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Handyman questions (1 Viewer)

fantasycurse42

fantasycurse42

Footballguy Jr.
Anyone here ever cut hollow core door slabs?

I'm replacing 4 doors in my house, I bought two 30x80 and two 24x80 - the openings though are slightly off, 29x78, 28.5x79, 23x79, and 21x76...

With some youtubing for two people who are relatively handy, how difficult will this be and how long should it take to cut to size?

 
DocHolliday said:
Very easy with a table saw.
Click to expand...
This. Use an old magnetic stud finder (or a compass) to locate any metal (nails, staples, clamps etc) in the edges where you'll be cutting. Avoid them if possible or be ready for the blade to hit metal if they can't be avoided.

 
cuts will be fine with circular saw. clamp a straight edge to the door or a 2x4 and use it as a guide. in fact, I would probably do this even if I had access to a table saw

 
Home Depot rents them for $50, prob just going to do that.

We're in an apartment and I'm trying to control dust... If we tarp, how decent will it be in controlling would dust. We've been cutting tiles and even with the tarps, it's been uncontrollable - we're done with the tile cutting and I've cleaned most of that dust up, hoping the wood dust isn't as bad, any feedback?

 
fantasycurse42 said:
Home Depot rents them for $50, prob just going to do that.

We're in an apartment and I'm trying to control dust... If we tarp, how decent will it be in controlling would dust. We've been cutting tiles and even with the tarps, it's been uncontrollable - we're done with the tile cutting and I've cleaned most of that dust up, hoping the wood dust isn't as bad, any feedback?
Click to expand...
wood dust is worse.

 
Doesn't your Home Depot have one of those panel saws in the back by the lumber department? You should be able to do your cuts with that.

 
Hawks64 said:
fantasycurse42 said:
Home Depot rents them for $50, prob just going to do that.

We're in an apartment and I'm trying to control dust... If we tarp, how decent will it be in controlling would dust. We've been cutting tiles and even with the tarps, it's been uncontrollable - we're done with the tile cutting and I've cleaned most of that dust up, hoping the wood dust isn't as bad, any feedback?
Click to expand...
wood dust is worse.
Click to expand...
####! I might run the extension cords if this is the case

 
Mrs. Rannous said:
fantasycurse42 said:
Frank Drebin said:
Doesn't your Home Depot have one of those panel saws in the back by the lumber department? You should be able to do your cuts with that.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately no.
Click to expand...
Does any other lumber or home improvement store have this stuff? Usually, they'll cut it for you for a fee. It's worth it to keep that dust away and get the cuts nice and neat.
Click to expand...
I already bought the slabs at Home Depot, they didn't have any service available, we're doing it on our own Monday... I might just run a few extension cords to the roof.

 
fantasycurse42 said:
Anyone here ever cut hollow core door slabs?

I'm replacing 4 doors in my house, I bought two 30x80 and two 24x80 - the openings though are slightly off, 29x78, 28.5x79, 23x79, and 21x76...

With some youtubing for two people who are relatively handy, how difficult will this be and how long should it take to cut to size?
Click to expand...
Been years since I cut my bathroom door to size, but isnt a hollow core door basically three furring strips with cardboard cross sections?

How do you cut 3 inches off the width?

 
parasaurolophus said:
fantasycurse42 said:
Anyone here ever cut hollow core door slabs?

I'm replacing 4 doors in my house, I bought two 30x80 and two 24x80 - the openings though are slightly off, 29x78, 28.5x79, 23x79, and 21x76...

With some youtubing for two people who are relatively handy, how difficult will this be and how long should it take to cut to size?
Click to expand...
Been years since I cut my bathroom door to size, but isnt a hollow core door basically three furring strips with cardboard cross sections?

How do you cut 3 inches off the width?
Click to expand...
This was my thought. I don't think there is enough room to take that much off and still maintain the integrity of the door.

 
yea, you can only take about an inch, maybe a tad more off any side of the door. if you take more, you will need to glue another structural member inside and from the sound of things, you are a newb at these types of things, so I wouldn't recommend :)

 
Galileo said:
parasaurolophus said:
fantasycurse42 said:
Anyone here ever cut hollow core door slabs?

I'm replacing 4 doors in my house, I bought two 30x80 and two 24x80 - the openings though are slightly off, 29x78, 28.5x79, 23x79, and 21x76...

With some youtubing for two people who are relatively handy, how difficult will this be and how long should it take to cut to size?
Click to expand...
Been years since I cut my bathroom door to size, but isnt a hollow core door basically three furring strips with cardboard cross sections?

