Door Easing / Shortening - DIY?

Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Soldato
Joined
16 May 2006
Posts
11,334
Location
Dubai
So... I had new carpets fitted all over. Feels and looks awesome!

Here's the problem, the clearance is too small for the door to be re-hung after fitting the carpets. I have a total of 8 doors that needs easing.

Have anyone done it before? Is it just planing the bottom with a wood shaver or am I better off calling a joiner for £10 a door to deal with it all?
 
Depends if you have the correct tools, time and inclination to do it. £80 all in would make me sway towards someone doing it for you personally.
 
Depending on your doors planing may not be the answer. Either use a saw (if it's more than a few mm) or a belt/orbital sander if it's just a ba' hair needing removed.

Planing only really works on 'real' wooden doors, most doors in places I have lived are those horrible fibreboard + block doors they don't plane too well
 
I do believe my doors aren't solid wood doors and I believe it'll be a good quarter to half inch that needs removing.

So the question is, £80 for a one off job vs £80 to invest into tools and a bench to work it myself?
 
£80 isn't a bad price for 8 doors.

Some chippies just use a electric Door Trimming Saw, enables you to trim the door while still hung.

If you plane the doors yourself you can split edges of the door, very easily.
 
Nightglow said:
£80 isn't a bad price for 8 doors.

Some chippies just use a electric Door Trimming Saw, enables you to trim the door while still hung.

If you plane the doors yourself you can split edges of the door, very easily.
Click to expand...

My doors are all unhung now because it's too tight to be put back (6 of the 8 anyway).

HSS has a tool for hire...
http://www.hss.com/g/3141/Door-Trim-Saw-inc-Blade-.html

didn't know there's a specific tool for it. But looks like it'll not work well when the door isn't hung.

I'm looking at what's best now; Invest in tools, possible use for future vs hiring tools and do it (+ getting a bench) or call for a job at £10 a door. Someone at work apparently does joinery on the side, might have to seek him out.
 
As your doors aren't solid, you might end come unstuck, planning 5mm plus off the bottom of the door, you only have so many mm allow for trimming to size.
Door is just a thin frame filled with corrugated card & two decorative panels fixed on.

Better to leave to a chippie, I think in this case.
Door trimming saw isn't that easy to use, I knew someone who hired one & it snagged the carpet, ended up having to have a second new carpet.
 
Nightglow said:
Better to leave to a chippie, I think in this case.
Door trimming saw isn't that easy to use, I knew someone who hired one & it snagged the carpet, ended up having to have a second new carpet.
Click to expand...

Aye, my missus also mentioned that - last thing we want to do is to ruin a brand new carpet. £80 it is then.
 
That many doors, for £80, is a decent enough price. I recently had to saw an inch (ish) off two doors in our bedroom and by the time you've refitted the wood that inevitably comes out of the bottom of the door etc it becomes more time consuming than you imagine. If you haven't the tools, it seems a no-brainer.
 
I adjusted one, or two doors in our new place, to fit after new carpets were laid.

It's not a particularly difficult job, but planing then isn't really ideal, as you're almost certainly planing across the grain, which means it's very easy to split the wood, particularly at the edges.

Sanding is probably the best way to go about it, assuming you don't need to take much off. But without the right tools, then it'd take a lot of effort. Otherwise sawing to size is easy enough if you need to make a fairly major adjustment.
 
Just had a brainwave, if your unable to trim the door enough, then consider using rise n fall hinges on the doors.

Rising Pair of Butt hinges are available as left pair or a right pair depending which way a door is hung, they will allow a door to lift 12mm in 180°.
 
Just use a circular saw, You said quarter to half inch, so circular saw will be just right for the job.
I've done countless doors this way, mostly the cheap rubbishy doors as well.
You just need to be mindful of whether the doors have already been trimmed down before, as the cheapy doors only have battened frames. Its happened to me on a few doors too where i've need to trim down more than the instructions say i should do. all that happens is the bottom batten falls out; you can stick that back in easily enough.

Tip: scribe the cutting line with a knife, so if you do use a circular saw, you don't splinter the good edge.
 
What's the typical depth of the bottom batten? I do believe all these doors are as new (4 year old new build) i.e. not trimmed, but can't be sure. Heavy when I pick it up but feels hollow when I knock, so very likely to be the 'cheapy' door.

Still ringing around yellow pages, averaging £10 a door. Might have to sink this rather than invest it on tools and use my limited skills.
 
Having trimmed, shaved and hung many doors myself in the past, for the sake of £80 I'd suggest you get a chippy in :)

Yes it's a perfectly DIY-able job if you have the tools, but for that money it isn't worth the effort .
 
paintguy said:
Having trimmed, shaved and hung many doors myself in the past, for the sake of £80 I'd suggest you get a chippy in :)

Yes it's a perfectly DIY-able job if you have the tools, but for that money it isn't worth the effort .
Click to expand...

Yeah, i have to agree, it's a fairly easy diy job IF you have the tools.
But for your peace of mind, shell out the £80 for it to be done properly.
Maybe even pay attention and watch the chippy do his work.
If you reckon approx. 6mm off, he'll use a saw (circular, jigsaw or even table). A plane is not the right tool for that amount of trimming.
 
Thanks for the feedback, would make sense to get it right. Don't want any heartache as moving day approaches.

Been phoning around yesterday and got quotes ranging from £115 to £70, and the £70 company is around the corner from my new place, so looks like it'll be him then.
 
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