I've decided it would be a good thing to replace the crummy slab hollow core
interior doors in this house with something a little nicer, perhaps solid or
engineered maple raised panel doors.

Unfortunately for me, a lot of stuff in this home is non-standard. (For
example, the 2 1/2" backset on the interior doors). I seem to have a mix of
28 and 30" doors, which really are 27 3/4 and 29 3/4. Question: is that
standard or is it yet another oddity of this home?

The conventional wisdom is that the rough opening should be about 2" wider and
2 1/2" taller than the door. I pulled the casing on one of the smaller doors,
hoping for a 29 3/4 opening, and (naturally) found it to be about 29 7/16"
wide. I didn't measure the height.

I emaled a couple of internet vendors, and was told, eassentially, that I
would need pretty close to 30" width for the 28" door. There was no way
they'd fit in my opening.

I'm naively making the assumption that this reality is forcing me into
big-bucks custom sizing. But it doesn't hurt to ask any pros in the newsgroup
if there's some stock-size solution that might not be apparent to me as Joe
Homeowner.

Thanks for any advice.

Art

"Arthur Shapiro" wrote in message
...
I've decided it would be a good thing to replace the crummy slab hollow
core
interior doors in this house with something a little nicer, perhaps solid
or
engineered maple raised panel doors.

Unfortunately for me, a lot of stuff in this home is non-standard. (For
example, the 2 1/2" backset on the interior doors). I seem to have a mix
of
28 and 30" doors, which really are 27 3/4 and 29 3/4. Question: is that
standard or is it yet another oddity of this home?

The conventional wisdom is that the rough opening should be about 2" wider
and
2 1/2" taller than the door. I pulled the casing on one of the smaller
doors,
hoping for a 29 3/4 opening, and (naturally) found it to be about 29 7/16"
wide. I didn't measure the height.

I emaled a couple of internet vendors, and was told, eassentially, that I
would need pretty close to 30" width for the 28" door. There was no way
they'd fit in my opening.

I'm naively making the assumption that this reality is forcing me into
big-bucks custom sizing. But it doesn't hurt to ask any pros in the
newsgroup
if there's some stock-size solution that might not be apparent to me as
Joe
Homeowner.

Thanks for any advice.

Art

While not quite the style you stated you want, perhaps you could save
money by taking the existing doors and putting on nice veneer skins of your
choice of wood followed by some molding to make it look like a floating
panel door.

Good Luck.

In article ,
(Arthur Shapiro) wrote:

I've decided it would be a good thing to replace the crummy slab hollow core
interior doors in this house with something a little nicer, perhaps solid or
engineered maple raised panel doors.

Unfortunately for me, a lot of stuff in this home is non-standard. (For
example, the 2 1/2" backset on the interior doors). I seem to have a mix of
28 and 30" doors, which really are 27 3/4 and 29 3/4. Question: is that
standard or is it yet another oddity of this home?

The conventional wisdom is that the rough opening should be about 2" wider
and
2 1/2" taller than the door. I pulled the casing on one of the smaller
doors,
hoping for a 29 3/4 opening, and (naturally) found it to be about 29 7/16"
wide. I didn't measure the height.

I emaled a couple of internet vendors, and was told, eassentially, that I
would need pretty close to 30" width for the 28" door. There was no way
they'd fit in my opening.

I'm naively making the assumption that this reality is forcing me into
big-bucks custom sizing. But it doesn't hurt to ask any pros in the
newsgroup
if there's some stock-size solution that might not be apparent to me as Joe
Homeowner.

Thanks for any advice.

Art

If you own or have access to a table saw, it's easy enough to reduce the
width of a door. Usually advisable to take an equal amount from both
edges. Of course that means you're going to be doing your own hanging.

In article , Smitty Two wrote:

If you own or have access to a table saw, it's easy enough to reduce the
width of a door.

Thanks - I realized after the fact that I neglected to use the word "prehung"
in my original posting; I thought it would be more appropriate to have an
equivalent hardwood frame rather than the original painted members.

Looks like I'm talking about ripping down wallboard and moving studs if I want
to use stock prehung units. This is not something particularly appealing.

Art

On 8/9/2011 12:47 PM, Arthur Shapiro wrote:
In , Smitty wrote:

If you own or have access to a table saw, it's easy enough to reduce the
width of a door.

