askjake

Arch door

Hello Jake. I have bought my first home and in the bedroom is a drywall bullnose arch to the bathroom - no door.  I don't really like this.  I have tried to find an inexpensive interior arch top door, but to no avail. 

Ideally, I was thinking arch top white pane glass for light, but it seems now I have to find another route. The arch matches the other doorways, so I did not want to reframe it.  

Any suggestions?

- Kate

Kate,

Whatever you do, it most likely will have to be custom made, based upon a template you make of your arch.  I would assume that the sides of the arch, the point where the vertical sides go from vertical to the start of the arch, are lower than a standard door height, 6’8”.  So if you infill the arch with glass or drywall, the door most likely will have to be cut down. 

You could take a solid core door, hold it up to the arched opening and draw a line on the door.  Deduct ¼” for clearance then install the door.  That would be the easiest method. 

The other idea would be to have a millwork shop make a custom door. That would be more expensive.

Your idea of installing a piece of glass makes sense to me, too bad you can’t make this work.

Good luck.

Jake

Moving door hinges

Anita asks:

Changing homes but would like to make present front door work on other home. From outside it is hinged on the right and opens in. The new house is hinged on left and opens in. Anyway to make this work? Thanks.

Jake's answer:

Anita,

Yes, you can change the swing of a door.  If it is a painted door, it’s a little easier.  You will need to reverse the hinges, lock sets, and the bevel of the door side with the lock sets.  A good carpenter can plug the lockset holes and fill the hinge mortises.  These plugs and fills are then sanded smooth and painted over.  If done correctly, you should never see the old holes.  If your door is stained, it becomes more difficult because you can’t fill and sand so easily.  It will take a very good painter to make a stained door work.