Sanity check, do they make different thickness interior door faceplates?

[TT_Vert]

Schlage is very reputable door lock. I believe it is much better than many other brands out there.

After dealing w/ their customer support I'll pretty much use nothing else but them. The original doors have the press in so I had none of those backing plates or the cosmetic covers. They sent me 9 of the entire assembly, new strikers, screws, etc. Everything but the actually handles basically. I was shocked service like that still existed.

This is what I am referring to. As you can see one is more substantial in thickness than the other.

Ahh, ok i've seen those.
Dave

 

[the gypsy]

I am happy to hear.

 

[TT_Vert]

Thanks guys the mortising w/ a chisel is easy even by hand. I'm far from fast but it'll be done right. WIth that said, how do I get the screws dead center in that latch plate so the countersink sits perfect. I screwed up the first as the holes aren't dead center and the cosmetic plate is tight w/o zero movement to allow for that mistake. I was thinking of using my center punch and eyeballing as center as ai can but perhaps someone has a better idea for a homemade jig to do this right every time.

Thanks
Dave

 

[77Birdman]

Vix bit.

 

[PugetDude]

Thanks guys the mortising w/ a chisel is easy even by hand. I'm far from fast but it'll be done right. WIth that said, how do I get the screws dead center in that latch plate so the countersink sits perfect. I screwed up the first as the holes aren't dead center and the cosmetic plate is tight w/o zero movement to allow for that mistake. I was thinking of using my center punch and eyeballing as center as ai can but perhaps someone has a better idea for a homemade jig to do this right every time.

Thanks
Dave

If you score the outside of the mortise with a razor knife, chiseling the waste out is easy; you really don't have to chisel all the way into the corners, usually the chip will pop right out.

As 77 Birdman suggested, use a Vix bit for centering the holes. Available from Amazon, HF, etc -or from Vix
https://www.vixbitsonline.com/

If you only have a couple of holes to do, I've also used a twist drill slightly bigger than the hole in the striker plate, a light tap will mark center.

 

[TT_Vert]

Yeah I got all the chiseling done, it was very easy actually. After the first door I realized a hammer wasn't a good idea and I could just rock the chisel at the edges to score the OD. After the first screws into the latch cover plate being ****-eyed I whipped out my center punch and pre-drilled. Everything went perfectly from there on out. I found even if I center punched dead center and tried to self tap w/o pre-drill the screw had a tendency to walk one way or the other and cause the screw to end up crooked. Who woulda thought my metal tools would cross over into wood??
Those vix bits look nice, I may have to grab some of those for other projects I do. I had though about a larger bit and letting the tip mark it but I didn't go that route although that'd be more accurate to be sure.



Dave

 

[the gypsy]

Nice to hear it worked out better on the second door than the first. I told you no hammer. I told you to just rock the chisel into the corners. Haha It's all good. What is important is that you got er done.

 

[TT_Vert]

well the first was slow going and i saw no sign of any issues w/ strength there so I tried to speed up the process. The damage I did is easily fixed w/ caulk, it was only a minor crack that is only visible because the door is painted. I'll re-caulk and paint.

Dave

 

[Norcal]

Yeah I guess I'm just frustrated that $100+ doors require me to buy more tools to make a door lock fit or pay my carpenter to do it. Every door hardware i've installed was the same depth. Didn't run into this at all at my other house but I only replaced 2 doors on that one. I'm not a wood guy so I have little to no wood working equipment sadly. I had to google a forstner bit. I contacted HD and the manuf to see what they have to say. Perhaps it's general knowledge that a prehung door needs additional labor to make a door lock/latch fit but their website and product info doesn't mention this.

Dave

The best solution for the future is use a local Door Shop. One that only does doors maybe Windows too.
When you deal with home center you are dealing with barely knowledgeable people.
A door shop, you can take your old door in to have it matched. Just that, it will match everything about the old door from the three degree bevel on the lead edge to the depth of your lock mechanism.

HD is not the go to place for doors, a local door shop that local contractors use is going to get you much better results & can get the trim precut for the doors too.

 

[TT_Vert]

I don't need precut trim as nothing is square in this house thus far and most of the trim had to be ripped or otherwise modified.

Dave

 

[Bretny]

$100 was the best interior door HD had given the size i needed. It was a solid core door so i wasn't aware that interior doors were that expensive then. Either way I know that i've never run into this before just was looking to determine if this was commonplace.
Dave

Thats because they never sell the $200 doors so they stopped keeping them in stock...lol HD only stocks the cheap stuff because thats what sells

 

[James-W]

I don't need precut trim as nothing is square in this house thus far and most of the trim had to be ripped or otherwise modified.

Dave

I am a bit confused, perhaps you could explain it to me. The door should be installed so that it is perfectly plumb, regardless if the surrounding wall is square or not. If the door isn't installed correctly then it won't open and close properly. Therefore, if the door is installed properly the pre-cut trim should fit perfectly. So why does it matter if the rest of the house isn't square, in-so-far as the door is concerned? Not trying to put you on the spot or start a debate, just trying to understand.

 

[TT_Vert]

because the frame is very close to certain walls causing the trim to have to be ripped. If I have to rip trip, no reason to buy precut just for a 45 degree cut on one edge.


Dave