Hi, my 1923 house has a 31" X 6' door that accesses the stairway to the
basement. It has a large window and is only 1 3/8" thick. Anyone have any
ideas about a good solid replacement that would help with heat loss as well?
Thanks,
Chas

Chas12 wrote:
Hi, my 1923 house has a 31" X 6' door that accesses the stairway to the
basement. It has a large window and is only 1 3/8" thick. Anyone have any
ideas about a good solid replacement that would help with heat loss as well?
Thanks,
Chas

Just cut a regular door down.
cut the hinge side of a regular 32" wide door, this would look normal.
(even with glass in it)

just plan the bottom cut when you are shopping, see how it can be done.

chickenwing wrote:
Chas12 wrote:
Hi, my 1923 house has a 31" X 6' door that accesses the stairway to the
basement. It has a large window and is only 1 3/8" thick. Anyone have any
ideas about a good solid replacement that would help with heat loss as well?
Thanks,
Chas

Just cut a regular door down.
cut the hinge side of a regular 32" wide door, this would look normal.
(even with glass in it)

just plan the bottom cut when you are shopping, see how it can be done.

If your concerned about the depth!

see what you can add or remove from the jamb to make it work, just line
it up.
I think you're gonna pay less this route,
oppossed to a custom made door.

I agree that changing the door jamb to make it wider should be the
first choice. Hopefully there is enough space there to make a 32" wide
door usable (even if you have to sahve it some. 1" off the sides is a
lot.

wrote:
I agree that changing the door jamb to make it wider should be the
first choice. Hopefully there is enough space there to make a 32" wide
door usable (even if you have to sahve it some. 1" off the sides is a
lot.

I think you've got that backwards. I believe buffalowings was advising
to add wood to the jamb(s) to make the opening narrower so a 30" door
would fit.

R

chickenwing wrote:
chickenwing wrote:
Chas12 wrote:
Hi, my 1923 house has a 31" X 6' door that accesses the stairway to the
basement. It has a large window and is only 1 3/8" thick. Anyone have any
ideas about a good solid replacement that would help with heat loss as well?
Thanks,
Chas

Just cut a regular door down.
cut the hinge side of a regular 32" wide door, this would look normal.
(even with glass in it)

just plan the bottom cut when you are shopping, see how it can be done.

If your concerned about the depth!

see what you can add or remove from the jamb to make it work, just line it up.
I think you're gonna pay less this route, oppossed to a custom made door.

I just reread your post after "clarifying" it for someone else. Oops.
You do have subtract (remove) from the jambs. Not sure how you could
remove an inch of wood from any normal jamb without removing one entire
side.

Adding to the jamb would also allow you to increase the depth of the
jamb since you'd probably want the security and longevity of an
exterior door (1 3/4") instead of an interior door (1 3/8").

R

RicodJour wrote:

R

I think he should get a 32" door and cut 1" off the hinge side.
one lousy inch...big deal.
even with glass in the door, who's gonna see a 1" off center glass
Im just thinking it will be cheaper.

you think maybe add to the jamb and use smaller door?
hmmm, maybe better as far as appearances...id have to see the jamb.

Thanks Guys, the jamb is not in the greatest shape, but that is the best
access to the basement for large objects. If I get a door with a window, I
will just rip 1/2' of each side, but I think I will be going full solid
door. HOWEVER, the idea of adding to the jamb still is a thought, because
there would be fresh wood to mount to.
Chas

you think maybe add to the jamb and use smaller door?
hmmm, maybe better as far as appearances...id have to see the jamb.

Chas12 wrote:
HOWEVER, the idea of adding to the jamb still is a thought, because
there would be fresh wood to mount to.
Chas


You know how screw holes get wallowed out at the hinges sometimes,
you could stick something in there, like a wooden matchstix, this will
give the
screw something to bite.

Chas12 wrote:
Thanks Guys, the jamb is not in the greatest shape, but that is the best
access to the basement for large objects. If I get a door with a window, I
will just rip 1/2' of each side, but I think I will be going full solid
door. HOWEVER, the idea of adding to the jamb still is a thought, because
there would be fresh wood to mount to.

Ripping half a foot off of each side seems a bit extreme!

If you rip both sides of the door, you'll want to get a door blank - no
predrilled holes for the lockset. Otherwise the ripping on the lock
side will throw off the backset and you'll have to patch and redrill.
In other words, ripping the door down in width is making more work for
you either way.

I'm trying to save you some time and effort by suggesting a slightly
smaller door width. Buying a pre-drilled and mortised door, and adding
pieces of wood to the jambs will be the fastest way to do it and give
you the most professional appearance. The jamb add-ons can be ripped
to fit to fine tune the fit of the door in the opening.

Be aware when choosing the door that all solid core doors are not
created equal. If you cut down a door with a particle board core, and
that core gets exposed to moisture (safe bet with an exterior door to a
basement) it will swell up like it has elephantitis. Not a good thing.

R

yes that is a lot of door to remove, but you should see how strong that jamb
is!!

I understand what you are saying, and yes I will get a solid WOOD core door.

"RicodJour" wrote in message
ups.com...

Chas12 wrote:
Thanks Guys, the jamb is not in the greatest shape, but that is the best
access to the basement for large objects. If I get a door with a window,
I
will just rip 1/2' of each side, but I think I will be going full solid
door. HOWEVER, the idea of adding to the jamb still is a thought, because
there would be fresh wood to mount to.

Ripping half a foot off of each side seems a bit extreme!

If you rip both sides of the door, you'll want to get a door blank - no
predrilled holes for the lockset. Otherwise the ripping on the lock
side will throw off the backset and you'll have to patch and redrill.
In other words, ripping the door down in width is making more work for
you either way.

I'm trying to save you some time and effort by suggesting a slightly
smaller door width. Buying a pre-drilled and mortised door, and adding
pieces of wood to the jambs will be the fastest way to do it and give
you the most professional appearance. The jamb add-ons can be ripped
to fit to fine tune the fit of the door in the opening.

Be aware when choosing the door that all solid core doors are not
created equal. If you cut down a door with a particle board core, and
that core gets exposed to moisture (safe bet with an exterior door to a
basement) it will swell up like it has elephantitis. Not a good thing.

R