First-time house renovation

helping_hubby

andrew-b wrote: »

Weak point is still the mortice lock that it's controlling. If you spend a decent amount on the lock it might not be such a problem i guess.


Not sure i understand what you mean here..what isn't square the angle between top and left/right architraves and by how much? Is the door frame itself square as architraves are usually set back about 5mm or so from the edge of the frame? Wouldn't cut the door at an angle though.

We've got a problem that one side of our bathroom door frame isn't plumb so it kicks in slightly at the bottom...considered adding timber but probably won't bother ..though i know it will bug me!

My Dad has fitted a couple of doors of us so far ...both took a day each (kitchen took longer as B&Q supplied wrong screws with the hinges that stood proud of the hinges!) and his quite experienced in door fitting. Still got another 3 to be fitted (bathroom, bedroom and glazed one for lounge) - considering giving the bathroom one a go myself though i need to get a plane and need a sharpening stone for my chisels that are a bit blunt now. Apart from the glazed door (not bought yet - unfortunately it would need to be delivered so don't think i can use 15% off discount ) they are all B&Q 6-panel moulded pre-primed doors...no complaints ..but don't buy B&Q georgian handle sets thats a different story!

Make sure before you start fitting you identify which side has the lock block in (usually marked along the edge - pencil mark the face of the door before you plane the mark off though!!). As well as plane and chisels you'll need some decent flat wood bits of suitable size to drill out the holes for the lock. It's worth making a couple of wedges too as it makes hanging the door easier. Plane down the leading edge of the door (the bit that closes against the door stop) at a slight angle to allow the door to close and don't forget to allow a couple of millimetre gap round the edge of the door for future layers of paint.

Andy

Well went to B&Q last night. Got the lot. Really can't be bothered with shopping around anymore.

Got a chisel, plane, 4 moulded doors, 1 moulded with glass door, 5 sets of hinges, door handles, the inside door handle bits, and a bolt lock (decided against a bathroom door lock after all the comments), primer and wood paint. All that cost a whopping £390 but we got £60 off for the 15% voucher :T So £330 I'm quite happy with.

I'm really concerned about the doors though. Every door (wooden, moulded, £150 doors!) said you could either trim NOTHING off or just trim 4 - 6mm. Well we need to trim 40 mm off the height We're going to try one door and return the rest if it goes pear shaped.

Also all the doors - even the £50 ones sounded hollow. I thought they would be solid. Even the clear pine doors didn't sound that solid although they were much heavier than the moulded ones. I hope I've done right.

As for the bedroom door, its the door frame that's not square. We'll add a bit to the frame. It's probably 1 cm difference from one side to the other.

//Edit - I've been googling and suggestions for cutting the hollow door is to take some of the cardboard out and replace with solid wood. Does this sound OK? Or a bit of a hack? I'm more worried about splitering the door...we don't have a circular saw. Can we use a normal saw? OH bought a new saw recently which had the right teeth per inch or whatever for cutting the work tops. Don't know if that would be suitable?

Oh and I've been looking at the instructions that came with the doors and it says to paint them within 7 days of opening them and cutting or warping might happen. I was hoping to get all the doors cut and hung and then take all 5 off to paint in one go. But won't be able to do this in 7 days.

aliasojo

helping_hubby wrote: »

I'm really concerned about the doors though. Every door (wooden, moulded, £150 doors!) said you could either trim NOTHING off or just trim 4 - 6mm. Well we need to trim 40 mm off the height We're going to try one door and return the rest if it goes pear shaped.

Also all the doors - even the £50 ones sounded hollow. I thought they would be solid. Even the clear pine doors didn't sound that solid although they were much heavier than the moulded ones. I hope I've done right.

//Edit - I've been googling and suggestions for cutting the hollow door is to take some of the cardboard out and replace with solid wood. Does this sound OK? Or a bit of a hack

Oh and I've been looking at the instructions that came with the doors and it says to paint them within 7 days of opening them and cutting or warping might happen. I was hoping to get all the doors cut and hung and then take all 5 off to paint in one go. But won't be able to do this in 7 days.

The only way to alter a hollow door is to do as above, remove cardboard and insert wood. Tbh my preference would have been to alter the doorframe rather than the door. You really must protect them soonish, you'd be surprised at how much the temperature change can make to an unprotected door.

If the doors were £150... how did you get 4 plus a glass one and furniture for £390 before voucher? Wanna shop for me please?

helping_hubby

aliasojo wrote: »

The only way to alter a hollow door is to do as above, remove cardboard and insert wood. Tbh my preference would have been to alter the doorframe rather than the door. You really must protect them soonish, you'd be surprised at how much the temperature change can make to an unprotected door.

If the doors were £150... how did you get 4 plus a glass one and furniture for £390 before voucher? Wanna shop for me please?

I meant the £150 doors were only allowed to have 4 - 6mm trimmed off. And they seemed solid. I don't get it.

The doors we've got are pre-primed, so are they OK for now? Is it just once we've cut them? Probably won't start till next weekend.

aliasojo

Store them flat (not standing up or lying on their side) and they'll be fine until they're cut.

aliasojo

andrew-b wrote: »

40mm to take off sounds alot to me.

And me.



Most of the available moulded doors say a similar thing about the amount you can chop off ... i seem to recall we cut off more than the recommended amounts on the side of our kitchen door but there was much more than half of the side rails left still - i think the instructions probably play it safe on the amount you can cut off!

Doors that are left with thinner stiles are more prone to warping over time, so that's why manufacturers give stated allowable reduction measurements.

It's so easy to alter the doorframe (albeit a bit messy), it also saves any future hassle if a door gets damaged and has to be replaced...again.

helping_hubby

aliasojo wrote: »

Doors that are left with thinner stiles are more prone to warping over time, so that's why manufacturers give stated allowable reduction measurements.

It's so easy to alter the doorframe (albeit a bit messy), it also saves any future hassle if a door gets damaged and has to be replaced...again.

Thing is, after getting new carpet less than 2 weeks ago and having painted and redecorated the entire house (not to mention stripping back all the frames to bare wood and repainting), this is not an option I want to consider. I can only live and learn for when we move. However I don't intend to move to a house that needs renovating again

Andy, thanks for all your tips. They've been very helpful.

aliasojo

helping_hubby wrote: »

Thing is, after getting new carpet less than 2 weeks ago and having painted and redecorated the entire house (not to mention stripping back all the frames to bare wood and repainting), this is not an option I want to consider. I can only live and learn for when we move. However I don't intend to move to a house that needs renovating again

Andy, thanks for all your tips. They've been very helpful.

Ah......well in that case I dont blame you. :rotfl:

sethsgran

Hi everyone I'm looking for some ideas for our new bathroom, not started yet or bought anything just costing it etc. I have seen on this thread about latecomers blog but can't find the link. I would love to read up on what work has been done but where is the link please, or is it private to friends. Thanks

TomsMom

sethsgran wrote: »

Hi everyone I'm looking for some ideas for our new bathroom, not started yet or bought anything just costing it etc. I have seen on this thread about latecomers blog but can't find the link. I would love to read up on what work has been done but where is the link please, or is it private to friends. Thanks

Hi Sethsgran

I don't think Latecomer will mind me telling you that you can click on the link in this post

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=24314687&postcount=1739

which will take you to his blog.

I have a link to my blog in my profile (click on my name) and the entry for 14 June gives some before and after photos of my bathroom.

sethsgran

Thanks for that I will check them both out.