Mar 20 2008
Economical Suggestions for Sellers Part 4 – Doors
Another suggestion that sometimes comes into play with preparing older homes for sale is:
New doors
As with any stage of remodeling, you can really go nuts with an investment in new doors. Often a fresh coat of paint will brighten up scuffed and scrapped doors. It’s like touching up or cleaning trim and baseboards. New doors can get pricey if you’re not aware of what’s involved.
I would recommend that interior or exterior door replacements be considered if your home has:
- Mismatched interior doors
- Doors that are warped and sagging
- Old, hollow flat-panel doors
- Severely worn or scarred doors
You can buy prehung doors (that come with the frame and trim) or just the door itself. If you buy just the door you will need to match it to fit the opening. Just because your old door has three hinges and the new door does also, that by no means guarantees a correct fit. You may spend hours adjusting hinges up and down, in and out. If you don’t go with prehung doors, plan to use a door matching service. Take the old door with you and get the new door’s hardware fitted to match that of the old door. New doors may come primed or painted. Watch what you buy. They may both look white but if they are primed you will need to paint them also. If you have to shorten or file the door to make it fit, be prepared to paint the whole door.
