how much door can I cut?

[430752]

Looking to replace a door in my house. its a 30" wide door. the Borg has a door I like, constantly stocked, that is a 15 light door (3 wide by 5 lights tall) (kinda like one half of a french patio door). not pre-hung (called, slab?). Problem is the doors they stock are either 24, 28, 32 or 36 wide. no 30 (I thought this was a common size?). anyway, I can order a 30 inch door, but the style is a bit different and the cost is twice as much (from $114 to $224).

so, how much can I cut off a 32" door? its a solid pine door, in the sense that solid means the frame, obvoiusly the glass lights in the middle make it not truly solid. the door is maybe 1 and 1/2" thick and the side pine members are about 6 or 7" inches wide each, with the top/bottom members about 12 inches. the door itself says it can be trimmed up to 1/2" either side, but why the limit? Heigth is no problem, fits standard.

I mean if its solid pine why not cut 1" off each side to make a 30" door? I realize there is a limit to how much can be cut off and maintain strength, but 1" off a 6 or 7" member doesn't seem excessive. perhaps the mfr. is being too cautious? perhaps it will visually look weird (dimensions off)?

I think I can do it, but am I in for trouble?

thanks for any help.

curt j.

[Tom Miller]

Even though it's called "solid" pine, I would bet that it's a veneer over pine glue-ups (both edge joints to get width, and end-grain finger joints to get length). The last 3/4" or so of width would be a solid piece running top to bottom, hence you can cut into that up to 1/2".

That's my guess.

Regards,
Tom

[430752]

hadn't thought about that, thanks.

curt j.

[scmhogg]

Curt,

If this is the kind of door you have in mind, I would be concerned that there would not be enough room left for the door hardware. For most hardware, the center of the hole you drill for the door knob is 2 1/2" from the edge.

Steve

[monte]

When narrowing a door you should remove equal amounts to each side to keep the panes centered.