Installing a salvaged double doorset in an internal opening

[lumor]

Hi. I'm planning to knock through a double door opening between living and dining rooms. I'd like to install glazed double doors in the new opening. I'm considering getting a salvaged late C19 double doorset with side and top lights instead of buying new. Does anyone know how feasible it would be to install this (for a professional - not trying to DIY it). The wall is a normal solid brick partition between front and rear rooms in a terraced house. It is w3900mm and h2820mm (finished floor level to finished ceiling). The doorset is w2050mm and h2660mm. It is a reclaimed patio/french door with all the jambs, timber frame, etc. (in one piece). I don't want to end up with bigger-than expected labour costs or give any joiners a nervous breakdown, but it seems like it should be doable. There should be 160mm above the opening for a lintel, which I'm hoping can go in the wall without having to open up the ceiling. There are no mouldings or anything. The floors are exposed floorboards in both rooms and all on the same level. Any insights would be appreciated. I'm trying to decide whether to buy the salvaged door. (It will fit through the front door and into the relevant room). Thank you!

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Does anyone know how feasible it would be to install this

It is obviously feasible to install a door in a wall, because the door you're talking about was previously in a wall. Anything can be done for a price. So my guess is that your real question is, how much is it going to cost to get someone to do this? It's difficult to give an answer over the internet, but the more of the job you can handle yourself, the less it will cost you.

 

[lumor]

It is obviously feasible to install a door in a wall, because the door you're talking about was previously in a wall. Anything can be done for a price. So my guess is that your real question is, how much is it going to cost to get someone to do this? It's difficult to give an answer over the internet, but the more of the job you can handle yourself, the less it will cost you.

Thanks so much for responding. I'm encouraged that you think it's obviously feasible! I wasn't really trying to get a price. I guess I was trying to figure out how much more difficult/complex/annoying/disruptive it would be compared with just commissioning new doors. Obviously this would have implications for the cost of the job, but I was also wondering whether it would it be so difficult/complex/annoying that contractors might not want to take on the work or would end up doing the job poorly.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Do any neighbours have a similar door opening?
Checking that it isn’t a load bearing wall is necessary.
So long as there is a reasonable amount of wall left in place it isn’t too complicated.

You might need to make/modify a door casing to fit the doors as they could be a specialised size..

 

[lumor]

Do any neighbours have a similar door opening?
Checking that it isn’t a load bearing wall is necessary.
So long as there is a reasonable amount of wall left in place it isn’t too complicated.

You might need to make/modify a door casing to fit the doors as they could be a specialised size..

Thank you for responding. Yes, neighbours have similar openings and it's a very common alteration for this kind of house, but it is a load bearing wall so I'll definitely need to get a structural engineer on the job.

There would be a good amount of wall either side of the opening, but I was wondering about the space at the top. The doorset comes with the casing etc. and the height of the whole thing is just 160mm less than the floor to ceiling height in the rooms, so the opening would be a bit higher than is typical for this kind of alteration and the lintel would be pretty much right below the joists for the floor above. I wondered if that would make the whole operation a lot more complicated. If you've got any relevant experience of a similar scenario I would be very interested to hear about it.

 

[Tigercubrider]

I don’t have any experience myself, but I’d suggest asking the neighbours for contacts, ideally someone that did theirs.
Depending on the build, you might not need to much engineering done, probably just a small beam.