Thanks much! I just did this project exactly as suggested and it worked brilliantly. I cut a pantry door 1/2 inch so it would open over a new rug. The blade on my handsaw was dull, yet I had no chipping at all. I clamped down a thick piece of wood on my workbench so I could press the saw rather hard against it as I cut, which I think was helpful in keeping it straight.
You make the most Professional and Informative videos ever. I absolutly love this style of videos. Straightforward and on point. The only thing you may think about adding is how much you charge to do specific jobs like this. GREAT JOB Ethan. Keep'em coming.
Thanks so much Scott! I really appreciate the positive feedback. I'm trying to put a lot more time and quality into the videos these days, so it's gratifying to get comments like yours :). Also, I think you're definitely onto something with the pricing. I think, even for videos where I can't work it into the script, I can probably still mention it in the description, where I can add some other info too!
@@TheHonestCarpenter You are definitely setting the bar for some of these other handyman channel guys. No such thing as too much information. I really hate having to watch a video and having to "Read between the lines" to figure out what is the point of the video. Keep'em coming Brother.
Nice video. Straight forward too. Surprising how many folk put up with a sticking door when really it’s straight forward to sort it. Thanks for posting 👍😊
I don't have a circular saw only a hand saw but looking at some of the comments it seems other people have used a handsaw. Like the idea of the tape to stop the grain splitting !
Very pleased that your video helped me easily and successfully trim off a 1/4 inch from the bottom of my foyer’s closet doors. The double doors now easily swing open and clear the throw rug in front of the closet. Thanks 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼.
I just "fell" so to speak, onto your RU-vid videos. The Best. Thanks for sharing some great tips regarding carpentry and other skill sets in the Industry.
Another professional and strait forward video Ethan. Glad you had enough meat on the bottom and didn’t have to reglue in a bottom sweep, hate it when that happens....
Ed, maybe we're old enough to remember when you usually had 1 1/4" in the bottom of hollow doors. Nowadays the new crap they make has just 3/4" down there, so my standard price for cutting a door down has gone up to include re-gluing the wimpy thing back in place. The few cents saved by the door manufacturer adds several dollars to the cost- false economy if there ever was!
I always use a utility knife and score the top and end(where the saw will finish cutting) to prevent splintering......And I like to stay 1/2" to 3/4" with the gap
zeke112964 Utility knife is a great idea Zeke. I’m going to show that trick when I do a cutting tips video. And I think you can’t go wrong with 3/4” gap. Cuts down strain on your HVAC, and keeps air moving 👍
I used to do that but got splintering anyway unless I made the knife cut very deep. And more than a few times the knife blade turned off-line. It's really not necessary if you use a cutting board and cut very slowly.
Pretty good overall, but you can dispense with a lot of the cutting issues by using a home-made cutting board; just set it to the exact line you want to cut and it's base edge holds the veneer down against tear-out. I've cut down at least a thousand doors by now and I usually just cut very slowly to a drawn line with a sharp finishing blade. Nobody's complained yet and I get almost zero tearout but remember this takes skill and practice- one twitch with the saw alignment and you've got a mess, so use your cutting board. Helpful hint: When marking the door for cut height, lay a board of appropriate thickness on the floor with the door closed and trace across it; now you've got got a perfect cut-line with no chance of error.
meh, I don't do it that way. if you have a strait edge clamped down, the body of the saw won't clear the clamps doing it that way. Just pay attention and keep the saw square on the surface. Better yet buy a track saw.
Y eah but if your just a home owner that track saw is a big chunk of money for something your only gonna use a half dozen times. But don't get me wrong I live by the moto of he who dies with the most tools and toys wins.
i had to do this for a client who had new, thicker carpet installed. I used a portable band saw, much cleaner cut than the typical circular saw. BUT....had to bring the door back to the shop to glue in a new bottom plug.
Most of the time I just try to match what else is in the house. Also I use my level pretty often as a straight edge for a while I carried a 1by4 and a 1by6 so I could clamp tight and have a sacrificial board on the bottom to help with tear out. I just don't do as many backtrims as I used to so there not worth the space.
I always check the hinge hasn't come away from the jamb or door first causing the door drop. Then lay a builders pencil on the floor and mark the bottom of the door. If the house has moved the floor may have also.
