Closet Door Swap- Covering Hinge and Door Jam Insets

Before we could add the new doors to the doorframe, I had to cover the existing insets created for the hinges and the door jam.

If the new doors were opening in the same direction as the old door, I would just cover the door jam and use hinges, but because I want the doors to swing out and not into the closet, it required fixing the door frame.

To fix the door jam I added wood fill into the jam until it was flush with the door frame. I let the wood fill sit for two days to insure it was fully dry.

Then I sanded down the wood fill. If this were a main room that others would be using, I would apply a second coat of wood fill to make sure it was seamless and less noticeable. But because only my husband and I will be using this space, I’m less worried about the final finish of the doorframe.

Next, I had to cover the hinges. The inset of the hinges required adding in wood to the door frame. Because I don’t have power tools, I used paint stirrers, and cut them manually into the shape of the insets.

To cut the stirrer, I penciled in the shape of the inset so it would fit snugly into the inset and I wouldn’t have to use a lot of wood fill.

Then I glued the wood into the insets with wood glue and let them set for half a day. Then I added in wood full to the cracks and inconsistencies to make them flush with the door frame.

After the fill was completely dry, I began sanding to smooth out the wood fill.

Again, if this were a main room in our home I would repeat this process one more time, I would sand the wood to be completely flush with the doorframe, then repeat the wood fill and sanding to make it all seamless.

The last step was painting. I found a simple white semi-gloss to match the trim paint of the door.

I applied two coats of paint to the inset wood and the door jam wood fill.

It’s not perfect, but it will do. To completely finish the process, I will be adding caulk to the door frame seams near the insets.

In my next post I’ll be sharing about hanging the new bifold doors that we converted to french doors.