[ajsgolf]

The bi-fold doors in the attachment rub along the carpet too much and you need two hands to move it. It also falls off the track because of this. I need to remove about 1/2" of the bottom of the door to allow it to move freely. If I use a circular saw (may rent from HD) do I need to be concerned about cutting a few inches up because I'll need to salvage the bottom of the door and reinsert once making the cut or can I just cut exactly 1/2" off the door and then reinsert the screw on the bottom into the already existing hole that will then sit on the track? The doors are 6 1/2' tall. The bottom of the door is not finished so I'm not concerned about a paint job on the bottom edge.

I adjusted the orientation of the picture but for some reason it still displays sideways, sorry.

 

[Nealtw]

The bi-fold doors in the attachment rub along the carpet too much and you need two hands to move it. It also falls off the track because of this. I need to remove about 1/2" of the bottom of the door to allow it to move freely. If I use a circular saw (may rent from HD) do I need to be concerned about cutting a few inches up because I'll need to salvage the bottom of the door and reinsert once making the cut or can I just cut exactly 1/2" off the door and then reinsert the screw on the bottom into the already existing hole that will then sit on the track? The doors are 6 1/2' tall. The bottom of the door is not finished so I'm not concerned about a paint job on the bottom edge.

I adjusted the orientation of the picture but for some reason it still displays sideways, sorry.

If you remove the wood trim at the top could the door be raised 3/8" ?

The door on the right needs the top pin anchor to be adjusted so the gap at the side is straight.

 

[lenaitch]

Along the lines of what Neal said, is there room to adjust the door upwards? Most if not all have vertical adjustments on the bottom pivot pin and/or anchor bracket. That and squaring the door might do it for you.
if you end up having to cut, those doors are hollow core with usually a ~ 2x2 wood frame. You could perhaps remove the door and see if you can tell from the pivot hole in the bottom how thick the framing is. If it is 2x2, taking 1/2" off likely won't impact the structure.
Renting a saw suggests to me you are not all that comfortable or familiar with a circular saw. Any friends or relatives? While DIY is why we are here, without knowing how to set up a guide and the right blade and cutting technique, you could end up making a real hack of it.

 

[Old Thomas]

If you are not good with a circular saw, clamp a straight edge on the door where the side of the saw shoe runs and slide the saw along it. It is easier to keep it square if you cut in the direction where the weight of the saw is on the door, not on the piece being cut off. I put masking tape on the cut line and cut from the back of the door.
If the cut leaves a void on the bottom of the door, I cut a piece to fit and glue/clamp it. Sometimes I cut the filler from the piece I cut off.

 

[hkstroud]

I adjusted the orientation of the picture but for some reason it still displays sideways, sorry.

The system does that to you. It turns pictures that are taller than they are wide 90 degrees to save space.


Your plan is basically a good one. But you don't want to rent, have to return it and pay half what you would have to pay to purchase it. You will need it again very shortly.
There should be plenty of solid material at the bottom of the door to trim.



Visit Harbor Freight, purchase a cheap circular saw, a fine tooth blade and a clamping edge guide.


Find some scrap plywood and make a couple practice cuts.



Remove the door by opening them, loosen the vertical adjustment at the top pivot mechanism. Tilt door and remove.


Remove the pivot mechanism in the bottom of the door and the nylon insert it fits into if any.
Lay doors on saw horses with the exterior face down. Any splintering will occur on the side where the saw blade exits the wood (the top side). Place a strip of masking tape on the doors where you will be cutting. Masking tape will reduce splintering. Draw a line where you wish to cut.
Measure from the wide side of the saw base to the blade. Clamp your edge guide to the doors that distance from the line you drew.



If the doors have not been previously trimmed you should have about 4" of solid wood at the bottom. Should you trim away to much material anyone you know with a table saw can easily cut you a new strip of material from a 2x4.


Welcome to the world of saw dust generation.

 

[Mystriss]

The first thing I'd do is check for is an adjustment screws on the top and bottom of the doors.

