Changing the way a door opens

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BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek

#129117 4-Sep-2013 11:44

As the title says I need to change the way a door opens, I have renovated a room and the way the door swings doesn't suit how the room is setup. Has anyone done this and how easy is it?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#889577 4-Sep-2013 11:50

I have seen doors moved where the jamb is filled where the hinges were, and then the hinges are rebated into the other side.

The door will need to be filled where the handle/lock is and then the same inserted into the other side. All this is not a major if everything is a paint finish, but doesn't look very good if you have wood finish.

BlueShift

1692 posts

Uber Geek

#889582 4-Sep-2013 11:58

Depends, is the swing in the wrong direction, or on the wrong side, or both? Eg, is it swinging into the room, hung on the left, but needs to be swinging in hung on the right, or do you need it to swing outwards?
The profile of the jamb will let you rehang it to swing the other way as kiwitrc says above, but if you want it to swing out instead of in, you'll need to replace, or at least rotate the entire frame.

jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek

#889588 4-Sep-2013 12:06

BTR: As the title says I need to change the way a door opens, I have renovated a room and the way the door swings doesn't suit how the room is setup. Has anyone done this and how easy is it?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

We used to do this at uni and it is really easy and takes just a couple of minutes.

Pick the lock on a mate's door while he is out drinking.

Remove the hinges but leave the handle and lock in place.

Screw the hinges to the bottom of the door and the floor and then lift the door up and close it.

Works best if he needed to lean on the door for support while unlocking it and turning the handle.

Whhheeeeeeee, splat.

Oh how we would laugh.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#889630 4-Sep-2013 13:05

jpoc:
BTR: As the title says I need to change the way a door opens, I have renovated a room and the way the door swings doesn't suit how the room is setup. Has anyone done this and how easy is it?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

We used to do this at uni and it is really easy and takes just a couple of minutes.

Pick the lock on a mate's door while he is out drinking.

Remove the hinges but leave the handle and lock in place.

Screw the hinges to the bottom of the door and the floor and then lift the door up and close it.

Works best if he needed to lean on the door for support while unlocking it and turning the handle.

Whhheeeeeeee, splat.

Oh how we would laugh.

Awesome!

BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek

#889637 4-Sep-2013 13:09

jpoc:
BTR: As the title says I need to change the way a door opens, I have renovated a room and the way the door swings doesn't suit how the room is setup. Has anyone done this and how easy is it?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

We used to do this at uni and it is really easy and takes just a couple of minutes.

Pick the lock on a mate's door while he is out drinking.

Remove the hinges but leave the handle and lock in place.

Screw the hinges to the bottom of the door and the floor and then lift the door up and close it.

Works best if he needed to lean on the door for support while unlocking it and turning the handle.

Whhheeeeeeee, splat.

Oh how we would laugh.

I would find this funny but don't think the mrs would. Door opens in and to the left but I want it to open in but to the right. I will try just swapping the hinges over, worst come to worst get builder to install a new door haha.

D1023319

524 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#889834 4-Sep-2013 17:46

You may need to pack the hinges once done e.g if frame has moved or not square. Inserts made from icecream lids are robust and stable.

Dingbatt

6758 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#889840 4-Sep-2013 18:07

If you are effectively rotating the door 180 degrees to get the hinges on the other jamb but still opening inwards, and reversing the the lock mechanism you may want to consider that a lot of doors don't have the handle/doorknob exactly halfway up the door . So if it is in proximity to other existing doors then the heights won't match and it may look a bit funny.

I have tried rehanging doors in the past, never with results I was entirely happy with (for reasons above and in earlier posts). In the end I went and bought new doors.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#890086 5-Sep-2013 08:40

If the door is sitting in the rebate in a timber jamb with architraves the only way to do it to get a professional result is to remove the architraves, remove the jamb and reverse it all. The architraves will sit out at a different distance on each side (allowing for lining up with the rebate) , so you'll also need to cut skirting on one side, patch skirting on the other. Jambs and framing timber in our house are all 50YO heart rimu - nails may as well be set in concrete. I've managed to get jambs out using a pry-bar without too much damage - they were painted in this case, so filling nail holes and repainting was easy. If varnished and you can reverse the jamb without re-hanging the door (so the swing will be okay as is) best way may be to carefully remove architraves, use a pry-bar carefully to increase the gap between jamb and studs/packing, then use a sabre saw to cut through the nails rather than attempt to pry them out. If you want to change the swing, then you'll either need new jambs - or will have to put up with a patched-up look.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#890091 5-Sep-2013 08:52

Dingbatt: If you are effectively rotating the door 180 degrees to get the hinges on the other jamb but still opening inwards, and reversing the the lock mechanism you may want to consider that a lot of doors don't have the handle/doorknob exactly halfway up the door . So if it is in proximity to other existing doors then the heights won't match and it may look a bit funny.

I have tried rehanging doors in the past, never with results I was entirely happy with (for reasons above and in earlier posts). In the end I went and bought new doors.

If the door and jambs are painted - it should be easy - nothing that a bit of builder's bog can't fix. But if varnished, then new doors and possibly jambs needed.

Dingbatt

6758 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#891014 6-Sep-2013 16:53

Fred99:
Dingbatt: If you are effectively rotating the door 180 degrees to get the hinges on the other jamb but still opening inwards, and reversing the the lock mechanism you may want to consider that a lot of doors don't have the handle/doorknob exactly halfway up the door . So if it is in proximity to other existing doors then the heights won't match and it may look a bit funny.

I have tried rehanging doors in the past, never with results I was entirely happy with (for reasons above and in earlier posts). In the end I went and bought new doors.

If the door and jambs are painted - it should be easy - nothing that a bit of builder's bog can't fix. But if varnished, then new doors and possibly jambs needed.

Agreed. The latter was what I faced. So either paint over the lovely timber finish or buy new doors.
To the OP, it may be less hassle to reconfigure the room if re hanging the door turns into a major!

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996