what side do I trim?

[Tom7227]

I am putting up some 3 panel bifold oak doors on a closet. Since I have really thought things out the doors are stained and varnished and ready to be hung. In fact they already have been hung. But the problem is that they are too wide. Right now I know that they are 3/16 too wide. I can't read the poor instruction on the bag but I think it says there should be a 3/16 gap between the doors.

Where should I do the trim? If I do it on the outer edges it will screw up the predrilled holes for the pins that go on the top and bottom. If I cut that much off the inside edges where the doors meet it is going to look a bit goofy and not symmetrical. The edges where the doors meet have this nice little grove in them for the hings.

What makes sense? More importantly what should I do? I know I am going to have to refinish at least one edge on each set. I hope I don't have to do all 8.

Thanks for your time.

Tom

[MSRiverdog]

How tight are they when you close them? I did bi-fold's here and they touch enough to spring shut, I only had to hand plane the edge between the right and left side doors.

[Tom7227]

They won't shut. One stays bowed out and so there's no doubt I have to do some cutting.

[CAMAN]

Unless the stiles on the doors are only an inch or so wide and you keep the trimming to a minimum, trimming down the edges that meet shouldn't be too noticeable. With 3-4 inch stiles I can't imagine up to 1/4" on each side would be noticed unless looking very closely.

[MSRiverdog]

I did end up taking a 1/4" off the stiles,they were solid pine, you may have an issue because the newer oak doors only have maybe an 1/8 of an inch of veneer on the edges. In that case you may have to rip and put a new edge cap on the stile, a friend has the same issue right now but he's been able to use pine as they are being painted.

[PurpleFloyd]

Lets start this from the beginning.

What size doors are they?

Is this a 4', 5' or 6' closet or something else?

What is the actual opening between the jambs?

Are the jambs plumb and is the header level?

Have you adjusted the mounting brackets so that you have the proper spacing between the doors and the jamb? What is the total width of the doors(each pair)?

[nonteepical]

pull one or both of your trimmers and replace with a 1x4, it will give you 3/4" or 1 1/2" extra of rough opening so you don't have to cut the doors.

[jentz]

On the hinged sides remove a sawblade width then reinstall the butts.Your only 3/16s over in total finished width? 3 pannels each side gives 4 surfaces to trim.No moving the predrilled pivot pins and the guide pin.4 surfaces trimmed 1/16th gives 1/4 total.THe little trimming wont be noticable cept for you and a very well trained eye.

[nonteepical]

pull one or both of your trimmers and replace with a 1x4, it will give you 3/4" or 1 1/2" extra of rough opening so you don't have to cut the doors. [/quote

forget this jams already in my bad.

[Tom7227]

Stand down Troops.

Thanks for the input. I am going back to square 1 based on what PF's questions and hopefully things will work out. I think I had things set too far forward and they were binding on the stops. I am going to move the brackets back (as suggested by the instructions) and hopefully things work out.

Anal Cranial inversion is the hardest thing to diagnose.

[Surface Tension]

The finished width should be a hair over the length of the track.

So you have the track in but not enough clearance.

Check jambs for plumb.

Check jams for bow.

If you find an error there loosen the shims. All jambs should have shims BTW.

If your saying you have clearance between the door and jamb but bind in the center where the doors meet then you'd make an adjustment at both top and bottom pivot locations.

If the opening is just too small and you framed the RO.

The RO should be big enough to allow for shims.

You could remove the jambs and replace the upper jamb to a proper length.

When pulling finish nails remove them from the back side or snip them off.

If it was my workmanship on your home that is what I'd have to do.

If it was an existing finished opening I'd plain the doors down on the hinged side then mortise the hinge and chamfer the edge.

As far as trim. You trim it like any door. Leave a reveal on the jamb.

If you wish you can cover the track with cove 1/4 round or whatever.

[Tom7227]

Thanks for the help. Ends up that I had installed both the track and the bottom pivot too close to the door stops. That meant that the doors were too far away from the actual rough opening. I reset the tracks and the pivot and with a bit of cussing I was able to get things to work without any cutting.

Thanks again to all.

Tom