It’s possible but difficult. It’s the process of cutting a door down to size times two. What you’ve got looks like a typical hollow core door which means you will have to retro fit plugs into both halves after cutting it. Not a big deal if you work with wood. The biggest problem is making a single straight clean cut without destroying the veneer. Then you’d have to match the stain on the plugs you installed. Then you’d have to mount the hinges. Not impossible but definitely time consuming. It would be cheaper to buy this already made and finish it yourself. Staining is a time consuming process so a painted surface would speed all of this up considerably.
If you want to make the door open into the other room then remove the outside trim on both sides and cut the door frame out with a reciprocating saw. This is done by cutting through the nails or screws between the door frame and the rough opening frame. There are a number of videosto look at if you google “how to replace an interior prehung door”.
You could also leave the door frame intact and flip the door upside down. That would require cutting new hinge reliefs and striker plate hole and leaves the old ones in place. It would also change the door knob height. It would look hacked. Just as easy to pull the door out and reverse it so that it opens into the other room.
Most videos make it look complicated when installing. You only need to level the hinge side of the door in all dimensions. After that you’re lining up the 2 other sides by eye so that the spacing between the door and frame are equal. That way the door swings level and looks properly spaced.
And why wouldn’t you simplify matters by leaving the door frame as it is, removing the trim on both sides, and hang the door on the opposite jamb? No invasive surgery involved …
Once you’ve pulled the trim on both sides the only thing holding it in place are a few nails/screws. With the trim removed these are easily cut with a reciprocating saw. It’s easier to pop the whole frame out than it is to align and mortise new hinge locations.
In any modern construction, the doors are always purchased/installed as a pre-hung unit for this reason. It sounds like more work but pre-hung doors are easier to deal with.
this. You have to demo the door before buying and it’s not something to skimp on. If it wobbles and is hard to close in the store it will be 10 times worse when installed. A nice glass panel door would be great in the kitchen and requires less staining.
I would strongly recommend pulling the whole unit out and get a pre hung door. They are a snap to install.
If you try to rehang the existing door you will find out just how out of plumb and out of square your house is.
Hanging a door and making sure it does not bind, pop open, and latches correctly can be a frustrating time consuming project which involves much cursing.
Going from the picture - that ain’t no simple pre-hung door. The latch looks like an expensive commercial grade lever, the hinges are 4" square with bushings - good quality stuff but fairly old ( flat head screws - archaic). The jamb is the style with built in door stop and looks to be mahogany. The door is an oak slab but probably isn’t your typical hollow door going by the hardware. I am guessing 70’s or early 80’s. The prehung doors (probably Masonite) at your local hardware store are significant downgrade from this. Replacing this with a prehung door is not going to save you any grief - probably the opposite.
You can remove the casing, flip the whole business and shoot the casing back on. Not a huge job for a carpenter but I would not recommend it for a DIY job.
You could put a bifold in - probably would have to furr the door jamb down 1/2", mount the track, and trim the top with half jamb (to hide the track). This is fairly easy process but might take some adjustment to get the height right - Bifold openings are usually a inch shorter than standard doors.
pre-hungs don’t usually come with handles and that door looks like a typical veneer to me. It takes about 2 seconds to verify. knock on it. If it’s hollow it will make a loud low frequency thump. A solid door will make a much quieter higher frequency sound. You can knock on the edge of a hollow door and hear the change in sound because there’s solid wood on the side of the hinges so there is something to screw into.
In my remodel in 2012, I had a pocket door installed between my kitchen and utility room. It involved a little drywall work, but my GC was up for the task. So if you’re dealing with drywall, it’s an option.
I previously had replaced the bi-fold door with an accordion door, kinda like this. The downside is that even when open all the way, you lose a little bit of space in the doorway. The upside is that when it’s open, you don’t lose any space in the rooms.
It’s a really simple install - hang some track on the top and sides, and you’re basically done.
