Have a bi-fold or other hollow core door with a loose static door handle? Here's a solution: mount a small piece of lumber inside the hollow core so that your handle's mounting plate may be fastened to it instead of just a hardboard panel. Required Tools and Materials A 1" x 2" furring strip Metal putty knife or a pry bar A saw and miter box or a power miter saw Speed square (optional, but is is easier to wield in some cases than the framing square) Two saw horses or a large workbenchStep 1: Prepping the doorShow All ItemsIf the door to be repaired is a bi-fold door on a track, push down on the roller and swing the door free of the track.To gain access to the inside of the door, the back face of the door needs to be removed. To do this, wedge a metal putty knife or a pry bar between the door frame and the back face of the door. Slide the putty knife around the frame of the door along the top, front and as much of the bottom as possible with the door still on the hinges to separate the back face from the frame.
Remove the door from the hinges.Finish separating the back face from the frame. Once separated from the frame, set the back face aside.« PreviousNext »View All Steps DownloadBifold doors, sold in a variety of sizes and styles at many home centers and lumberyards, offer an easy and attractive way to solve several common problems in homes.Some examples of what can be done with bifold doors:- Louvered bifolds can replace solid doors on musty or damp clothes closets and provide a means of ventilating and warming the closets by admitting air, light and heat.- When wide, swing-type doors interfere with furniture placement or take up needed space, a bifold replacement will often solve the problem. A bifold requires much less space when opened than a swinging door.- Bifold doors in simple frames make excellent screens. A bifold enclosure can effectively and attractively conceal a heating system, laundry area or storage space or screen off a space for a small office or workshop.Wooden bifolds are the most readily available, but bifolds are also made of metal and polystyrene plastic.
Plastic and metal doors are usually prefinished, and some wooden doors can also be bought stained and finished.Unfinished wooden doors are popular with do-it-yourselfers, however, because they can be finished to suit existing decorating schemes and the stock sizes can be trimmed to fit existing spaces. Finishing louvered bifolds is one of the trickiest parts of an installation, incidentally.Following is a good sequence to follow when planning a bifold installation with unfinished wooden doors:Carefully measure the opening to be fitted with a bifold so that a door with the closest possible fit can be bought. Standard bifolds are slightly less than 80 inches high and will fit standard 80-inch-high door openings, but 8-foot (96-inch) doors are also available for floor-to-ceiling installations. The doors can be trimmed slightly at the top and bottom to fit shorter openings.If an opening is slightly higher than a door`s size, the opening itself can be adjusted by installing a wood filler strip at the top.
Two-section bifolds are generally sold in widths to fit openings from 24 to 36 inches. Again, the doors can be trimmed slightly at the sides to fit smaller openings or filler strips can be added to the sides of the opening to close gaps. If an opening is 48 inches wide or wider, two 2-section doors are used to fill it.Trimming, if needed, is the second step in an installation. In general, the finished opening should be 1 1/2 inches higher than the height of the door. In one-door installations, the finished width of the opening should be one-half inch wider than the total width of a two-section door. For two-door installations, the finished opening should be three-fourths inch wider than the total width of the two 2-section doors. Some door kits include specific directions for trimming doors, however, and these should be followed for best results.Minor trimming can be done with a plane. More extensive trimming should be done with a fine-toothed saw.Test-fit the trimmed doors in the opening before proceeding.
Finishing is the next step. Hinges and any other attached hardware should be removed before finishing. Louvered doors are best painted or stained with a sprayer, working outdoors on a windless day with the doors propped at a slight angle against sawhorses or stakes. Spray one side, then move quickly to the other side and wipe up any drips from paint or stain that has penetrated the louvers. If stain was used, wipe it off the first side after the time specified in the directions has elapsed. After spraying the second side of the panel, check for drips on the first side and wipe them up immediately.If a brush is used for finishing, the doors can be laid on two sawhorses with newspapers spread underneath. While painting or staining the top side, check the back of louvered areas frequently for drips, which should be wiped off before they dry. Let the top side dry before turning the doors over and finishing the other side. When finishing is complete, replace hinges and other hardware.Bifold doors slide in a steel track attached to the top of the door openings.
Typical doors have pivots with fixed positions at the top and bottom of the jamb side of the door. The top pivot fits into an opening in the track, and the bottom pivot fits into a small floor bracket. A sliding roller or pivot at the opposite top edge of the door rides in the track, holding the door in position when it is opened or closed. The door kit should include full directions for installing the brackets and pivots.Some adjustments are usually necessary to get the door opening and closing freely, and most kits include a small adjusting wrench that should be saved, along with the instructions, so that future adjustments can be made if necessary.The knob or handle on a bifold door goes in the middle of the two-section panel. When the door is properly installed and adjusted, pulling on the knob folds the door`s two sections together at the side of the opening. New Owner Demolishes O.j. Simpson MansionDark meaning of bubble-gum Pumped Up Kicks is tough to chewHandshakes For All, Including Simpson, As Fung Ends Testimony