Instructions on how and with what tool you can cut the height of the interior door

During repairs, sometimes there is a change in the level of the floor (laying tiles, pouring a screed or self-leveling coating, etc.). After that, you have to cut the interior door in height to ensure its free passage when opening and closing. The same operation has to be carried out during replacement, if the new door is very large and does not fit the box. When installing a new frame, it may turn out that the size of the opening does not meet the standard of the product.

What will it take to trim the interior door in height?

It is easy to shorten the canvas at home with an electric jigsaw or a circular saw. But to get a neat and straight cut, you will need auxiliary tools:

clamps that will help fix the canvas and guide bars;
ruler and angle for marking;
sharp knife for working with a veneered door;
edge tape for MDF fabric;
sandpaper.

To protect the decorative coating of the door from cracking along the edge of the saw, you can use painter’s tape. If necessary, you can do without it.

Instructions for self-performance of work

Before the work, remove the canvas from the hinges and prepare it, removing the handles and other accessories from it. The door is cut off on the workbench, but in case of its absence, a large stable table will do.

If the canvas of the array needs to be adjusted to the opening due to sagging or raising the floor, then it is best to cut the door from below. Take 2 height measurements: at the loop part and in the narthex. Transfer the measurements to the canvas, postponing new dimensions from the upper edge. Through 2 points draw a straight line. To do this, it is desirable to use a long ruler and a corner to control the right angles between the edges.

Attach the guide rail along the applied markings. When using a power tool, it is better to use a metal strip or ruler. If you cut the door with a manual hacksaw on wood, guides made of smooth slats will do. Press the template to the web with clamps above the marking.

To keep a layer of varnish and veneer on the polished door, treat it with a grinder. The disc of the tool will leave a cut with smooth edges, which cannot be done with a saw. You need to lead the grinder along the guide bar. Before processing, glue the tape along the marking line, and transfer the straight one to its surface.

If there is no grinder, the varnish coating on the removed part is removed with sandpaper, and the veneer is cut with a sharp knife on both planes of the canvas and on its edge parts. After that, the door can be sawn off by the guide.

Remove the clamps, treat the edges of the saw with sandpaper. On the veneered door, you need to glue the edge tape, picking up its shade to the veneer. If the massive canvas is painted, cover the cut with paint or varnish. Hang the door leaf on the frame, eliminate distortions and attach the removed accessories.

In the same sequence, work is performed when replacing the canvas: the standard dimensions of the new product can be changed in height and width. When performing work, you need to take into account what the product is assembled from.