Not Level doorway/Slab Door Install


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Old 07-23-14, 11:11 AM
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Not Level doorway/Slab Door Install

Hello,

I'm trying to replace a hollow core door that the previous owners of the house had cut unevenly to allow it to close properly. The area under the door has 1/4 of an inch on the opening side more than the hinge side. They had cut a hollow core door too much and then jury rigged the side of of it so they could put the locking mechanism on. I don't want to do the same thing and was thinking of trying to leveling the area under the door.

Just wondering what the best way of doing this would be. I was thinking of removing the wood panel under it and sticking a 1/4 shim under and in the flooring nearby a few others then replacing the wood panels. It wouldn't completely fix the level but I was hoping this would be the least invasive method short of redoing the entire floor and cutting the door so that it was again uneven. I don't want to leave the space under the new door like the old when the door is closed. 3/4 of a inch on the left to 1/2 on the right. Ideally I'd like 1/4 of an inch space throughout.
 
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Old 07-23-14, 04:21 PM
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Before you try to do anything, I would put a level on the floor & both sides of the door frame. The floor maybe off a little but that doesn't mean that the frame is plumb.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 05:59 AM
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The sides of the frame did appear level. The left to right though is pretty messed up.

Here are some photos of the door as it is now.

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Old 07-24-14, 06:09 AM
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IMO a 1/4" gap is overly optimistic. That doesn't leave any room to clear a throw rug or any unevenness in the floor. I'm a painter, not a carpenter but I think an even 1" gap is the norm.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 06:54 AM
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Well maybe 1/2 a gap then. I just don't want to have the 1 7/8th's gap on the left and the much less on the right with a new door. The previous owners cut the door so it would be able to open. I want to get it so its normal of a gap without looking uneven like it does generally speaking.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 07:18 AM
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Whats that gap look like when the door is swung open 90 degrees?
 
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Old 07-24-14, 07:21 AM
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The gap on the left is 1/2 to 1/4 when fully swung open. The right remains constant.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 07:22 AM
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Really need a level to see what is not right. Pictures look like the floor drops to left. I don't think you are walking uphill in room.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 08:26 AM
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I mentioned a level yesterday. I think that the OP did it by eye.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 08:30 AM
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The yellow stick in the pictures is the level. I'm not good at reading one but I placed it in the doorway and the water mark in the middle wasn't level. I can take a picture of it later today if it helps.
 
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Old 07-24-14, 11:49 AM
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Put the level on floor and put shims under the low end so we can see how much or what is out. Hope the floor is not out that much.
 
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Old 07-25-14, 10:13 AM
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Here are some other pictures.

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Old 07-25-14, 04:10 PM
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Hi, Sometimes homes with central heat have about a one inch gap under the door. It is used as a return air system.
Get someting like a small block of wood a little thicker than the large gap on the door. Hold the block against the door and slide it across the floor drawing a line on the door using the top of the block as a guide. The line will look like a wedge.
If you cut the door to the line the gap will be the same all the way. It makes no difference if the floor or the door is crooked or not. Make sure the door is closed when you do it.
Good Luck Woodbutcher
 
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Old 07-26-14, 07:28 AM
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The home does not have central air hooked up. I want to reduce the space under the door. It's too much as is. The other doors in the house are pretty much normal in this regard. Would removing the floorboards and putting shims under the uneven part do the trick?
 
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Old 07-26-14, 08:57 AM
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Do you have access to the floor from underneath? The correct way to level the floor would be to remove the flooring and then sub floor and then fix the framing. That would more than likely entail refinishing the floor when you got done.
 
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Old 07-26-14, 10:59 AM
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That's a funny solution timothy. No, that would not be a good idea.

Apart from jacking the house up to level it, the only way to correct this is to get yourself a new door slab, (stain and varnish it... then you will probably be unhappy that it doesn't match the other doors in the house) and hang it on the opening, swapping the existing knob and hinges onto the new slab. Then you can cut the gap on bottom to be whatever size you like. But if your doorway opening is taller than normal, you may find that a new door slab (80") will not be long enough to make your gap any smaller.

Another solution that is not in any way realistic for you to try would be to remove the trim, cut the entire prehung door jamb loose from the rough opening, and then cut the legs of the jamb shorter, so that when you put the prehung door jamb back in, the door will be that much lower. (however much you cut off the legs of the door jamb). That is the only solution that would allow you to keep the door and jamb. However your top piece of trim would be lower too, so it would either leave a paint line on top where it used to be, or you'd need wider trim on both sides of the door to cover those paint lines.

I suppose it "might" be possible that once upon a time a painter had all the doors removed from their hinges and didn't get them put back on the correct openings. If you have another door that seems to be too long, your doors may have gotten switched around. But a good painter would never do that, right Marksr?
 
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Old 07-26-14, 01:05 PM
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While I can't speak for all painters, I've always marked the doors either on the top edge or behind the hinge with a magic marker ..... so my doors have always went back to the correct frame It is possible that a diyer could have taken all the doors down and not marked them
 
 

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