Interior door measurements

[CeeJay]

I intend to replace all the interior doors in the house, however I can only find doors that are 204cm high, the existing ones are 200. In some openings I can accomodate that height but in one of them it is impossible (for me) to raise the opening height. Is there any reason I cannot just chop off 4cm from the door and frame provided it does not totally alter the look of the door?

[ericd]

No reason whatsoever unless they are "modern light" doors made of a hard paper hexagonal frame covered with a thin slice of wood. Do-able if that is the case but much harder work that if you were taking 40mm off the bottom (or 20mm from top and bottom). Hope this helps.

[Jo]

It will look less odd if you take equal amounts from the top and bottom, rather than just from one edge, but it works.

[sid]

Can you buy just the doors? All the ones I've bought come complete with a frame, so it's only practical to cut off the bottom, otherwise you'd have to relocate the hinges and striker. I've seen solid oak door but they're out of my price range.

As Eric points out, the modern doors, the cheaper ones at any rate, are not solid and have a frame covered with a hardboard-type finish. It would be possible to trim 15mm or so off such a door but any more would remove the interior frame at the point.

Also, panelled doors look odd, the proportions look wrong, if you take too much off the top or bottom.

EDIT: I've had a look at my Lapeyre catalogue and they do doors for renovation projects (without door frame) which are trim-able to 200cm.

If I can find the online link I'll post it here.

http://www.lapeyre.fr/resource/catalogues-prestimedia/cata-int/appli.htm?page=1    Go to page 83 for "portes seules pour la renovation"

[CeeJay]

Thanks for all the replies.

Sid, I did look at the Lapeyre book but it seemed to me that the door only for renovation option was pretty expensive compared to door and frame, and yes I would only be able to take off required amount from the bottom. I did have in mind the 6 or 8 small glass panel type so presumably the bit at the bottom would be solid???

[woolybanana]

Such things can sometimes be found at Emmaus, too.

[sid]

Ceejay, You'll have to go and have a look. I have one of the doors with 6 panes and it is still a hollow door. AND the 6 panes are not really 6 panes but a single pane with a frame on top to make it look as though they are separate panes! Easier for fitting the glass, but annoying for painting as you have to paint the backs of the frames otherwise you see the unpainted bit from the other side.

[CeeJay]

Sid

Thanks for that. I wish I'd never started this job!!! Looking gloomier by the minute!

[Gyn_Paul]

Resiting the hinges themselves isn't that hard, it's the covering up of the original rebates which is tricky unless you're into marquetry. As for the doors; if you trim off more than the thickness of the bottom or top rail, you simply  take off the front and back (what are now) strips of facing material, clean the timber up a bit, apply some more glue and carefully tap it back into the bottom (or top) of the door. The 'filling' for the door is almost always fanfold cardboard and easily trimmed back a bit with a Stanley knife.

p