Second, I'd figure out if I've got a hollow core door or not. If you have a hollow core door then I'd be worried that there's just a "thin" frame of wood at the bottom and I'd actually want to split the cuts 1/4 on top, 1/4 on bottom, (even though it'd be a total PITA) because some of the cheap hollow cores only have 1/2" frames. If its a solid door then I'd use a table saw (or track saw like above) to zip off the bottom and tap the cut with a bit of sand paper - maybe a little touch up paint... I hear if you put some painters tape over the line you're cutting you won't get [as much] tear out, but I always worry the tape'll get gummed up in the saw >.<

 

[Davejss]

You should be able to cut 1/2" off the bottom with no problem. If you need more than 1/2" take a little off the top too.

 

[carpdad]

Mystriss and nealtw. The end hinge pins of the bifold doors are under extra pressure because of the leverage. It is common to see split frames around the pins. You can shave off little of the veneer (from the back and bottom center edge?) to check how robust the frames are, but more current the model, less wood there is. How about checking this way? Deepen the existing hole with a drill bit and see how far you can go without hitting empty air? That could tell you if you can shave off some from top and bottom?

You can also use hand saw. Score front cut line with a razor. Then, whatever you have to do, make sure you cut along the score line, just the front. When done, sand the line smoother. Hand saw can jump as well, and cut your other hand. Just be careful.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

*********************************

 

[Mystriss]

Mystriss and nealtw. The end hinge pins of the bifold doors are under extra pressure because of the leverage. It is common to see split frames around the pins. You can shave off little of the veneer (from the back and bottom center edge?) to check how robust the frames are, but more current the model, less wood there is. How about checking this way? Deepen the existing hole with a drill bit and see how far you can go without hitting empty air? That could tell you if you can shave off some from top and bottom?

You can also use hand saw. Score front cut line with a razor. Then, whatever you have to do, make sure you cut along the score line, just the front. When done, sand the line smoother. Hand saw can jump as well, and cut your other hand. Just be careful.

What a great tip/hack!

I'm totally stealing that. (My husband already knows, but I like to occasionally remind him how smartz I am so he doesn't argue with what I want to do as much )

 

[SeniorSitizen]

To determine how much solid wood there is behind the skin layer, I might use the same technique I use to accurately locate the center of studs behind drywall. In this instance I'd try a skinny sewing pin but if that failed a sturdy sewing needle from the wife's Pin Cushion may be necessary. And rather than poking holes on the showey side I'd punch the holes on the non-showey inside of the door.

 

[lenaitch]

You could also use a pin or nail with a small 90* bend in the tip as a depth gauge. Slide it into the pivot pin hole to find the back of the framing then simply measure the depth.

 

[carpdad]

https://johnsonhardware.com/200fd-bi-fold-door-hardware


More support for thinner frame after cutting. Another thought, same as Oldthomas. Cut 1" off the bottom. If still wood left, drill though and check with bend wire to see how much wood left. If 1/4" or more, you may be ok to use everything as such, since the bottom pin is probably dependent on the side frame. But heavy duty hardware like above could solve thin frame problems. First time for me seeing bifold hardware like it. I searched for "surface mount" bifold hinge pin.
If a void after cutting, search the videos on how to repair hollow core door frame. Basically, it's replace the cut frame with glue and maybe some nails through the veneer face, fill, sand and paint.

 

[A Squared]

The system does that to you. It turns pictures that are taller than they are wide 90 degrees to save space.

I don't believe that is really what is happening there.

This is a fairly common problem posting pictures to forums, and my understanding of the reason is this:

on some devices, when you take a picture with the device held sideways, then "rotate" the picture, the device really doesn't rotate the image, what it does is add a code to the image file that essentially says "display this image rotated" the image itself is still sideways in the image file. The problem is, not all software reads that "display rotated" code, so just displays the sideways image. What you can do is edit the image in an image editing program like "Paint" and when you rotate the image in Paint, and save as a new file, the pixel array is actually rotated 90 degrees. Then any software whcih displays the new image will display it in it's upright orientation.

 

[Devobuilder]

I don't know if this will help but this is a video about cutting down doors.

https://youtu.be/IcLhxoNvcH4

 

[Apostle007]

I was going to suggest longer pins, or shimming the pins to raise the entire door. But there's no room to move the doors up. There's basically no gap at the top.

So it does look like you'll have to trim off the bottom or else top.

If the doors are hollow, you may have to rebuild the frame after cutting. But I doubt it if you're just taking off a half inch.

If you're not handy with circle saws and table saws, I suggest having someone else do it. The job should take an hour or less and labor should cost about $70-$100