How do you cut 3 inches off the width?
Click to expand...
This was my thought. I don't think there is enough room to take that much off and still maintain the integrity of the door.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree. I never even noticed it said hollow core doors. I just skipped right over that.

 
Yeah, I don't knew the standard dimensions, but 21x76 doesn't seem like it should work with a hollow core door.(or any door for that matter)

 
The key issue is one door is for a bathroom, the building I live in is over 100 years old. The bathroom is a step-up bathroom, so there is about 2.5 inches raised from the floor to get in and from the regular floor to the top of the door is about 79.3 inches, this one will be the biggest PITA of them all, the rest appear to be doable cuts (I hope). The door frame is metal so that doesn't make things easier.

 
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the rover said:
No. You can't do this with hollow core doors.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you can. Depending on what the door is made of, whether it's wood or the pressed wood crap, there is a strip of wood around the edge that basically stabilizes the door. After you cut off your distance, if you have gone past the area where that strip is, you can just remove it from the piece you just took off and insert it into the edge of your remaining door. Usually wood glue and some clamps does the trick.

Used to do this plenty of times when I remodeled houses for a living.

OP may want to post a picture of the door he bought so we can have a better idea of what we are working with.

 
ChiefD said:
the rover said:
No. You can't do this with hollow core doors.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you can. Depending on what the door is made of, whether it's wood or the pressed wood crap, there is a strip of wood around the edge that basically stabilizes the door. After you cut off your distance, if you have gone past the area where that strip is, you can just remove it from the piece you just took off and insert it into the edge of your remaining door. Usually wood glue and some clamps does the trick.Used to do this plenty of times when I remodeled houses for a living.

OP may want to post a picture of the door he bought so we can have a better idea of what we are working with.
Click to expand...
This is all very true however it will cost our friend countless hours, frustration and money. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND he eturn the doors and look for a mill that will make the correct door sizes. Shop around and you should be able to find a place that will cost relatively the same as the slabs at HD.

Most mills aren't open on the weekend.

 
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You've also got a problem with the hinges unless you have a router.

On trimming the slabs to size, use tape and pray. The skins will want to splinter.

 
STEADYMOBBIN 22 said:
ChiefD said:
the rover said:
No. You can't do this with hollow core doors.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you can. Depending on what the door is made of, whether it's wood or the pressed wood crap, there is a strip of wood around the edge that basically stabilizes the door. After you cut off your distance, if you have gone past the area where that strip is, you can just remove it from the piece you just took off and insert it into the edge of your remaining door. Usually wood glue and some clamps does the trick.Used to do this plenty of times when I remodeled houses for a living.

OP may want to post a picture of the door he bought so we can have a better idea of what we are working with.
Click to expand...
This is all very true however it will cost our friend countless hours, frustration and money.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND he eturn the doors and look for a mill that will make the correct door sizes. Shop around and you should be able to find a place that will cost relatively the same as the slabs at HD.

Most mills aren't open on the weekend.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

As I said above, you haven't even considered what you're gonna need to do with the hinges but you're already cruising for a bruising just trying to trim the doors to fit the opening. You're gonna have balance problems, too. Get them custom made and mortised correctly up front.

 
If it's 100 years old, wouldn't the doors be solid?

Also, running 700' of extension cord to power a table saw may blow a circuit. That's a lot of amperage to pull that distance via normal sized cords.

 
Wear safety glasses and probably ear protection ... You'll thank me later.

Go SLOW.

WATCH YOUR FINGERS!

WATCH YOUR FINGERS!!

WATCH YOUR FINGERS!!!

You should be able to find 78" doors in stock in either Home Depot or Lowes. It would definitely be worth your while to take the time to get them for two of the doors.

If you are working on a budget, buy all of your tools on craigslist. You should be able to get them for 50-75% off and if you decide you do not need them, just re-sell them and get your $$$ back.

Regarding the dust issue. When embarking on renovation projects, you should always be striving to keep your work area tidy for safety's sake. Get a GOOD shop vac and use it frequently. With two people you probably can have one vacuum while the other cuts, which would practically eliminate the saw dust.

While you can do the whole job with just a circular saw, it would be best if you had:

circular saw, use for top and bottom cuts

table saw, use for side cuts.

planer

palm sander

You should have purchased doors without pre-cut knob holes, so, I will assume you did. After you determine the amount you need to remove, divide that in half, then cut off of both sides. This should eliminate the need to modify the interior structure of 3 of the doors. The final door where you will have to reinforce the side(s) where you make the cut, unless they are 6 panel doors, I would remove the whole amount with one cut, then re-use the interior reinforcement or rip down a 2x4 to put in. If you are painting the doors, I would just fasten the structural element with a short drywall screw then cover with compound or caulking. If u r not painting, u need to glue them.