Thanks - I realized after the fact that I neglected to use the word "prehung"
in my original posting; I thought it would be more appropriate to have an
equivalent hardwood frame rather than the original painted members.

Looks like I'm talking about ripping down wallboard and moving studs if I want
to use stock prehung units. This is not something particularly appealing.

Art

would the cost of custom doors be higher than moving or reframing the
door to use prehung/premade doors?

On Aug 5, 3:48*pm, (Arthur Shapiro) wrote:
I've decided it would be a good thing to replace the crummy slab hollow core
interior doors in this house with something a little nicer, perhaps solid or
engineered maple raised panel doors.

Unfortunately for me, a lot of stuff in this home is non-standard. *(For
example, the 2 1/2" backset on the interior doors). *I seem to have a mix of
28 and 30" doors, which really are 27 3/4 and 29 3/4. *Question: is that
standard or is it yet another oddity of this home?

The conventional wisdom is that the rough opening should be about 2" wider and
2 1/2" taller than the door. *I pulled the casing on one of the smaller doors,
hoping for a 29 3/4 opening, and (naturally) found it to be about 29 7/16"
wide. *I didn't measure the height.

I emaled a couple of internet vendors, and was told, eassentially, that I
would need pretty close to 30" width for the 28" door. *There was no way
they'd fit in my opening.

I'm naively making the assumption that this reality is forcing me into
big-bucks custom sizing. *But it doesn't hurt to ask any pros in the newsgroup
if there's some stock-size solution that might not be apparent to me as Joe
Homeowner.

Thanks for any advice.

What's bothering you most about the existing doors? Function or
appearance? If it's appearance you could either veneer both sides of
the door or do a faux finishing thing on them.

If it's a function thing you'll be hanging doors yourself unless you
order custom made doors. Moving studs would be a bitch as I'm sure
some of them are in bearing walls.

R

On Aug 5, 3:48*pm, (Arthur Shapiro) wrote:
I emaled a couple of internet vendors, and was told, eassentially, that I
would need pretty close to 30" width for the 28" door. *There was no way
they'd fit in my opening.

You know, it would be EXTREMELY easy to head down to your local big
box store, pull a stock prehung door off the rack, and measure it
yourself, rather than guess...

On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:20:50 -0700, chaniarts
wrote:

On 8/9/2011 12:47 PM, Arthur Shapiro wrote:
In , Smitty wrote:

If you own or have access to a table saw, it's easy enough to reduce the
width of a door.


You don't even need a table saw. A 7" circ saw will do.

Thanks - I realized after the fact that I neglected to use the word "prehung"
in my original posting; I thought it would be more appropriate to have an
equivalent hardwood frame rather than the original painted members.


Jambs are maybe the only place I'd try a chemical paint remover.
Scrape a small patch first to see if you'll be able to match the jambs
to the door.
I said maybe.
I'd probably buy new hardwood jambs to match/compliment
the door before I'd mess with drywall and reframing.

Looks like I'm talking about ripping down wallboard and moving studs if I want
to use stock prehung units. This is not something particularly appealing.

Art

would the cost of custom doors be higher than moving or reframing the
door to use prehung/premade doors?

If he can reframe the door he can cut a stock door to size, so it's
more a question of what he can do and what pain he's willing to take.
If he's hiring the work but can install a custom cut door himself, the
custom cut will be cheaper.
I agree with him about matching the jambs to the door.
If you're putting in a nice wood door you want the jambs to match.

--Vic

On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:20:50 -0700, chaniarts
wrote:

On 8/9/2011 12:47 PM, Arthur Shapiro wrote:
In , Smitty wrote:

If you own or have access to a table saw, it's easy enough to reduce the
width of a door.

Thanks - I realized after the fact that I neglected to use the word "prehung"
in my original posting; I thought it would be more appropriate to have an
equivalent hardwood frame rather than the original painted members.

Looks like I'm talking about ripping down wallboard and moving studs if I want
to use stock prehung units. This is not something particularly appealing.

Art

would the cost of custom doors be higher than moving or reframing the
door to use prehung/premade doors?
Not terribly hard to narrow a prehung unit. How much too big is the
standard pre-hung - and what size is it. Any good lumber yard / home
center can get numerous sizes of pre-hung doors.

