Moving a door in a plasterboard wall

[joewa]

I am planning on moving a door in a plasterboard wall.

Question: Is there an easy way to avoid expensive plastering work by cutting a hole the same size as the existing door and moving the old plaster and frame to the new hole?

I was thinking of using a circular saw or similar to do this and then filling the gap around the old door 'shape' then decorating over it.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I don't think there is an easy way, you will always get a bit of damage to the plaster. I'd personally remove the plasterboards by scoring with a knife to cut through the plaster finish to reduce damage, and either a drywall saw or small hand saw, to cut through the plasterboard.
Then you can deal with the frame work behind as you feel fit, once it's open to view.
You must be careful of what lies beneath though, pipe work, electric cables etc...
You will find that you'll need to do a bit of joiner work, like inserting upright and across header timbers to fix the door casing to.

 

[joewa]

I was thinking of using a router to score the surface plaster to give enough room for the saw. ???

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If it's plasterboard, to puncture the board to allow a drywall saw access, just drill a hole or two..

 

[Richard C]

It’s not just a simple matter of cutting a new hole & re-fitting the door; you need to be aware of where the existing studs are to plan the exact location of the new door & fit new studs & noggins to maintain the partition rigidity & provide something to fix the new door liner to. What are you going to do with the existing opening, is it to be maintained or are you going to block it up? Removing the old door liner without damaging the adjacent plaster board is likely to be nigh on impossible if it’s nailed rather then screwed into place. As PBD, it will be far easier & probably take less time if you remove a section of the PB between the adjacent studs likely to be affected (probably 3 in total). This will probably leave you with a hole around 1200mm wide, you can then easily work on positioning the new studs & noggins, fit new PB & door liner & get the wall re-skimmed along with any new boards you use to block up the original opening; you’ll be charged for a days plastering work at most, possibly only ½ day which is hardly expensive.

 

[noseall]

I am planning on moving a door in a plasterboard wall..............cutting a hole the same size as the existing door and moving the old plaster and frame to the new hole?

Priceless. I can't help imagining a cartoon where the old hole is filled by the material cut out from the new hole.

If only.

Seriously Joe, for what it is worth, you are better off pulling the plasterboard away from the intended opening so as to expose what potential dangers lie beneath, as Rich C has already stated.

 

[joewa]

you’ll be charged for a days plastering work at most, possibly only ½ day which is hardly expensive.

Given this wouldn't it be less hassle to pull down the complete old partition and put up a new PB partition myself and then get it skimmed?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Could well be, depending on the length of the wall.

 

[Richard C]

Given this wouldn't it be less hassle to pull down the complete old partition and put up a new PB partition myself and then get it skimmed?

Depends on the size of the wall as PBD says; if you remove the boards from the stud in the area your working on & there is only a small section left either side then you may as well pull it all off & re-board the lot after modifying the timber stud work to accept the new door, it will certainly make re-skimming a lot easier.

I assume you don’t mean pull down the stud work as well even if you only use the sole, head & wall plates, I see no point in pulling down & skipping the existing stud work if it's sound.

 

[ajrobb]

you’ll be charged for a days plastering work at most, possibly only ½ day which is hardly expensive.

Given this wouldn't it be less hassle to pull down the complete old partition and put up a new PB partition myself and then get it skimmed?

Then you give yourself a chance to install some resilient bars and improve the noise insulation.

To save money, use tapered edge PB, just tape and fill the joints and don't skim. Mind you, even primed and painted, I don't know how tough the PB surface is without a skim.

 

[1john]

it's quite tough but quite hard to patch up if a mates misses throws a stiletto shoe at you and it makes a hole in it.

 

[Richard C]

To save money, use tapered edge PB, just tape and fill the joints and don't skim. Mind you, even primed and painted, I don't know how tough the PB surface is without a skim.

Do yourself a favour, do a proper job don’t tape & fill. Mod the studding, fit your new door frame, board it out with square edge, tape & then get it skimmed; even have a go at it yourself if you feel inclined, it’s better than a half arsed, DIY tape & fill job.

 

[ajrobb]

Do yourself a favour, do a proper job don’t tape & fill. Mod the studding, fit your new door frame, board it out with square edge, tape & then get it skimmed; even have a go at it yourself if you feel inclined, it’s better than a half a***d, DIY tape & fill job.

Thanks Richard, you have confirmed my suspicions about tapered edge board. I suspect it is a way of saving £3/sq m ( ? ) skimming when you don't have to live there afterwards.

 

[1john]

although for some people it is a means to an end and of course can be skimmed over when money permits.

 

[Richard C]

although for some people it is a means to an end and of course can be skimmed over when money permits.

Not always; if someone sticks paper over it without sealing properly, you won’t get off without destroying the board face & then you’ll be replacing the boards again.