How to fill holes in timber door from changing handles?

[victoriacalhoun]

Hi Bunnings Community

I cut down these solid doors to fit my opening but now need to fill in the gaping holes left from removing the door hardware and also fill in the rebate. The doors were originally double doors. 

What should I use to fill in the holes? I was thinking wood putty and maybe some scrap bits of wood for the holes were the door hardware was and a solid strip fixed so the rebate is filled. I contemplated expandable foam too? Although I am not very good at it and end up doing way too much sanding.

Any suggestions? I contemplated expandable foam too?

The doors will be painted. I’ve only partially stripped them at the moment, hence they look a little worse for wear (not to mention butchered from where I cut them down) and I will be putting an entrance set higher than where the original door hardware was so need something solid.

Thanks very much Victoria

[MitchellMc]

Hi @victoriacalhoun,

The best approach here would be to cut timber pieces to neatly fit the large voids left from the old hardware and the rebated edge, glue them in securely with Liquid Nails, and then use a high-quality filler like Builder’s Bog to fill the small gaps around those infill pieces. This method gives you a solid base that won't shrink or crack like filler alone might. 

Once everything's dry, sand it back flush, apply another skim coat if needed for a smooth finish, then follow with a primer before painting. It should give you a durable and tidy result, especially since you're painting the doors.

Expandable foam isn’t a great fit for this job—it’s not solid enough once cured and can be tricky to sand cleanly. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[R4addZ]

Hi @victoriacalhoun 

Personally I prefer to stick to PVA glue and wood filler when working with wood, It is easier to clean off any excess glue as PVA is water soluble and wood filler is formulated specifically for filling wood so will expand and contract similarly with the wood around it. As for the rebate, it is doubtful you will get a piece of wood the right size so if you don't have one, it might be worth investing in a plane (a wood plane that is ).

Please post pictures of the finished job as those doors look like they will be awesome when finished.