I am renovating my basement and in the process building a clay studio for my wife. Given the layout of the basement, the optimal place for the doorway into the studio are is directly under a main beam. The means the height is restricted and it will not take a normal 80" door.

The maximum height available for the rough opening for the door is 76 3/4 ". We want to install a 32" wide interior door with frosted glass to allow some daylight in from an adjacent room.

I thought it would be no problem to buy a door and cut it down, but the guys at 2 different door places said it is impossible since we would have to cut about 5" off the door. They said that would destroy the structure of the door resulting in it twisting at best and falling apart at worst.

The only solution they offered was to have a custom door built for $500-$600.

I would appreciate it if anyone has any other ideas or tips on how to solve this.

thanks...

 

Hollow core doors can be cut off. After the cut is done, remove the embedded rail from the cut off section and re-install in the cavity. (Or make another rail, which would probably be easier.)

 

MH doors are typically 76" in height. I don't know if they have any with frosted glass.
I've done a lot of work on MHs over the years and I normally just get a hollow core luan door from Lowes and cut of the needed amount. Ken is correct that ripping and installing a new rail is quicker/easier

 

Thanks guys. Is it possible to modify a solid door? She is thinking of a french style door with multiple panes of glass. The door guys said cutting off too much of a solid door will damage the integrity of the door where the rails and stiles connect. They said they are dowled.

 

They are correct about the dowels, I had to cut a french door down once to fit a MH. Because it cut so much off, I needed to add a strip of metal to the bottom edge of the door so it wouldn't separate. I know you can get exterior french doors for a MH but I'm not sure about the width.