How to trim the bottoms of doors
Q. My old hardwood floors are badly worn, so I want to cover them with thick carpeting. Now I have to trim off the door bottoms for clearance. What are the proper steps to do this right?
Sharon S.
A. Actually, the trend today is for people to remove wall-to-wall carpeting and to install hardwood or simulated-hardwood laminate flooring. Unless your hardwood floors are badly scratched with deep gouges, you should be able to have them sanded and refinished. It gets messy, but it is not difficult to do yourself.
If you have your mind set on carpeting for comfort and warmth, you will have to trim off the door bottoms. It sounds like a simple job to just cut a half-inch off the bottom, but it is important to do it properly. A poor quality job not only looks bad, but the door bottom may start to splinter over time.
Carpenters have special tools, such as straightedge guides, zero-clearance throat plates, unique saws, etc., to quickly and accurately trim off the door bottom. You should be able to get by with a thick four-foot straight edge or level, some clamps and a standard circular saw. If you do not have a saw, there are some easy-to-handle cordless circular saws now available.
Stick some masking tape along the bottom of the door. Get a sample of the carpet and pad from the carpeting store. Place it on the hardwood floor next to the door. Mark the height of the carpet/pad combination on the tape on the door. Since you are installing wall-to-wall carpeting, plan to allow for a one-quarter inch clearance for the door above the carpet.
Remove the door from the hinges and place it flat on saw horses or on a solid kitchen table. Measure up another quarter inch from the marks on the tape and draw a line across the entire door bottom. This will be your cutline.
Using a clamp on each end, clamp the long straight edge to the door so the edge is lined up perfectly with the cutline you drew. Take a sharp utility knife and score the door surface along the cutline. Run the blade across it several times and also do the same across the end edge where the saw blade will exit the door.
The purpose of scoring is to minimize the possibility of tearout. Tearout refers to having small splinters run up the face surface of the door as the saw blade is cutting through it. Some woods are more prone to this than others.
Using a scrap of wood, make a gauge block. Its width should be exactly the distance from the inside edge of the saw blade to the edge of the saw's baseplate. Place the gauge block edge along the cutline. Place the straightedge or level against its other edge and clamp the straightedge to the door. It is easier to run the saw along against the straight edge than trying to follow the cutline freehand.
Set the blade depth so it just cuts through the other side of the door. Once the cut is made, use a small block pane to smooth the door bottom. Wrapping some medium-grit sandpaper around a wood block also works well for smoothing off the door bottom.
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