An inch at the bottom?! Those people are crazy. They're probably the reason all our bathroom stalls in the US have those massive gaps so you can see people pooping.
Very good. If you can, I suggest you a video on installing “pins” or “security pin” for an out swinging door with hinge pins that can easily be tapped up and off. These pins mount on hinge side door edge and hide in a hole drilled on frame side when door is closed.
Thanks Tony! That's a really good topic. I'm starting to group ideas together into videos, and that one would fit perfectly in a home security vid. Thanks for the suggestion!
Is the process different for an exterior door? Do you have a video on this? The door to my studio hits too loo on one side and the sweep broke off because of this. Thanks for the great videos!
I have a home with a chiltrex cooling system. Each room has a ceiling based air handler and no air transfers happens between rooms unless the doors are open. They are usually open until bedtime and we want the room sealed good so 1/4 inch is what I went with. No return air vents at all so for us it's a moot point. Sealed is better in our case.
In my limited experience having work done with sub-contractors, if you let them all have their way you lose aesthetics. An inch height is crazy off bottom of the door. Unless it needs to clear that to work the door.
the only time I've heard that is for a home with forced air, with the outlets and returns. Still that is a bit much for me, no way i'd have an inch gap on a bathroom door lol..
I usually take a utility knife and score the line, which I'm going to cut and the sides of the door. I hardly ever see anyone else do this, but it helps avoid breakout and splintering. I allow for an 8-10mm gap. BTW, isn't time you guys converted to metric? Cheers
gsf67 Thanks for the tip! Pre-scoring is a great way to avoid splintering. And I’m willing to go metric, but it means I’ll have to stand there and stare at my tape measure for long time, counting silently 😂
I use both. Meters are too damn big, but millimeters offer a level of precision that inch fractions don't. so I tend to think in yards/meters, then feet, then inches, then mm. It's more math, but other fields of interest use both standards and I don't mind converting.
Well done,👍👍 my phone must be listening to me, this was a recommend video. I've got to do a solid core door that's fire rated on Monday. (Spooky!!) It must weight 200 lbs. I generally have consistently good results using a fence inserted in my trusty DeWalt 20v skill saw.
@JUrry3 Thank you! I get that feeling all the time from my phone too 😅. Those fire rated doors can be killers to move around. I've just about cut them out of my work routine to save my joints. Good luck with it. I'm sure that Dewalt fence does the trick!
It's a metal strip on the edges of most newer style doors that will not let you start cutting at the edge. I needed to see how to remove the metal strip first. NEXT VIDEO!
I have a frosted door I need to cut. What do you recommend to secure the pane while cutting the excess wood? I was thinking a large duct tape “X” on the glass. Thank you.
Can you do this to the top of a door as well? The house seems to have settled and the door frame rubs the door at the top to the point where it will not close.
I guess it's the same scenario to cut it length wise as my door is slightly too wide and I need to shave off 3/16th or so, but should I cut the hinge side or the knob side ? I dunno .I just dunno yet. got to keep searching, but good tips here !
If you have a Hollow Core Door, how much can you take off of the bottom and still have a structural piece left on the door? In other words, I need to remove about 1/2. Is that to much on a hollow door?
Very odd. I just took my door down for cutting the length. As I was not very sure how to measure and cut, I have opened RU-vid and without even searching, this clip showed up at the top of the list. Is Google reading our mind these days? lol. Anyways very helpful video.
Hollow core doors have a 1” plug on top and bottom of the door. You can cut down on top and bottom of the door as necessary but I wouldn’t cut more than a 1/2”. If greater cuts than 1” required you can cut the door down and you can actually pry off the door panel from the plug and reinsert the plug in the door bottom with carpenter’s glue.
Hey Ethan, great video, but quick question: Can you narrow a door in the same way as making it shorter? By using a straight edge and circular saw? The jamb for my front door is 32 1/4" inches wide. Cheers!
Finish carpenter here, depends on the door. If you do narrow it, do it off the hinge side and re mortise the hinges into the edge of the door slab. If you're raking a lot off of a hollow core door than you will have to re use the fill strip or make a new one to fit inside the recess created. Simply run a bead of wood glue on both inside sides of the door recess, slide the piece in, use "cauls" to clamp it for twenty minutes or so in a warm area and brad nail the top and bottom to hide the fasteners. Never had an issue. One more note, mark out your hinges by transferring the line to the face of the door with a square, so when you cut it you know exactly where the hinges go back to. If you forget to mark, they should be about 1/8 difference than the hinge mortise on the door jamb. Good luck!
