Is it difficult to get a perfectly straight cut on an interior door?

ultimatenonhandyman · Post by **ultimatenonhandyman** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:39 am

I had my handyman trim and fit five interior doors. For the most part they're fine but one of them is uneven at the top where he's trimmed it and needs straightening, another one a slight groove at the top and the same door has a small almost unnoticeable bit at the side of the door where he's trimmed it that's also not perfectly straight.

He's returning next week to do the last door and I've already asked him to sort these. Am I asking too much?

My other question is is there somewhere I could take the doors or someone I could get to my house that would be able to do an easy, straight cut, rather than have my guy try to get it right? I know nothing about all this but I have it in my head that if you took a piece of wood to B&Q or such they'd stick it in a saw and a perfect cut every time :dunno:

Should mention as well that my door frames (architrave?) are wood and old, I've lived in this place seven and a half years.

kellys_eye · Post by **kellys_eye** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:46 am

It's not the doors that are the problem - it's the frame they fit into. The frames are rarely square and in some cases rarely 'vertical' too (i.e. develop a twist) so unless you're starting with a new frame AND a door then some compromises will be inevitable although getting an even gap around a door isn't difficult but can often be time-consuming (trimming and, in some cases, packing).

Rorschach · Post by **Rorschach** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:51 am

As KE says, it depends on your frames. The frames in my mothers 1950's house are so out of shape that you can't even fit a standard door without modification as there isn't enough "trim" material built into it.

When quoting for the job your handyman should really have had a chat with you about your expectations for the job. Absolute perfection is of course possible, but it will usually mean totally ripping out the door frames and starting from scratch. Everything else is as always with DIY/renovation, a compromise.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 7:15 am

Yes definately the frames. Sometimes i have found frames set too wide for the door . Nothing needs shaving off the door but the legs of the frame aren't parallel so the gap is uneven. Of course the answer would be to remove the architraves , pack the frame and so on but that then entails redecorating which some don't want to have to do.

fin · Post by **fin** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:03 am

old frames can be an absolute nightmare at times.

few weeks back i fitted a full house of shaker oak doors. every single frame was bent and twisted one way or another due to the house subsiding. mind you i managed to get the gaps all nice and even. although it meant spending god near on a day per door in some cases. including repairing old hinge mortises (cut outs) on the door like.

i regularly see a joiner local to me who fits doors for £25 per door.... god knows what it woulda been like if he had fitted these doors...

perfect straight cuts on a door would be achievable to a competent person. but we cant see what the frames are that this fella has had to work with.

ultimatenonhandyman · Post by **ultimatenonhandyman** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:13 am

Thanks everyone. I know nothing about this stuff so it's very helpful to get a better insight.

He's definitely not a ''£25 a door'' person (£60 and two and a half or more hours spent per door)) and otherwise the work is good, just the bits I've mentioned. Hopefully he'll sort it to my satisfaction

banjerbill · Post by **banjerbill** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:32 am

Just to advise you on your last point, B & Q will not under any circumstances cut something brought in to them even if they supplied it.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:50 pm

Also just to say that you may be confusing straight with parallel. A door is supplied with the edges straight ( or at least they should be) , if the frame is bowed , say wider in the middle than at the top and bottom for instance , the the joiner needs to trim the door so it is out of straight but when placed in the frame the adjoining edges are parallel. In most cases the out of straightness won't be noticable if the gap is even.

ultimatenonhandyman · Post by **ultimatenonhandyman** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:15 pm

I know B&Q wouldn't do that, the point I was trying to make was that if they were to cut something down for you, like a piece of wood purchased there, it would be a perfect straight cut.

The doors are uneven when open.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:47 pm

A picture is needed really to see exactly what the OP means. I'm thinking it's a jagged, interrupted cut which it shouldn't be no matter how wonky the frames are!

ultimatenonhandyman · Post by **ultimatenonhandyman** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 4:56 pm

Ignore the left side bit in the second photo, I took it at an odd angle, the third photo shows the ''curve'' situation on the left side of the door.

fin · Post by **fin** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 5:10 pm

ok so if i had fitted those doors id have used my track saw for most of the adjustments. or my planer. nice and straight either way

ultimatenonhandyman · Post by **ultimatenonhandyman** » Tue Aug 24, 2021 5:26 pm

Thanks. Yeah, I've had another look and overall the three sides and three tops that he's done are poor. Should I ask him to sort it using a track saw or planer or is it better off not risking ruining the doors completely and find a joiner to do this? Do I ask for my money back?

ultimatenonhandyman · Post by **ultimatenonhandyman** » Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:55 am

ttt...

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Wed Aug 25, 2021 7:03 am

I think part of the problem is that the very dark paint on the door frames is emphasizing the poor fitting by showing the shut lines more clearly. If you modernise the look and paint the frames white it will not be so obvious. The doors are hollow lightweight doors, that are very common, and they are made from a 25mm wide frame and two pressed hardboard skins. There is not much room to trim down and still leave it structurally strong. There is probably not a lot of wiggle room left.

So I would paint the frames and see how that looks. As you can get the doors for £40 each in Homebase, I would consider replacing the high traffic doors that are clearly seen. Either do it yourself or get a decent chippie in to do it.

DWD