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    How To Repurpose Old Salvaged Doors for Closet

    Published: Oct 19, 2020 · Modified: Mar 7, 2021 by Aly @ Iekel Road Home · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · #sponsoredpost ·

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    Salvaged doors for closet doors give you the custom look you want without the price tag!

    salvaged doors for closet bedroom

    We Started With No Closet Doors

    We started with a blank canvas here, no closet doors to hide all the mess. This was a custom-sized opening so instead of reframing the opening for brand new doors, we chose to customize the doors for the opening.

    bedroom without closet doors

    Find Salvaged Doors to use For Closet Doors

    I searched all the second-hand stores and sites and found two beautiful doors. Twenty-five dollars for both! My only requirements were that they needed to be taller and wider than my space, allowing for the perfect fit.

    The doors got a good sanding and then two coats of primer before we cut anything to size.

    Trimming Salvaged Doors Down to Size

    I will just preface this by saying double, and triple check your math before you cut, you only have one shot.

    The doors that we salvaged were actually old french doors that fit together. So we laid them out on the grass together to take our measurements.

    Here is what our math looked like:

    calculator and graphpaper with door size dimentions

    Closet Opening: 78 ½ x 62 ¼

    Door Measurements: 82 ¼ x 67 15/16

    Subtract ⅛" Allowance: this allows the door to open and close smoothly

    • measuring closet opening for closet doors

    Length = Closet Opening - ¼" (allowance on both sides)

    Height = Closet Opening - ¼" (allowance on top and bottom)

    Man using table saw to trim down salvaged doors

    Mark out your final measurments on the actual door and make your cuts.

    Notching Doors For Hinges and Ball Joint

    We had to add our own door hinges, these are the ones we used. Be sure to get ones that will support the weight of your door.

    man chiseling door for hinges

    We marked our hinges out at 4 ½" down from the top and 7 ½" up from the bottom.

    After marking around the hinge with a pencil, keeping the side of the hinge with the gap up to the edge of the door. We notched out the door using a chisel.

    door hinge labeled showing gap and no gap side

    Adding Ball Catch To Top of Closet Door

    Adding this closet door ball catch we found on Amazon, allowed the door more stability. We followed the directions that came with the packaged and it worked perfectly.

    ball catch on top of door

    The ball catch prevents the doors from swinging too far into the closet and from opening on their own. Holds everything in place just like a belt on your pants 🙂

    ball catch bracket on inside of door

    Installing Doors

    The pin on these hinges is not removeable so assembling these doors was a little tricky. We did a lot of measuring and used shims to hold the door ⅛" off the ground.

    We also live in an old home with very crooked walls and floors so we did need to shave a little off our doors here and there.

    salvaged doors for closet one installed one leaning

    Brand New Closet Door Built From Salvaged Doors

    salvaged doors for closet installed with doorknobs

    Overall, we are very pleased with our $25 solid wood doors! Adding some reclaimed doorknobs to the front added the perfect touch to make them seem they were always this way!

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    Hi! We are Greg and Aly, DIY enthusiast, licensed plumber and graphic designer, updating our home one project at a time. Follow along for budget friendly DIY home decor ideas. 

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