Cutting standard hollow core door for bypass system

I am installing bypass doors in the closet opening of a bedroom in the basement. I purchased a standard 60" (opening width is actually 54") Stanley Bypass track system at HD, and it indicates that the doors will need to be cut 1 3/4" shorter than the finish opening. The finish opening is already about 3/4" shorter than a standard door height (long story - bad framing on my part), so I'm probably looking to cut off 2 1/2" from the door.

I purchased some 1 3/8 x 28 x 80 hollow core slab doors at HD this morning and was just planning on cutting them down. Based on my internet research, this may have been a bad idea. If I cut 2 1/2" from the bottom of the door, will I completely cut off the bottom framing member?
If so, can I re-use this bottom framing piece by gluing it in the shortened opening?

Any help would be appreciated. If I need to return these doors, I'd like to do it before I head home this evening. If these weren't the right doors to buy, do the big box stores carry doors made particularly for these applications?

THanks!

 

Funny you bring this up as I am just getting ready to do the same project myself. I am finishing the basement and getting ready to install the doors. One door in particular will be a bypass door for access to the furnance which is located under a soffit so it will need to be cut by a good 4-5" shorter. My plan was to buy the door and then to simply cut off the excess and insert the bottom framing member and use a strong glue to hold it. I have done this before and never had any problems. My experience has shown that if I were to have the door custom made to fit my specs it would have cost much more than it needed and the waiting time would be at least a few weeks. Go ahead with your original plan....

 

Cutting the solid part off the bottom is no big deal, you can just take the piece you have cut off, run it through the table saw cutting off the veneer, and reuse it. Just be sure you don't cut it too small- even though you will be gluing it, you want the plug to be a tight fit. To glue it up, I lay a 1x2 across each side of the door and then use about 3 quick clamps to keep the pressure on it for an hour or two.

I probably don't have to mention how to cut a hollow-core veneered door to prevent splintering from the saw blade, but if you'd like suggestions just ask.

 

I bought a new blade for my circular saw (finish cut blade with a lot of teeth), and I was going to put tape on across the area where I will be cutting.

Any other suggestions will be much appreciated!

 

It sounds to me like you have this under control. Please post back when you're done to let us know how it turned out.

 

Tape alone won't do it, although it can help. Taping the foot of your saw is a better idea if using tape, because it will pad the foot of the saw so that it doesn't scratch your door.

You will want to take a straightedge (such as a drywall square) and score the top of the door along your cut line with a sharp utility knife. This mark not only shows you where to cut, but it will sever the veneer so that it will not splinter- as long as your blade does not cross that line! Personally, I've found that it works well to clamp a 1x4 to the door that is roughly 4" away from the cut line (or whatever distance works well with your skilsaw foot) It acts like a fence for your skilsaw so that you cut a perfectly straight line.

If you make sure that you stay 1/16" away from that scored line, you can then take an orbital sander or a piece of sandpaper, and bevel the cut end slightly until the sander sands right up to that line you scored.

Don't forget to also score the end of the door where your blade will exit the edge of the door, or that will also splinter.

You only need to score the top side of the door and the far edge of the door, since the blade wants to cause tearout as it comes up and out through the wood.

Also, any new carbide blade will work much better than any non-carbide plywood blade will. Not sure which type you bought. I suppose either would work, but plywood blades dull quickly. If you're only making a couple cuts with it I suppose it wouldn't matter. LOL

 

The blade is a 60 tooth carbide blade, and did a pretty good job. I scored the line with a utility knife first, and it seemed to cut nicely. The second door "frayed" a little because I cut right on the score line, but even then, it wasn't anything some minor sanding didn't fix.
The toughest part was cutting the veneer off of the bottom framing member. Since I don't have a table saw, I had to trim it off with my circular saw. Wasn't perfect, but seemed to work okay. Then I had to trim some of the cardboard "webbing", or whatever it's called, inside the door away from the opening. Getting all of the glue the held it in place shaved off was important, because any trace left caused the veneer to bow away from the bottom piece.

Thanks for all your help! The doors were only $21 a piece. I can't imagine how much it would have cost to order custom sized doors!

 

It sounds like you did a really nice job. Thanks for the feedback, it's nice to hear when projects turn out just as you planned!