LESLIE: Jeff in Massachusetts is on the line who mysteriously needs to repair broken door in his bathroom.
TOM: How’d that happen, Jeff?
JEFF: Yes, hello. Well, apparently, one of my guests slammed the bathroom door a little bit too hard and it threw the bolt out all by itself. So, we got locked out of our own bathroom.
TOM: Oh, boy.
JEFF: This is a very old building, a 1928 building, and these are the thin paneled doors where the center of the door is a very thin panel.
TOM: Yep.
JEFF: So we bashed a hole through the panel to open the door. Now, my question to you is: can this door be repaired? Can it be disassembled so we can replace the center panel or do I just go out and buy a whole new door?
TOM: So, is it a solid door or is it a hollow door?
JEFF: Well, it’s a solid door but the thick part of the door is only 4 inches around the edge.
TOM: Right.
JEFF: And the center part of the door is a very thin, ¼-inch panel.
TOM: And is the panel a raised panel? Does it have a design to it?
JEFF: No, it’s a flat – just a flat panel.
TOM: Oh, well, then I think you could replace it. Is the door painted or stained?
JEFF: I believe it’s been painted numerous times.
TOM: Yeah, then I think there’s no reason you can’t repair broken door. It will be really hard to find a door to fit that space and I think just taking the door apart – and a good carpenter can build you a panel and set it right in there. And with a little bit of luck, it won’t look too much different than anything else.
JEFF: Well, that was my question, whether the door can be disassembled. I’ve heard of situations where they took a saw and sawed out through the molding on the inside of a door, that holds in the panel, and they put the new panel in that way.
TOM: I don’t think you have to take it apart. In fact, I don’t think you can take it apart. I think what you’re probably talking about doing is routing out a groove on the back side of that so you can set the panel in and then maybe covering it with a small, quarter-round molding or something of that nature to repair broken door.
JEFF: OK. That’s the way to go. Well, thank you very much for this.
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