You are correct in stating that this is a relatively easy job, just take your time and WATCH YOUR FINGERS.

Good luck.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
You've also got a problem with the hinges unless you have a router.

On trimming the slabs to size, use tape and pray. The skins will want to splinter.
Click to expand...
Hinges are easy, you just need a sharp chisel.

If u have a good blade and go slowly, you should not have a problem with splintering.

 
apartment? Call the landlord! Unless you are the landlord, then calling yourself will just give you a busy signal or go straight to voicemail. ;)

 
NFL-ons said:
Uruk-Hai said:
You've also got a problem with the hinges unless you have a router.

On trimming the slabs to size, use tape and pray. The skins will want to splinter.
Click to expand...
Hinges are easy, you just need a sharp chisel.

If u have a good blade and go slowly, you should not have a problem with splintering.
Click to expand...
Beg to differ, mon ami. Chiseling a HC door is a recipe for disaster if you don't know what you're doing. OP is obviously not a craftsman (no knock on him).

 
http://i.imgur.com/MQ8kYLb.jpg

For reference, here is the slab next to the entrance. You can see the step-up as you enter the bathroom (it comes up about 2.5 inches on an already slightly less than 80 inch frame), that is the biggest problem... None of the other doors need to be cut nearly as much as this one.

We're going for it tomorrow.

 
fantasycurse42 said:
http://i.imgur.com/MQ8kYLb.jpg

For reference, here is the slab next to the entrance. You can see the step-up as you enter the bathroom (it comes up about 2.5 inches on an already slightly less than 80 inch frame), that is the biggest problem... None of the other doors need to be cut nearly as much as this one.

We're going for it tomorrow.
Click to expand...
You keep mentioning the height. You can cut 20 inches if you want there. It is the width we are talking about.

 
parasaurolophus said:
fantasycurse42 said:
http://i.imgur.com/MQ8kYLb.jpg

For reference, here is the slab next to the entrance. You can see the step-up as you enter the bathroom (it comes up about 2.5 inches on an already slightly less than 80 inch frame), that is the biggest problem... None of the other doors need to be cut nearly as much as this one.

We're going for it tomorrow.
Click to expand...
You keep mentioning the height. You can cut 20 inches if you want there. It is the width we are talking about.
Click to expand...
After a remeasure, it's roughly 21.9 inches as an opening, basically 2 inches, 1 from each side - impossible, difficult, or meh?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
you are going to hate yourself when you run the extension cord, cut the doors, bring them down, and find out that you splintered the hell out of the door, haven't gotten the hinges flush, and they still don't fit.

hire someone to either do this for you, or to make the doors the correct size in the first place

 
the moops said:
you are going to hate yourself when you run the extension cord, cut the doors, bring them down, and find out that you splintered the hell out of the door, haven't gotten the hinges flush, and they still don't fit.

hire someone to either do this for you, or to make the doors the correct size in the first place
Click to expand...
I've thought about this and you're prob very accurate here. I'm mentally preparing for it, so hopefully I won't be as angry.

 
If you're going to rent a table saw, I would be concerned about the type and condition of the blade. It may not give the finished cut you are looking for.

 
STEADYMOBBIN 22 said:
ChiefD said:
the rover said:
No. You can't do this with hollow core doors.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you can. Depending on what the door is made of, whether it's wood or the pressed wood crap, there is a strip of wood around the edge that basically stabilizes the door. After you cut off your distance, if you have gone past the area where that strip is, you can just remove it from the piece you just took off and insert it into the edge of your remaining door. Usually wood glue and some clamps does the trick.Used to do this plenty of times when I remodeled houses for a living.

OP may want to post a picture of the door he bought so we can have a better idea of what we are working with.
Click to expand...
This is all very true however it will cost our friend countless hours, frustration and money.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND he eturn the doors and look for a mill that will make the correct door sizes. Shop around and you should be able to find a place that will cost relatively the same as the slabs at HD.

Most mills aren't open on the weekend.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree with this.

 
I don't care what anyone has posted do not attempt to take 2" off one side or 1" off both sides of a hollow core door. Get them custom made or find ones that fit. Besides widening the opening this is the only correct advice.

 
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