[iwtmkc]

I purchased my house 8 months ago and have finished most of my projects except one. The doorway to my finished basement is in my kitchen and I just hate the way it looks. There was one of those sliding screens there which I promptly took down and removed all of the hardware.

I measured:

28 inches wide
77 3/4 inches high
Top hinge starts 4 1/2 inches from top of inside of doorway
Bottom hinge starts 8 1/4 inches from the floor
It has 2 striker holes in the doorway. The bottom rectangular striker measures 33 inches from the floor to the middle of the hole
The top striker hole in slightly rounded and measures 34 1/2 inches from the floor to the middle of the hole
The door dept measures around 1 1/2 inches deep

Can I walk into Home Depot with these measurements and buy a door slab that I can bring home and hang?

 

[sausagefingers]

Probably not. The jigs that are used to drill and mortise doors can vary a lot. Even if you could buy a door from the same company from the same time frame, it probably wouldn't work. Your best bet is to buy a door that has not been drilled or mortised and do it yourself. It's really not that hard as long as you take your time and make sure everything will line up when you're done.

 

[iwtmkc]

What tool would I use to mortise the door?

 

[wrangler]

A door lock kit (approx $20) comes with the hole saws needed to install your lock set, and some also come with a hinge guide and chisel to mortise out for your hinges. Measure down from the top of the opening to both hinge recesses in the frame, subtract 1/8" to allow for your door gap(for example if top hinge starts at 4 1/2" you would set the high edge of the hinge guide at 4 3/8") Again, measure from the top down to the lower hinges recess as well. Check the height of the new slab. It may requie you to shave a bit off the bottom, and the reason you measure from the top. Make sure the you put the hinge guide on the correct side of the door (what will end up being the inside in your case). Once you install the hinges and hang the door you can bore the hole for your lockset by making a mark on the edge of the door where it lines up with the existing striker hole in the frame. Screw the lockset guide onto the edge of the door and bore your holes and viola! All set to install your hardware. From your pics it looks like you might need to add a door stop to the striker side of the door. Add this after you have the door hung and it closes properly, just snug it up to the door in the closed position.
Door slabs prices here in Florida are down to under $20 apiece, so you can complete your project fairly inexpensively.

 

[Gary in WA]

You may want to check if the door edge has a bevel that goes short-side against the strike. (So it doesn't bind when it shuts). Be safe, G

 

[iwtmkc]

Thanks for the responses...

So basically I can go in and order the door in the height and width that I need and then purchase a door lock kit?

 

[wrangler]

You can go in and get the slab right off the shelf.

 

[Maintenance 6]

Get a 2'4" wide door. It will be 6'8" high, so you'll need to cut 3" off of it. Make sure the door you buy will allow you to cut it. If it's a panel door, normally you can cut 3" off the bottom. Forget the mortise lock. Get a cylindrical. You'll need a 2-1/8" hole saw to go through the door and a 7/8 boring bit for the edge. Hang the door first and center the lockset with the strike hole that has the tab sticking out. Use the template that comes with the lock to mark your hole locations. The strike you have was for an old mortise lock. You likely won't find one and if you do, you'll work your butt off to install it properly unless you've got some pretty decent door hardware skills.

 

[wrangler]

Get a 2'4" wide door. It will be 6'8" high, so you'll need to cut 3" off of it. Make sure the door you buy will allow you to cut it. If it's a panel door, normally you can cut 3" off the bottom. Forget the mortise lock. Get a cylindrical. You'll need a 2-1/8" hole saw to go through the door and a 7/8 boring bit for the edge. Hang the door first and center the lockset with the strike hole that has the tab sticking out. Use the template that comes with the lock to mark your hole locations. The strike you have was for an old mortise lock. You likely won't find one and if you do, you'll work your butt off to install it properly unless you've got some pretty decent door hardware skills.

Wow... wish I had said that... oh wait... guess I did.