Considering widening interior doorway - How difficult?

davewolfs

Hello everyone,

I am considering widening the doorway to my office in my home. My wife and I are purchasing new furniture and I would like to put in an executive style desk that is 30" high.

Unfortunately the door width is 29.5". I really don't know why they would have built the doorway this small since every other door way in the home is more then 30".

Having a width smaller then 30" is seriously limiting our options for office furniture and if this door could be easily widened I would like to do it.

Hopefully someone here has done something like this and could shed some light on how difficult a task this may be.


Thanks,
Dave

NateHanson

I'd just remove the trim, or even the entire jambs to get your furniture in, and then put it back on. That'll gain you 3 inches or so.

davewolfs

How hard is that to do? Isn't a lot of this stuff glued down? If so, I am assuming I am going to have to rip everything out. Will I need a crow bar to remove the Jam?

Is there a clean way to remove this?

Thanks for the reply.

Dave

beer_geek

They're usually attached using nails--not glue. You'll want to gently remove the casing using a pry bar or wide spackling knife. From there, you will be able to see how the rest is attached. You'll see how much space there is taken up using shims. You should be able to slip a reciprocating saw blade between the studs and the door frame. Cut the nails.

__________________
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davewolfs

Looking at the casing, there is a ton of paint over hit. It is attached extremely tight, I tried fitting a small flat tool between the casing and the wall but they are so close together that I feel if I push the tool in too hard I am going to start taking out chunks of dry wall. Is there a specific spot in the casing where I should attempt to remove it?

beer_geek

Take a utility blade and cut the paint to break the seal. You can try slipping the spackling knife through from the door side as well.

__________________
It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

NateHanson

You're not going to be able to do this without needing to do a little touch-up work when it's all done. Patching some dings in the drywall, and filling some nicks in the casing (as well as the new nailholes you'll be creating when you reattach) is not a big deal. You were considering doing some major construction to widen this door a few hours ago, so don't worry too much about an hour of cleanup work that'll be required after reattaching the jambs and casings.

I think you'll need a flat bar or a trim bar (small flat bar) to get the casing off. You might get it started with a stiff 2" putty knife, and then you can get the bar in there with less damage. Start at an end of a board, not in the middle, then work your way down to the other side.

NateHanson

If all you need to do is get a 30" tall desk through a 29.5" wide door, I'd just try to maneuver the desk in without removing the door frame first.

Depending on the shape of the legs/base you can get a table through a doorway that is much taller and wider than the actual opening.

davewolfs

Thanks again for the reply. I truly wish it were that easy. But most of the desk I am looking at are this style:

http://www.sligh.com/product_detail.php?product_id=72

One that may fit, but again I am doubtful is:

http://www.sligh.com/product_detail.php?product_id=76

NateHanson

I think you could definitely get that second one through if all you need is 1/2" extra.

The first style definitely doesn't give you any wiggle-room though.

davewolfs

Second for sure if I go vertical with the desk and just get the legs around the door.

I just spoke with the manufacturer and the tops come off to make these desks 29". So looks like a false alarm

BTW, thank you all for the responses. Seems like you have a great forum going on here.

I am considering installing a pocket door so I might give y'all a holler in the weeks to come.

Thanks again,

Dave

J187

Are we talking about the door width with your door attached or have you taken it off the hinges? If the door itself is still attached, then popping out the hinge pins and putting the door aside should net you enough room.


EDIT
I just read that you solved it, good to hear.