Installing a new door in an existing door opening can be almost as much work as stripping and refinishing an old door, but sometimes it’s the way to go.
When I’m going to replace an interior door and it’s not part of a larger remodel project, I need to clean up the existing door jamb and set the new door in the old opening.
The jamb is the inner door frame that the hinges are mounted to. To replace the jamb means taking off the door casing which disturbs the paint and plaster, and things can kind of snowball from there. I needed to replace the hardware too for this project so I filled the old recesses with wood patches and placed the new hinges a little offset from the old ensuring the screws make good contact.
Finishing this door was a five step process on both sides. That’s two coats of ebony stain and three coats of polyurethane.
I like to use original period materials when possible when working on an old house. Sometimes it’s just not possible within the budget or scope of a project though. Oftentimes a previous home owner has removed old doors or replaced a few with cheaper doors or ones that are just not the right style for the house.
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