# help! non-standard sized doors too small for non-standard sized doorframes...



## buddyreid (Mar 28, 2008)

1st time poster-- hello everyone...

i recently bought an old house (1922) that had been frankensteined for decades, apparently. everything was paneled... not only the walls, but the doors, the baseboards, the doorframes-- INSIDE the doorframes. i am serious, it was absolutely ridiculous.

anyway-- after removing all the paneling, turns out the doors no longer fit the doorframes. in fact, the doors are 81 inches tall, the doorframes are 83+ inches high. most doors at lowe's are 80 inches tall. the doors also are an inch more narrow than the doorframes.

i thought about "shrinking" the doorframes to fit the doors, but that would mean i would need an 8 inch "jamb" (?) to cover it, which would not look right.

i would appreciate any suggestions... i'm stumped on this one.

thanks in advance!


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## cibula11 (Mar 28, 2008)

So the openings of the doors are 83" tall by 1-2" smaller than door?
83"  isn't that bad.  Just use some blocking with shims and your casing should cover any gap.  The width should be the same.  This would obviously be the case if you were buying new doors.  Would you rather use the existing ones?
Pics would be helpful if you could.

You might also think about building the jambs out all around, removing the door stop strip and attaching later until the difference is made up.  The only issue with this is that you would probably see the old jambs when the casing goes up.  I suppose some drywall compound could cover this.


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## guyod (Mar 28, 2008)

Some times its easier just to start from scratch and install prehung doors.


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## Square Eye (Mar 28, 2008)

You could possibly add material to the door. Add an inch and a half to the bottom, an inch to the hinge side... 
Maybe split the difference and add 1/2" strips down both sides and get a 2 3/4" latch for your door handles.
No really good way to solve this one. You're going to see the fix whatever you do


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## buddyreid (Mar 29, 2008)

thanks guys... i figured it's one of those things that will have a "visible fix"... but most of the house is going to be like that. i used 600lbs of joint compound to fix the walls... the fix is visible, but i like the look. one of the "pleasures" of having an old house, i guess.


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