How To Trim The Bottom Of A Door: Proper Procedure Of Trimming The Bottom Of A Door

Proper Procedure Of Trimming The Bottom Of A Door

If your door is too big for your frame, it can be due to the fact that your door is getting stuck or dragging against your flooring, making it very important to trim the bottom of the door. To do this, you can use a 1/4–1/2 inch (0.64–1.27 cm) wood shim in order to mark your cutting line at the door bottom. Then, you need to take out the door before using a straight edge as well as painter’s tape in order to set up a perfectly-controlled cut using a circular saw. Cutting is not a difficult process, however, it is important to be very careful and accurate when you apply your painter’s tape and straight edge in order to make your cut as clean as possible. The prerequisite & the fundamental of trimming a door goes through with remodeling projects where the floor rises due to added carpeting, new tile, or extra layers of subflooring.

Step 1: Mark The Door For The Cut

First of all, at the bottom of the door, you need to apply a piece of tape on both the hinge side as well as the strike side (the side with no hinges). Then, position the rug in opposition to the closed door and mark both pieces of tape 1/4 inch above the rug with the help of a scribing compass. If you are looking to install tile or another type of flooring, then you need to place a piece of the material in front of the door in order to make your marks. If it is tile, it is important to consider the thickness of the thin set.

Step 2: Draw The Cutline

After taking off the door from the hinges and setting it on the sawhorses, you need to connect the two marks with tape, before using the level in order to draw a straight line between them.

Step 3: Score The Cut To Prevent Tear Out

Clamped to the door, the level works exceptionally well as a guide, and at the same time, you need to make several shallow passes with the help of a utility knife in order to score the cutline. As an extra precaution, it is essential to tape as well as score the end of the door where the blade of the saw will exit.

Step 4: Make A Gauge Block

This scrap of wood is trimmed at the expected distance from the edge of the blade to the edge of the saw’s baseplate. Use the gauge block in order to set the level back from the cutline. The block should simply cover the scored line. The level is secured or affixed to the door using two clamps.

Step 5: Tape The Door, Not The Saw

In order to keep away from marring the door, you need to put down two layers of tape side by side with the level. Tape the work, due to the reason that it is faster as compared to taping the bottom of the saw and due to the fact that it is easier to clean up.

Step 6: Make The Cut

After that, you need to set the cutting depth in order to make sure that the blade simply cuts through the door and focus on the baseplate when you make the cut. The baseplate edge remains in contact with the level and at the same time the bottom runs flat on the door. In order to avoid the blade guard from dragging on the door, you need to take hold of it retracted during the cut.

Step 7: Ease The Edge

In order to keep the bottom of the door away from splintering over time, you need to ease the edge with the help of a small block plane. Some 80-grit sandpaper covered or enclosed around a sanding block works just as well. Attach or secure the door back on the hinges. The trimmed door needs to clear the rug easily and operate smoothly.