changing the way my inside doors open
#1
11-21-06, 10:55 PM
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changing the way my inside doors open
Bought a 1906 house in Europe. The bedroom doors open towards the passage (mounted on passage side of door frame) and I want them to open into the bedrooms. Can I just take the door off, turn it 180 deg in the x-y plane and install inside the frame (on bedroom side) or is it a bigger job than that? What is your recommendation? There is a "lip" that the door closes to (stops the door from swinging all the way into the room when closing it) on the bedroom side of the door frame - how do I remove that in order to fit door on inside? The doors are NOT the originals, but look-alikes according to the inspector. The frames are however the originals so if possible I would like to mess as little as possible with the entire frame - it would be hard to replicate.
Last edited by Jo in Europe; 11-21-06 at 10:56 PM. Reason: the word "reversing" may create wrong impression
#2
11-22-06, 03:56 AM
Not familiar with European doors/frames, especially that old, but if they are like ours, that could be done. And while that is a lot of work, it is probably easier that trying to rehang them on the other side and fix the hinge/latch mortises. Back in those days, everything was done by the piece, there were no prehung doors. But stil doable, I think.
#3
11-22-06, 04:38 AM
I agree with JustBill, but keep in mind if you just reverse the door and frame you may be covering up a light switch when the door is opened in its new position. Of course you can mix and match left hand and right hand doors from other rooms to prevent this from happening. Also be aware you will be losing wall space inside your room that could be used for tables, etc.
#4
11-22-06, 05:19 AM
Group Moderator
The doors cannot just be turned around and be placed on the same side of the jamb. (which I think is what you were wondering). They must be on the outer edge of the jamb and on the correct side of the door stop (the "lip" you referred to). This would mean the the doors would have to be turned around AND be moved to the opposite side of the door stop on the opposite side of the door.
Rather than removing hinges (which would leave all the ugly hinge mortises exposed), mortising new ones, and rather than removing your door stop and turning it around so as to face the doors on the opposite side, I would imagine that you'd be better off to remove the face trim (if possible) and turn the entire door around.
I know you don't think that is an option, but IMO, it's the best one if it can be done carefully without damaging the trim, the wall, or the doors. A skilled carpenter should be able to do that for you.
Sorry in advance for our American English.
Rather than removing hinges (which would leave all the ugly hinge mortises exposed), mortising new ones, and rather than removing your door stop and turning it around so as to face the doors on the opposite side, I would imagine that you'd be better off to remove the face trim (if possible) and turn the entire door around.
I know you don't think that is an option, but IMO, it's the best one if it can be done carefully without damaging the trim, the wall, or the doors. A skilled carpenter should be able to do that for you.
Sorry in advance for our American English.
