Our Bedroom Suite Has Usable French Doors!
This week is going so much better than last week! Last week was pretty much a wash. It got off to such a terrible start with Matt not feeling well, and then me not feeling well, and then other things getting in the way of progress. So this week, I’m finally getting things done. I had hoped to get the French doors completely finished yesterday so that I could start on the floors bright and early today.
That didn’t quite work out like I had planned, but at least I now have doors on the bedroom suite that are usable and will close completely! They’re all painted and ready for the finishing touches. Here’s how they look this morning.
So let me back up a bit and remind you that this used to be a cased opening with no doors.
When we decided to turn this whole area into a bedroom suite, we obviously needed to separate the area from the music room with doors. But I didn’t want to do anything that would disturb the music room side of the cased opening because I didn’t want to mess up the music room walls and have to repair the stenciled walls. So I measured the opening, and then bought French doors that were the next size up. The opening is just over 45 inches wide, so I purchased two 24-inch doors. They were easy to hang using non-mortise hinges, but obviously they wouldn’t close properly.
If you missed that process, you can find that post here: Installing Slab French Doors In A Cased Opening The Easy Way – Part 1
After installing the doors and attaching the stop to the door jambs, this is what the doors looked like. Obviously, they were too wide, so the doors wouldn’t close properly.
So after marking the overlap on each door (about three inches), I cut off half that amount (about 1.5 inches) plus about 1/16-inch from each door using my circular saw. That left a bit of a gap between the doors so that they would open and close easily. So then I used this trim to cover over the gap. On the music room side of the doors, I nailed this trim to the door on the right.
When the left door is open, you can see that the trim is attached to the door on the right.
Here’s a look from the other direction. Please excuse the mess. 😀
And then on the other door, I attached the same trim to the foyer side of the door so that it would cover the gap on the foyer side when the doors are closed.
Those pieces of trim serve another purpose, though. Not only do they cover over that small gap between the doors, but they also keep the doors closed. As you can see below, I installed a ball catch on the top of the door on the right side when looking at the doors from the foyer side.
So the trim on that door closes up against the other door, holding it in place, and the ball catch on top of that door keeps both doors closed.
Here’s another look to help that make sense. You can see that nothing is holding that door on the left closed except for the trim on the door on the right, and then the ball catch holds the door on the right closed.
So now the doors actually close and stay closed. And there’s no visible gap between the doors.
And sweet Cooper is wondering why in the world he’s been closed out and can’t be stuck to my side where he usually is. 😀
So we now have working doors that actually fit, and I was able to add doors to a cased opening without disturbing anything on the music room side of the wall. It worked out perfectly!
Here’s a view of the closed doors from the music room side.
I still plan to add privacy film to the glass. I had hoped to get that done yesterday, but I ran into a problem when I started peeling off the protective plastic from the glass yesterday. I thought I was never going to get that plastic off because it was really stuck on there. I’ve never had this much trouble getting that protective plastic off of French doors before. And every single one of them left behind this gooey residue that won’t come off with regular glass cleaning products. I even tried removing it with acetone, and it still didn’t come off easily. This is going to require Goo Gone or something like that.
So that was very frustrating, and it kept me from finishing the doors completely yesterday. If these had come off cleanly, I could have gotten the privacy film finished. But now I’m going to have to spend time today cleaning all of this gooey residue off of the front and back of all 20 panes. I mean, there wasn’t a single pane where the plastic came off cleanly. This residue is on all 20 of them, front and back.
Oh well. It’s just an annoying setback. As far as the pulls, I went back and forth on what kind of pulls to get for the doors, and I finally decided to use these simple matte black pulls instead of actual door knobs.
And then to lock the door, I plan to get a pretty surface mount bolt lock. I haven’t found one that I like yet, but I used to have one on the hallway bathroom door that was really pretty. I want to find a similar one in matte black.
So there are still some finishing touches that need to be taken care of, but at least we have doors that will actually close and stay closed! And that means that I can finally get started on the floors without my nosey cat and dog getting in the way. 😀
I’m just so happy to finally have some progress! Of course, installing the flooring is going to make the biggest difference, but this had to be done first.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Would heating the glass film help in removing it?