You're going to end up with a little less than 1/2" clearance, if that matters, since the door wasn't clearing in the first place. I would have added another 1/8" or so to where I put the mark.
Seems like a circular saw might rip the grain, even with the tape. I'm planning to use a router with a straight bit, with several passes necessary. Usually does a very clean cut, if you have the patience.
I don't have a circular saw, only an electric plane. Can I use the painter's tape to protect the wood and use the plane without causing too much chipping of the bottom of the door?
What is the absolute best blade for this? I was looking at some carbide-tipped finishing blades, but there are quite a few styles of them, some with small teeth and some with still much much smaller teeth.
I’ve heard about the tape trick, but are you cutting through the tape? Or are you cutting to the edge of the tape? Seems like you’d get tape stuck to your saw blade if you’re cutting through it.
The hardest part of the whole thing is realigning the door hinges by yourself without any help .. thanks for showing that.. not !!!!the other procedures are pretty basic but good explanation... Being careful not to nick the door paint when tapping the hinge pins back in for those who are not so adept with a hammer as it is a tight space....using a nail set or something else to tap it in works real good..
That door looks like it needs replaced or least striped down & repainted. Wouldnt big teeth on the circular blade cause much splintering of the wood? Always thought a fine tooth blade gives better clean cut with less chance of wood splintering generally its a fine 132 tooth blade for a circular blade wouldnt you say fine tooth blade is better then the big teeth blade used in this video?
Hi there. Thanks for the comprehensive video. Would the trimmed door be more susceptible to damage (swelling, bending...) due to the fluctuation in temperature and humidity at the bathroom? In particular in one with no windows, only extractors. Would it be ideal to prime the edge that you trimmed and paint it? This for the long run. I am truly interested in your opinion. Thanks
Shouldn't bother it at all. That being said, if you have toddlers, grandkids etc splashing around it certainly wouldn't hurt. If you have an MDF / masonite etc product than any water will wreck it quickly.
is it ok to cut down an exterior door? we have a 77' tall door that needs to be replaced and not looking to spend $700+ on a custom for a door thats a side entrance
Who started this trend?? Cut the door?? Cuz people see these videos and are are like mint!! Fuck cut it!! Now this is always the suggestion for everyone.
Is this possible to do without removing the door? What about using a hacksaw? If I need to buy all of this equipment I may as well pay someone to do it professionally.
Good video though how is the length of the door cut? should it be done same as the bottom with a skill saw or a plainer if it is only 1/4" that has to be removed?
Hey Jerry! I'll often set up a longer straight edge and do it just the same for a 1/4" cut. The planer takes so many passes along the door length--the circ saw takes it all in one. Just be careful and keep your cut progress steady :)
@The Honest Carpenter In the links to Amazon, do you still get credit if I put item in cart and buy it later, along with other items not related to your videos? Or do I need to choose the "buy now" option for you to get credit?
Thank you. I’ve never done this before and am nervous! My husband has a circular saw that his dad gave him (he never uses it or does work around/on the house frankly) and we has a straight edge he thinks (tho it might actually be an extra long level that he says could be used as a straight edge?). Question: I need to buy two sawhorses and two offer clamps that would be a useful size for most future projects. Can you please tell me what I should look for when buying those (probably on Amazon)? Thank you!
@Ayram9 Almost any foldable plastic sawhorses will do--I've used cheap ones and expensive ones, and they function much the same. For clamps, I've just always loved Irwin Quick Grip clamps. The 12" ones are highly useful, and can cover a lot of different tasks. I hope that helps!🙂
@@Ayram9 Any kind will do as long as they hold and the saw clears them. I use these bar clamps for most everything now because they're small and hold very well.
The Honest Carpenter the blade runs tight to the rubber seal on the track preventing any tear out, I can cut laminate sheet good with it and no tear out. And no need to set the saw back to suit the fence
This is a good way to ruin a door. You are not using the saw correctly. The way you are cutting will produce a wobbly not square cut. The wide part of the saw is supposed to insure the cut is square and you have it precariously hanging off into the air.