We have two bifold doors in our apartment - one separating the kitchen / dining area and another separating the living / bedrooms. Both have glass windows
We’ve been living there 9 years without a problem - so I would second the idea that if you buy reasonable quality (we got good but not expensive ones) there’s no need for a problem. Both our bi-folds are top hung, so don’t have a bottom track.
As mentioned already - they do take up a bit of space in the doorway however.
They sure don’t close as securely though - so if things like preventing draft, or good sound insulation are a priority don’t do it.
Looking at the picture - what about a sliding door that goes all the way along the wall to the left (as you look at the picture) behind the existing OK door when open? This will be a bit more secure than a bi-fold, and you won’t have as much issue with losing space in the doorway due to the bifold. You will probably need a bottom track though which can be a tripping hazard.
Personally - I wouldn’t go for bead curtains or anything like that if you’re wanting to carry food between the rooms. Getting through the curtains can be a bit problematic.
Surely, even if it is not some code, it is a very good idea to have a decent door between the kitchen and the rest of the house. I took my sitting room door off because it got in the way (I was going to reverse it, but once it was off, I thought “What the hell”) about 20 years ago. We always close the kitchen door when anything is running (for the noise) and at night as a fire precaution.
I would suggest to the OP that he first takes the door off. That will allow him to get a better idea of how it is constructed and what needs doing.
Regarding pocket doors…this would require some carpentry work on the studs inside the wall. In that event you need to check if the wall is load-bearing or not, and proceed appropriately (i.e. it’s more complicated)
I have a kitchen door much like as in the OP’s diagram, and a pocket door would be great. However the wall in question is not just ‘load bearing’ but is actually on the centerline of the house (not sure I’m describing that properly) and is kind of supporting the level above it.
Bi-fold or even a bar door was first thing I thought of, too. Pocket door would be hard to retrofit. An accordion style closure could be mounted on what is existing.
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Thanks for the snark. No, pre-hungs don’t come with handles, but they also don’t get mounted on three 4" hinges with bushings. Those are for heavier doors. The door is almost definitely veneered, but that doesn’t mean its hollow, it can still be solid core (usually a particle board type core). In commercial applications the doors usually will be solid core, and although this is a house, the hardware is commercial. Obviously it is fairly simple to knock on the door, but I only have a picture.
Whether the door is hollow is beside the point. There is no rational reason to replace this door with a pre-hung. It will not be easier, in fact it will include several additional steps, it will not match, and it will almost definitely be lesser quality. Pre-hung doors are generally junk.
The only advantage to replacing this with a pre-hung is to change the handedness of the door. The existing door can be changed to a right hand door as well by bossing out the other side of the jamb, and flipping the hinges on the door. This requires some advanced repair work to fill in the old hinge mortises in a way that doesn’t look like crap. It would be easier to replace the Jamb, but if it is old yellow mahogany like it appears to be it will be hard to match.
Handy man here. I change out doors quite a bit for various reasons - mostly on rental properties.
My impressions (based on my experience), the best and easiest solution would be to buy a pre-hung door and change out the whole shebang. If the OP’s current door isn’t working it’s irrelevant that he is exchanging quality. You do not need a solid core door to the kitchen in any case.
If houses were perfectly square, many of the above proposed work arounds with the existing door might work - mind you they will still not be easier. Mortising hinges and passage set holes is not easy or fun without the proper tools.
I can almost guarantee you that jamb and existing space for it is not plumb. Even if it was at some point, the house has surely settled in the meantime. Having reversed a few doors, I can assure you it is a royal pain in the ass.
Installing a new pre-hung will also be easier than bi-folds imo.
Many houses today have open-plan main floors so that there’s no wall, let alone a door, between the kitchen and the living room, dining room and/or family room.
And if your dishwasher makes as much noise as mine, you will know why this is not a great idea if you are a light sleeper. (And if your house is not vast enough to put your sleeping quarters a long way from the kitchen.)
