# flat doors to 6 panel?



## Yeti (May 11, 2007)

I currently have flat doors in my house and I'm wondering how hard it would be to replace them with 6 panel doors. I want white painted doors, can I buy just the door and put it on the old hinges, or do I need to get pre hung doors and re hang the door and frame and re-trim the doors?


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## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

It just all depends on the current door and where the hinges are located. Sometimes you can get away with just adding a door and keeping the existing jambs. 
If you want the keep the jambs and trim as is, you will probably have to buy a door, paint it, and cut out channels for the hinges. This might end up being more work than buying a prehung door. 
You may find a door that has the hinges already cut out and ready to go. In that case, just measure your distances from the floor to your first hinge, second, and third and then see if it matches the new door.


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

If the frames are in good shape I would just replace the doors. 

If you make up a router jig for the the hinges and get the right size doors to start with, its not that hard to do. I have done it in several houses between ones I owned and friends etc. 

Just an option to consider but you could trim out the existing doors with some faux trim designs and paint them white.


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## mgarfield (Jan 27, 2008)

I just replaced all my doors for the same reason. Two of them I went with new prehungs because the jambs were out of square by more than I was comfortable with. 

Check your current jambs and make sure they are or at least close to plumb and square. A six panel will show an unsquare jamb more than a flat if you have to cut the top at an angle. When I bought the door panels I went with the ones that have nothing cut out, this allowed me to cut the door the same as the old. Measure you hinges and lockset or use the old door as a template to cut the new. If you can get a router, cutting the hinges will be very easy, I did mine with a chisel, wasent impossible but it took some finesse. 

My house the locksets were at goofy heights so I ended up filling the old striker cut outs with wood putty and chiseled new ones at standard height. (36" if I remember correctly.) The six panels are made so that the lockset will be centered at this height. If your striker is a different height it could put the lockset off center between the top and center panels.

I am very happy with the results, looks a million times better than the plain panels. Good luck!


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## Yeti (May 11, 2007)

If I do go with the new 6 panle doors, what is the best way to paint them white? Brush, roller? I don't have the equipment or the space to spray them without making a giant mess.


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## mgarfield (Jan 27, 2008)

Yeti said:


> If I do go with the new 6 panle doors, what is the best way to paint them white? Brush, roller? I don't have the equipment or the space to spray them without making a giant mess.


I used a 3" brush on the panels and a 2" roller on the flat parts, just be careful on the ridges of the panels, paint likes to pool on the corners.


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## Yeti (May 11, 2007)

mgarfield said:


> I used a 3" brush on the panels and a 2" roller on the flat parts, just be careful on the ridges of the panels, paint likes to pool on the corners.


 
Foam roller or wool roller?


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## Handyman50 (Sep 28, 2007)

Yeti said:


> If I do go with the new 6 panle doors, what is the best way to paint them white? Brush, roller? I don't have the equipment or the space to spray them without making a giant mess.


Hire my wife to paint them.:laughing:

I replaced all of our interior doors several years ago. I used 6 panel prehung doors made of masonite or a like product. They have a wood grain finish. My wife painted them white with a 3" brush using Behr paint from Home Dopey (my 3-1/2 year old granddaughter's name for HD.). They look like she used a paint sprayer. :thumbsup:

The key is to use a high quality pro brush. Also, we added "Floetrol"tm to the paint. It makes latex paint flow like oil-based products.

Also, unless there is a particular reason not to replace the jams, such as, the adjacent wall covering, I would highly recommend going with the prehung doors. You can cut the old ones out with a reciprocal saw without damaging the wall. They are easy to install, even for a novice like me.


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## mgarfield (Jan 27, 2008)

Yeti said:


> Foam roller or wool roller?



2" wool/nap roller, ive never used foam so i cant say if they would be any better or worse.


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