dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
13814
cissado
Premium Member
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ

cissado

Premium Member

[Carpentry] Can I cut a fiberglass door?

Hello, I have a 5ft 15 lite french door that was installed too close to the kitchen tiled floor. I can't even place the thinnest mat underneath the door because it hits the bottom of the door and drags the mat along the floor. I was thinking of taking the (one) door off and cutting the bottom of it about .5 or.75(?) of an inch, then placing some kind of rubber piece on the bottom for air infiltration. The door does have a rubber piece underneath it now, but I doubt I can reuse it.

Can I cut the door with a circular saw? Will it cut smoothly or will that material splinter? I wonder how deep the door is solid down there. Not sure if it is hollow there or not. It's a Thermatru door.

It's been like that for years, so no big deal, but would love to have a mat there not move around.

Thanks.

tp0d
yabbazooie
Premium Member
join:2001-02-13
Bulger, PA

1 edit

tp0d

Premium Member

I`ll take a stab at this one...

You can cut it, only if the bottom of the door is solid. Typically exterior doors are solid for 1-2" all the way around.. You could try tapping on the bottom edge to see where it sounds hollow...

As for cutting it, i would use a circular saw with a high toothed blade. Wet the door on both sides first to cut down dust and splintering. May want to think about a metal cap on the bottom, as it will be a raw edge.

good luck

-j

Sly
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Tennessee

Sly to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
It may also help to reduce splintering if you put some tape across where the cut will be, then cut through the tape.

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Corehhi to cissado

Member

to cissado
I'm wondering if you would be better off using a cutting wheel?

Grumpy4
Premium Member
join:2001-07-28
NW CT

Grumpy4 to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
If the door closes correctly now, and the current sweep or gasket keeps out the drafts, I think it will be difficult at best to make it mat friendly and still maintain a draft free door.
Grumpy4

Grumpy4 to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
If the door closes correctly now, and the current sweep or gasket keeps out the drafts, I think it will be difficult at best to make it mat friendly and still maintain a draft free door. A shorter door will then require a longer sweep, which may put you back where you started.

If relevant, cutting the door will very likely void any warranty. Anderson French doors have a 20 year warranty.
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

1 edit

joewho to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
Taking a chance on that bud. This forum always errs on the safe side, but really, there is plenty of room at the bottom to do what you want, even if it's hollow. You can cut the door down, get a screw in sweep, and you will still be stuck wiping the floor with the rug. My 02., just let it be. French doors are not cheap. I would think that cutting it down would be ok, but you need to install a taller "step". You've seen them. Hope this helps a bit.
boaterbob
Premium Member
join:2005-08-01
Moncks Corner, SC

boaterbob to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
In fiberglass boat building and repair, there are times when just a tad of material is to be removed, a fine grinding disk is used. The door could be taken off (as long as you don't drop it !!) and the bottom fine sanded to take just a smidgen off (be sure to use eye protection and long sleeved shirts and a dust mask as fiberglass dust can be a bitch - you may itch for days!!). You may want to try sanding before trying cutting.
rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

2 edits

rody_44 to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
While the door wont be hollow down there. Pretty sure its going to have around 1/8 of fiberglass actually holding the 2 faces together. take that away and you wont have anything holding the front and back of door together. I guess you could glue it to the wood down there but its going to compromise the door for sure. In other words once you cut it the door will be junk.
The door is nothing but a wood framed door with maybe at best 1/8 to 1/4 inches of coating around it.

Pacrat
Old and Cranky
MVM
join:2001-03-10
Cortland, OH

Pacrat to cissado

MVM

to cissado
My own thought is, Why butcher up a perfectly good door just to clear a mat. I'd hunt for a thinner mat, or, maybe, replace the mat with a length of vinyl runner, or something equally as thin. What is the floor surface you're trying to protect with the mat? Carpet, tile, hardwood, laminate???

If it's carpet, my daughter had a flooring company come out and create an "island" of inlaid vinyl just inside the door (maybe, 30" by 36"). They cut the carpet out, laid down a small piece of flooring, and trimmed/edged out everything very nicely. I was skeptical when she told me that's what she wanted, but it turned out very attractively... a very professional job in my opinion. You might want to consider that instead of hacking the bottom of the door off.

The fact that you're even asking that question tells me you probably should not tackle that project yourself. You might also want to contact Therma-Tru, to see if they have any recommendations. They do have a pretty nice web site with a "Contact us" link.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

3 recommendations

robbin to cissado

Mod

to cissado
How about using a rising butt hinge?

»www.hardwaresource.com/h ··· tt-hinge

tp0d
yabbazooie
Premium Member
join:2001-02-13
Bulger, PA

tp0d

Premium Member

said by robbin:

How about using a rising butt hinge?

»www.hardwaresource.com/h ··· tt-hinge

wow... this is the ticket.. and the name is pretty sweet too

-j

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

Msradell

Premium Member

said by tp0d:

said by robbin:

How about using a rising butt hinge?

»www.hardwaresource.com/h ··· tt-hinge

wow... this is the ticket.. and the name is pretty sweet too

-j

I've looked at before but they really aren't as great as they sound. They only raise about 1/4" when they are over 90° and even less before that with the motion being linear. Because of this they really won't clear much of anything in the way of a mat until they are quite a ways open.
8744675
join:2000-10-10
Decatur, GA

8744675 to cissado

Member

to cissado
Use a saw blade with very fine teeth or you'll get breaks. It wouldn't hurt to run a piece of wide masking tape over the cut line on both sides before you cut, so the strings of fiberglass won't fray at the cut edge.

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties to cissado

Premium Member

to cissado
I found this video... he uses a guide and router:

»youtu.be/DAKdija6BuA
tomupnorth
join:2005-01-14
UpperMidwest

tomupnorth to cissado

Member

to cissado
There was an Ask This Old House segment that did this very same thing; not a fiberglass door iirc but rather the problem of the rug/sweep and cutting the door bottom. As I recall Tommy Silva made a raised threshold for the door after cutting it.

Although I've never done this myself I understand all their episodes on on their website and you could look it up for viewing there.
cissado
Premium Member
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ

cissado

Premium Member

Thanks everyone. Good info. I was actually worried that the insulation sweep on the bottom would cause the same issues with the rug moving underneath as the door is causing. Probably not as severe, but then the air leakage would be worse on top of everything else. That was my biggest concern. Still contemplating it, but now I know it could possibly be done. The door is a Thermatru door and is roughly 14 years old. no big deal, I'm not worried about the warranty. Maybe replacing the saddle or threshold or whatever that piece of wood is on the bottom of the door is called. This would bring everything to a higher elevation. It would be a bigger job and possibly get a professional to do it, but that may be an option.

Thanks again for the help.

**EDIT. Oh, shhhh. I just saw the post above mine. Yep, raised threshold. Thanks.
Dodge
Premium Member
join:2002-11-27

Dodge

Premium Member

I don't know anything about how well these work, but here is an idea for the sweep and no raised threshold to trip over:

»www.tmhardware.com/Autom ··· Bottoms/

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

Msradell

Premium Member

I've seen automatically like that before and they seem to work quite well. That company certainly has a large selection so you should be able to find one to work with almost any application. The ones that are mortised into the bottom of the door certainly look nicer and don't interfere with the other seals.