Interior Door Construction

This is my first time......my daughter requested I enlarge her rec room in the basement, which I completed.....however, in building the wall in front of the gas furnace, I did not have the required height for a normal door so I lowered the opening to allow access to the furnace door and fan motor compartment. The finished opening is 30" wide and 38" high, in a 2"x4" wall. My problem, I need a door to fit in there. Any suggestions? It does have to have a vent in it, which I can add after. I am a licensed gas fitter in Canada so I followed the code for clearances etc. My original idea was to have a half louvred door and cut it back but no can find.

Would appreciate any and all suggestions and ideas. Look forward to all replies.

 

Welcome to the forums!

The cheapest easiest fix would be to cut a 30" luan door down to the desired height and then either peel out and reinstall the bottom style or [my preference] cut a 2x on a table saw to fit. You would glue and tack nail the style into the void created by cutting the door. There are some cardboard 'stiffeners' inside the door cavity that might need to be pushed out of the way. ..... and add your vent where needed.

 

Thank you for the quick reply. Luan door - solid core? Would I still need to reinstall the bottom? We have a sotre here for old household items like doors etc. Maybe I could get a 30" solid core door and just cut it to 38". Cut in a handle set and I'm off to the races. Your idea?

 

I'd suggest you get a solid core 2-4 prehung which is a 28" door on a frame with hinges. It measures about 29 1/2" wide and needs a rough opening of 30". You can cut the jambs to the right length, cut the door to the right length and it's likely that the 2 upper hinges will work, as you will be cutting the lower hinge off.

Then cut the louver in. The solid door will give it a little more weight and substance once you cut most of it out for the louver.

 

Great....thanks for the input. Much appreciated.