On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:47:46 -0700 (PDT), RicodJour
wrote:

On Aug 5, 3:48Â*pm, (Arthur Shapiro) wrote:
I've decided it would be a good thing to replace the crummy slab hollow core
interior doors in this house with something a little nicer, perhaps solid or
engineered maple raised panel doors.

Unfortunately for me, a lot of stuff in this home is non-standard. Â*(For
example, the 2 1/2" backset on the interior doors). Â*I seem to have a mix of
28 and 30" doors, which really are 27 3/4 and 29 3/4. Â*Question: is that
standard or is it yet another oddity of this home?

The conventional wisdom is that the rough opening should be about 2" wider and
2 1/2" taller than the door. Â*I pulled the casing on one of the smaller doors,
hoping for a 29 3/4 opening, and (naturally) found it to be about 29 7/16"
wide. Â*I didn't measure the height.

I emaled a couple of internet vendors, and was told, eassentially, that I
would need pretty close to 30" width for the 28" door. Â*There was no way
they'd fit in my opening.

I'm naively making the assumption that this reality is forcing me into
big-bucks custom sizing. Â*But it doesn't hurt to ask any pros in the newsgroup
if there's some stock-size solution that might not be apparent to me as Joe
Homeowner.

Thanks for any advice.

What's bothering you most about the existing doors? Function or
appearance? If it's appearance you could either veneer both sides of
the door or do a faux finishing thing on them.

If it's a function thing you'll be hanging doors yourself unless you
order custom made doors. Moving studs would be a bitch as I'm sure
some of them are in bearing walls.

R
The bigger question is what bothers the OP about dealing with a REAL
lumber-yard or door dealer in his immediate area - where he can
actually MEASURE what is in stock - and where "custom" sizes are often
virtually the same price as standard size doors on an "order in"
basis. (in stock doors may be a bit less)

In article , wrote:

The bigger question is what bothers the OP about dealing with a REAL
lumber-yard or door dealer in his immediate area - where he can
actually MEASURE what is in stock - and where "custom" sizes are often
virtually the same price as standard size doors on an "order in"
basis.

The lumber yards in this immediate area aren't that good, and most stuff is
special-order.

i went down to Home Depot and looked at slab doors (which I don't want)
because that's what was in stock prehung. The framing was rather scanty, and
they would (barely) fit in my too-small space. I gather - with no empirical
proof other than the response of a couple Internet vendors - that the framing
on better hardwood doors is slightly thicker.

Another respondent asked why I wanted new doors. Looks - the cheap slab
hollow-core doors aren't very appealing. And the 2 1/2" backset has proven to
be a real pain as the original locksets (1968 house) wear out and have to be
replaced. I've had to mill wood circles of the appropriate diameter, glue
them in, and then cut the same sized hole 1/8" over. What a bloody nuisance.

Anyway, this isn't urgent so perhaps as I have reason to be in the
neighborhood of a good lumberyard with decent in-house stock I'll check out
the better stuff, armed with a tape measure. Thanks to everyone for the
opinions.

Art

"Arthur Shapiro" wrote in message
...

In article ,
wrote:

The bigger question is what bothers the OP about dealing with a REAL
lumber-yard or door dealer in his immediate area . . .

The lumber yards in this immediate area aren't that good, and most stuff
is
special-order.

i went down to Home Depot and looked at slab doors (which I don't want) .
. .

Anyway, this isn't urgent so perhaps as I have reason to be in the
neighborhood of a good lumberyard with decent in-house stock I'll check
out
the better stuff, armed with a tape measure. Thanks to everyone

It seems very bad luck that there are no "door and window" specialists
where the OP lives. Their business thrives here (e.g. half a dozen
fabricators in this city of 1 million) because they serve the market
for doors and windows so much better than big box retailers of
standardized products in standard sizes.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

In article , "Don Phillipson" wrote:
e better stuff, armed with a tape measure. Thanks to everyone

It seems very bad luck that there are no "door and window" specialists
where the OP lives.

Don, the discussion was about lumberyards. There are a number of door/window
manufacturers with retail showrooms within a handful of miles. I must confess
to not having visited them as they certainly project an upscale image in their
advertising. They also seem to emphasize lavish exterior doors.

While I have a reasonable amount of disposable capital for this potential home
upgrade, I'm not anxious to spend a humongous fortune on it.

Nevertheless, your point is well taken. I probably should amble by and at
least see what they offer.

Art