I received a question for cutting an interior door down due to a new carpet install. Cutting an interior door is not difficult however a few precautions should be taken to get a good clean cut.
1 - The first thing to do is decide how much needs to be cut off. For this instance we will say a 1/2 inch would do it.
2 - Next you need to remove the door from the hinges. With most interior doors this is easily done by removing the pins out of the hinges.
3 - Next you will need to lay the door down preferably on some saw horses however anything stable like a table or something will do.
4 - Next you need to measure this 1/2 inch up from the bottom and make a pencil mark on one side. Then do the same on the other side then take a straight edge and connect the 2 pencil marks.
5 - Next you will need a utility knife and using your straight edge again, score the door right on this pencil line with the knife. Be sure you have a good score.
6 - Now you can do the same thing on the opposite side of the door however I have found it is not always necessary if you have a Skil saw with a sharp blade. The reasoning is that the blade will be cutting up on the opposite side and splintering is not an issue.
7 - Now what I like to do is run some masking tape next to this line on the upside of the line as a little more protection from splintering and I will also run this tape around and on the opposite side of the door.
8 - Next using a skill saw cut next to this line as close as possible without cutting on the line. Any splintering that may happen will stop at the score and the tape works as a little added protection. Eye protection is strongly encouraged here for this cut.
9 - Now remove the tape and just sand the cut edge to remove any roughness or burrs. Check to see if you need to clean the door a little where the tape was and you are done. The door is now ready to be re-hung back in its hinges.
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