In article <[email protected]>,
Doug Kanter <[email protected]> wrote:
<...snipped...>
>That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
>some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
>enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
>
>What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking?
>(The legalities are another issue).
>
>
May not apply in your case, but one "murphy" I've run into with hollow
core doors and older buildings is oddball door opening sizes,
requiring too much trimming of the door stiles (I guess it's not really
a stile on a HC door, but I mean the upright piece of wood at the edge
of the door) to the point of them being so thin they won't hold
the hinge screws. When that happens it is 'sometimes' possible to
remove the piece, cut out some of the "honeycomb" or whatever is used
inside the door, and install a new, thicker, piece.
--
Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland
[email protected]
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:32:15 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Sticky situation, in more ways than one:
>
>In my apartment, I have really cheap hollow core doors. I moved here in
>February, and the knucklehead who does the painting for this apt complex
>sprayed the doors with oil paint, and then opened the windows for two 25
>degree days to "vent out the fumes". Needless to say, the paint feels sticky
>all the time, regardless of humidity. I guess it never cured correctly.
>
>To make matters worse, my bedroom door is already about 5mm too big for the
>frame. I like to close it in the morning because my significant other
>doesn't need to wake up until 2 hours after I do. But, because it sticks so
>badly, it makes a racket when opening or closing. The landlord doesn't see a
>problem, and won't fix it. Meanwhile, this morning, the GF got stuck in the
>room and I had to open it the way SWAT teams do on TV. This is a safety
>hazard.
>
>I have a circular saw and I'm thinking about trimming the door slightly. My
>initial thought was that since I've installed plenty of lock sets and
>deadbolts, I'd trim that edge, but obviously, that won't work. The trimming
>might lead to having to move the doorknob slightly inward, which would leave
>some of the existing hole exposed.
>
>That leaves the hinge side. This looks obvious: Some trimming, followed by
>some very careful chisel work, and I should be in business, assuming I leave
>enough of the existing hinge cutouts so I can follow their outline. Right?
>
>What "murphy's law" horrors am I not aware of yet, in terms of woodworking?
>(The legalities are another issue).
>
get yourself three 3" screws and remove 1 screw from each hinge.[the
screw closest to the stop.] replace them with the 3" screws and
tighten them till the door pulls slightly. repeat on each hinge then
check to see how far it has moved. a little goes a long way. this way
you dont get stuck replacing the landlords door! also you make no mess
at all. skeez
"Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Ramsey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > DO NOT CUT THE DOOR !!!!!!! I did one time and it splintered to heck
> > and back. Sand it. As a thought , you could run a bar of soap on it or
> > wax on the spot where it is binding or try Slippit-that stuff works
> > great. Now since that didn't work, get or borrow a belt sander. It is
> > MUCH quieter. Good luck. Hey, maybe you would appreciate this . Get
> > an old fashioned hand plane. Quiet, smooth, etc..
>
> I like the hand plane idea. Although I rarely have use for one, they look
> like such nice, simple tools that I ought to add one to the rest of my
> collection of tools I only use once every 3 years. :-)
I second the motion on not cutting a hollow core door-- they're mostly
Kleenex held together with splinters and paint. The plane is a poor tool for
cutting through paint, etc. If the door "frame" is of the same construction
quality as the door itself, you may be able to drive the latch-striker trim
far enough to eliminate the problem. Use a hammer and a piece of junk wood
to preserve the trim.
I've been replacing the junkwood door frames in our condo. They're held
together with staples and have no structural strength whatsoever.
-- Ernie
"Ramsey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> DO NOT CUT THE DOOR !!!!!!! I did one time and it splintered to heck
> and back.
The one time I cut a door, it went fine. There were a few splinters, but
nothing serious; and I think tape would have eliminated those.