I am looking to upgrade some interior doors from painted lauan to solid pine 4 or 6-panel.
I am not looking to spend that much money, so pine is really the only choice for the wood. I was wondering if any of you guys have had any negative experiences with the Masonite brand pre-hung doors that they stock at Home Depot. I also have a Lowe’s in town (I think they carry a similar door by Reliabilt).
Thanks in advance for any info you may have. It will surely be helpful.
Replies
I thought all Masonite doors were made of ... well ... uh ... masonite! Hollow core stuff, molded with rails & stiles & panels & wood grain. Are you sure they make real wood doors?
If they will be painted, you might consider poplar wood also.
The pre-hung interior doors from HD & Lowes typically have fairly thin finger jointed jamb stock, and only two hinges.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I actually thought that too, at first, but when I went there to look for stain-grade wood doors the brand was Masonite. Kinda weird. Check out http://www.masonite.com
Masonite has essentially gotten out of the Masonite business, and reconstituted themselves as a door manufacturer. AFAIK they carry a relatively complete line, though I don't know anything of their quality.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I looked inot them too. They are called Radiata IIRC and they are made from Brazilian pine. I've heard from a couple of people that used them (including a guy that worked at HD)that they were unstable and very susceptible to warpage. Obviously that depends on how you seal and finish them, but on close inspection, they didn't seem very tight. I went with Simpson fir doors at $300 each, a little more than the $60 for the Raidata's.
I've installed a few of these doors. I agree with the other poster who said that they're not very stable which is why I install them with a large gap all around. That way, the door can expand and contract without binding. If it warps a bit (and they do), the stop molding can always be re-set, but most folks aren't that fussy.
I haven't had any real problems with these doors. One door I installed is in a basement and only separated from the weather by poor fitting wood bulkhead doors. This door will not last too long, but they're not really meant for this application.
-Don
I have been replacing the old flat doors in my house with the 6-panel masonsite doors from HD. I have installed about a dozen in the past year and a half. Here is my input:
Positives:
Negatives:
Making sure the work well & look nice:
I think the inexpensive indoor doors are very popular for real estate
investors. If the home has interior doors are beat up or kicked in they remove them and install the cheapo doors. If the home has doors that are stained and varnished, but old and outdated such as the old birch doors which are very common, they are pulling them out and installing the cheap doors that can be painted. It saves having to try to paint over varnish and having the paint not stick, the poor appearance of painting some of these plain slab doors, having the paint pull away where the door meets the jamb, etc..++++++++++++++++
-Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain-