Cutting into a panel door for cat door
art2251
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
My son-in-law wants to cut a hole in the bottom of an interior panel door leading to the basement to install a cat door. I am concerned about weakening the door. The proposed opening will be on the bottom horozontal piece and only leave about 2 inches of the that piece near the top where the center vertical piece inserts.
Is this OK? Is there a way to do this without weakening the door?
Replies
If the door is really a paneled door, not a stamped one, cutting the bottom would weaken it too much. Better to remove one of the panels.
It is not advisable to cut a hole in the bottom of an interior panel door leading to the basement to install a cat door. This will weaken the door and make it more likely to warp or break. It is also possible that the cat could get stuck in the hole.
There are a few ways to install a cat door without weakening the door. One way is to install the cat door in the center of the door. This will distribute the weight of the door more evenly and make it less likely to warp or break. Another way to install a cat door without weakening the door is to use a frameless cat door. Frameless cat doors are made of a single piece of material and do not require any cutting or drilling.