The doors look great! You amaze me with your talent!
I have always loved French doors. Yours look so pretty.
We like to use Never Dull Magic Wadding to remove sticky stuff. It is also good for polishing things.
Krud Kutter Adhesive Remover. It’s Like Goo Gone but much better.
They look so awesome! I really love how you did that. I am convincing my better half to try something like this with our formal living room and formal dining room to help with the heating and cooling with our wide swings of weather here in East Tennessee. Try Dawn Power Dissolve, it is super powerful and not aggressive in a way that takes off finish or paint. I buy it by the case at Amazon for just about everything here on the farm. It really takes crud off. Cheers to you and Matt, and to feeling more like yourselves too!
Morning!
We had to get new phones (what a headache!) So, I’m a little behind. Amazing job on those doors! Your finish work always amazes me. How do you know this stuff?! Purely rhetorical…I know you get that a lot 😄. I here Pink Stuff is amazing. They sell it at Home Depot (probably other places too) I knew a house cleaner that swore by the stuff. If the stuff works on scale build up 🤷♀️ and a razor blade (knowledge from windows cleaner friend 🙃)
I actually tried a razor blade first, thinking it would just scrape off. It just smeared. :/ This stuff is so sticky! I have some Pink Stuff on hand, so I might try that.
Pink stuff didn’t do didly squat for me. I hated it. Hubby hated it too.Jmho
Plain white vinegar is a great solvent for gooey and sticky things. I use a spray bottle and let it “soak” for a minute. I’ve used it for removing wallpaper and dealership stickers from cars, and everything in between. Works like a dream.
My favorite thing about following you is how you can make pocket doors, french doors & cabinetry. You never cease to amaze me. Looks so skillfully done. (Btw, my favorite cabinet still today, is the one you made in your master bathroom). I’d love to have just a small portion of your talent. I’ve followed you for years. You’re one of my favorite blogger, and #1 with such amazing skills. Thank you for sharing your beautiful projects with us.
This takes me back to the French doors we had in our dining room growing up! Of course I didn’t realize what a fabulous house we had because I lived in it every day and kids don’t think of that stuff.
We had a bolt lock on ours and I remember having to get help to reach it!
Ahh, memories….
They look great! That stinks about the goo on the glass! I hate when simple things get so annoying and cause so much more frustration. Hopefully you can power through and move on soon!
I forgot to add…I have good luck removing sticky adhesive with good old salad oil! It doesn’t work all the time, but it’s something I always try first since I have it around!
I have a question about ads on the website. I looked at a rug online and now it’s showing up as an ad on your website (all knowing and powerful internet!). If I purchase the rug do you get a commission from that? I’m thinking of buying it now and wondering if it made a difference whether I bought from the ad or directly to the rug website? If you get a commission, I’m happy to do that. Just curious. Also assuming we don’t have all the same ads?
Thank you!
PS The doors look great and you are amazing talented!
No, I don’t get a commission from any ads on my website. Sadly. 😀 I only get commission from the links that I mark as affiliate links within each post.
I dont get any ads on here.
My grandmother had French doors between the LR and the DR with glass doorknobs. I can still remember the sound they made when they closed. Such great memories.
WD-40 is great for getting that goo off and no oily residue.
🤣 I noticed the look on Cooper’s face the minute I looked at that picture. He looks miserable! He REALLY likes to be right next to you! What a sweet dog. I HATE the film and stickers on things – I have ruined things in the past trying to get them off. Infuriates me at times. Sorry you have to waste a day with that! Looks wonderful!
Although I haven’t tried it, I read somewhere that the Mr.Clean white sponges should remove the sticky residue and possibly the left-on plastic.
For the ball catch, is the ball part recessed into the top of the door? Did you have to router out a hole to do that? Just wondering, as I don’t remember reading that part!
To install a ball catch, you have to drill a 3/4″ hole that is about 5/8″ deep (if I remember correctly) for the latch to recess into. I used a spade bit to drill that hole.