How To Replace Slats In Louvered Door: Replacing Slats In Louvered Doors With Panels


Replacing Slats In Louvered Doors With Panels

Louvered doors can become unstable and rattle. They are also harder to maintain and clean. Doors of this type start out much like any other door with a rectangular frame. The inside frame pieces are dadoed or cut with a channel to receive a small tenon on the end of each louver. The louvers can be removed and replaced with a panel to look and perform just like any ordinary door. Most ordinary doors are over 2 inches thick. That's plenty of room to add the necessary molding to hold panels in place.

Remove The Door From The Hinges

  1. Using a drill/driver, pry the door apart from the hinges, then lay it flat across two sawhorses. To hold the door in place, attach a clamp to each sawhorse.
  2. Using a drill/driver and a 1/2-inch drill bit, drill two holes through the middle of the top two louvers. If the holes are close enough together, you should be able to split the louvers in two with a few hammer blows. Once the louver has been split in half, remove each piece from the grooves on either side of the doors.

Measure The Length And Width Of The Opening

  1. Handsaw blade should be inserted into the gap left by the missing louvers. One at a time, make a straight cut through the center of each louver. Pull both sides of each half out of the channel. Get rid of them.
  2. The opening's length and width should be measured. For the top, bottom, and two pieces of each side of the 5/8 by 5/8-inch wooden trim, use a miter saw set at a 45-degree angle. The opening's length and width should match the miters' specifications from long point to long point.

Apply Stain And Lacquer Or Paint The Hardwood Strips

  1. The hardwood strips should be stained, lacquered, or painted as necessary to match the door. Since the rear of the molding will be glued, do not paint or finish it. The longest side is the back.
  2. Apply glue to the mitered ends and one side of each piece of hardwood trim. To create a lip or shelf for the panel, nail four pieces to the inside edge of the opening on one side of the channel. Use a pin nailer to secure the trim in place, spacing the nails every 8 inches. At the corners, the mitered corners will fit closely together. To align the hardwood trim, use the channel along the interior perimeter. On all four sides, the hardwood trim should be flush with the channel.

Cut The 1/4-inch Hardwood Plywood To The Measurement

  1. Add 1/8 inch to both the width and length of the opening's specifications. Cut the 1/4-inch hardwood plywood to the required size using a table saw. Apply the panel with your chosen finish as necessary to match the door.
  2. Use a utility knife to remove the tip from a tube of clear silicone caulk. To create a 1/4-inch diameter hole, cut the tip at a 30 degree angle. To close off the channel, run a bead of silicone around the interior of the channel. To the lip the wooden trim formed, add another bead of silicone.

Apply Glue To The Four Other Pieces Of Hardwood Trim

  1. Insert the panel into the silicone's top aperture. The four additional pieces of hardwood trim should be glued. They should be placed tightly against the panel on all four sides, matching the mitered corners tightly. Only the door, not the panel, should be in contact with the bonded side. To sandwich the panel between the two trim strips, attach the trim pieces using the same method.
  2. To finish, use a putty crayon in a complementary hue to fill the nail holes.
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