# typical noob mistake: bifold doors don't fit any more



## threenorns (Jan 5, 2012)

we just bought our first house and are in the final stages of renovating our daughter's bedroom. few little glitches here and there (including the interesting discovery that all four corners total more than 360degr, lol).

we pulled out 3 layers of carpeting (yes! they just bunged the new stuff down on top of the old!) and put down some nice laminate.

it's time to put it all together and the bloody bifold closet doors don't fit! they are now too long.

near as i can figure, these are my options:

a) cut down the closet doors by about 1/8" - this sucks, bec i spent a lot of time refinishing them and okay, one was refinished upside down (it involves high-gloss white paint, opalescent glitter, and big fake plastic jewels) but she's 4 - it'll be a while before she notices the hearts are upside down but i'm pretty sure she'll notice the ends being shaved off!

b) reduce the size of the upper casing to raise the track

c) chisel a groove in the laminate and basically countersink the floor bracket

or d) get rid of the bracket completely and just drill a hole in the floor to hold the pivot.

which is the best option, in your opinion? i'm kind of leaning toward d), myself, but i don't know enough about folding doors to know if this is a good option. if it matters, the bracket is plastic, not metal, and so is the pivot.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Option #3---remove the extra from the top?

Could you inset the top track into the header jamb?

Post a picture---(and teach your youngster to stand on her head!)--Mike---


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

The top of the door should be sitting in a track attached to the top jamb which sits againt a header.
It could be changed but the casing would be to shot the drywall would have to come off on both sides ect.
Sounds like you ran the flooring through the door way and into the closit, There was suppost to be a transition stip in the middle of the doorway and the floor ran in two differant directions meeting at the middle of the door.
If you use an ossilating saw you could cut out an area for the bottom bracket but the door may not be able to be adjusted enough to clear the flooring. Check it first.
The best way is to trim the door, it can be done on the top or the bottom. You may break off the plunger or the pin but they sell them in any box store.


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

The posts on the bottom of closet doors thread in, can you thread it in any further?

For 1/8" you could use a belt sander.

If you need to cut the bottom of the doors. Use Blue masking tape on the door. 

Here is a good article on it. http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/departments/building-skills/trim-the-bottom-of-a-door-remodel.aspx Only I would tape the entire area including under the straight-edge (they use a level) and where they use a guage block which is not a bad idea I just used a tape measure.



You may need to be creative with your straight edge to get over the plastic glued on jewels. 
And about the upside down hearts. You could probably redrill the holes in the top & bottom and flip the door.


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## 12penny (Nov 21, 2008)

Just cut off the bottom. You cut from the back side anyway and the from the front you'll never see the cut.

Spent more time writing the post then it would have been to cut them.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

He has a fancy border painted on the bottom that he is hoping to save---


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## threenorns (Jan 5, 2012)

joecaption: exactly right - i ran the flooring straight through, the same way they had the carpet. total pita to get it right but it looks fantastic.

oh'mike: alas - were the border just painted, that'd be simple. but they're big plastic fake jewels from a craft store that my daughter and i stuck on together. 


in case anybody's wondering about the high-gloss white paint (rustoleum, as it happens, over a double coat of zinnser), the opalescent glitter, and the jewels all over the closet doors, it was a compromise - she originally wanted them all over the walls.

i looked at the ends of the doors and there's two holes at each end so probably i could indeed just flip the door - should be easy.

i did notice the pivot was threaded and took it up as high as it will go - that's where the 1/8" comes in.

my hubbie got home and i explained the problem. he thought it was just me trying to hang the closet door by myself - he feels it's properly a two-man job - but when we tried it together, it's even worse: it's 1/8" at the tip of the bracket, but the bracket is taped. when he held the door up as high as it would go and we tried to swing it into position properly, we realized that's it's probably a good 1/4", if not 3/8" that has to go.

so, we're just going to get rid of the brackets, drill a hole in the floor where the pivot needs to go, line it with a plastic tube to protect the laminate from wear and tear, put a washer over top to facilitate swinging and provide the necessary clearance, and drop the pivot down into it.


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

Your solution does not sound like it will provide the necessary clearance at the bottom of the door. need at least 1/4". 

Could you trim the top or is there a boarder there also?

Could you posts some pics? may be bettter to give advice if we can see it.

If there is a jamb at the top you could remove trim remove top jamb and put in a thinner one, install new trim which will need to be longer.

If it is a drywalled opening you could remove top drywall, put in maybe 1/4" ply and trim the door opening to cover any gaps.

If you can not cut the door you need to make the opening taller at the top. Or get a new door and start over. Bi-folds are not expensive, can even pick up a used one at a re-store or craigs list, or locol buy and sell.


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## threenorns (Jan 5, 2012)

hi - that's what the washer is for, to give the clearance off the floor and allow the door to pivot freely. might need to sandwich a couple, though, i agree, or i could make the tube stand slightly proud of the floor.

bifold doors are surprisingly expensive in our area now. they don't sell the regular old hollow-core mahogany things any more, only the primed white ones with the fake panel look and the last one i bought, which was 24" wide, ran me $80 bucks at the local hardware store (my town is remote - kijiji and craigslist are simply not options).

the house was built 1984 and since 1986 was owned by an avid DIYer. the reason the corners all add up to greater than 360degr is because the whole house is wonky - the slab slumped shortly after it was poured but before it was fully cured so the builder apparently just shrugged and said "a'ight" and built the house on the crooked slab.

it makes things..... interesting. (don't mistake me, the house is rock solid - paid the best home inspector available in our county quite a pretty penny to ensure so). just there isn't a level surface or true 90degr angle in the joint.


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## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

Mahogany is gone in most places, You can get the raised panel ones or just flat printable ones. The flat ones are pretty cheep. Well here at least.

So is the floor level and square to the opening that you are working on? How will it affect your space at the bottom of the door? Will it get tighter on the non-hinged (pin) side or get narrower, meaning you need more gap.


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