How to trim cavity sliding doors?

husainZahid

Hi there,

I have a few cavity sliding doors in my house. They were all working well until I recently installed carpet all across the house. So I needed to trim the doors to have allowance for the carpet. I trimmed the door from the top where the rollers were attached. After trimming there isn't much timber left in the door to hold the roller screws in firmly. These are hollow interior doors. 

Also the doors are not closing flush to the jamb. Some doors leave a gap from the top and some others leave a gap from the bottom.

Please advise on how to fix the rollers to the doors and how to align the doors properly.

EricL

Hello @husainZahid 

Thanks for sharing your question about your cavity sliding doors. I propose repairing the door first by carefully removing the timber support piece that you've cut down at the top. I suggest using a pine replacement piece cut down to the same size as the one you've taken out. I recommend using Selleys 350g Heavy Duty Liquid Nails in combination with Paslode 20 x 1.25mm 100g Bright Bullet Head Nails. The nail heads can be covered with filler and painted over.

However, if the door can't be repaired, I can only suggest ordering a new one to the size that you need at the special orders desk.

In regards to the door adjustments, the two posts holding the door at the top can actually be turned to adjust the level of the door. If the gap is at the front bottom, then the post on the right needs to be adjusted. But if the gap is at the front top, then the post on the left needs to be adjusted. If you can take a picture of the cavity door mechanical fixings, we'll be able to explain it to you in more detail. The posts will also control how high the door will be hanging from the floor.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How To Install a Cavity Sliding Door (it also shows how to adjust the doors height and balance)

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric