Any ideas on how to properly conceal this door frame in main living room hallway?

Submitted by letsstumphannah t3_y9pjbk in DIY

https://imgur.com/a/qvFLd5L

The door frame in question is 2 2x4s put together and drywall mud partially put over them and then painted. These doors go to the furnace and the tankless water heater. This is located in the hallway of our main living room and is right next to our main bathroom. So anyone who comes over and uses the bathroom walks right by this closet.

Most of the drywall mud in this house has been applied in wavy, uneven chunks. I have started the painstaking task of sanding and leveling these mistakes. This was definitely a DIY done by the previous home owner who had our house as a rental property.

I will sand the mud down, but any ideas on how to hide the fact that those are 2x4s? I thought about a strip of drywall down the side, but thought it would stick out too far next to the door and the surface is very uneven. I've seen the flex moulding, but it all looks very ornate. I just want to make it look like a normal corner wall or at least as best as I can. Pinterest and Google has been no help.

Thanks in advance!

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JerseyWiseguy t1_it6rdjx wrote

I can offer you a fairly simple, inexpensive, yet reasonably attractive fix that doesn't require any great skill of special tools.

You can go to Home Depot and get a sheet of Polywall:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PLAS-TEX-1-16-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-White-Polywall-Plastic-Panel-10048615/311314398

It's cheap, thin, semi-rigid, durable, paintable, and can be cut with a good pair of scissors. You could cut a piece of that and cover the whole area, from door to corner. It can be applied with something like Loctite PowerGrab:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Loctite-Power-Grab-Express-9-fl-oz-Heavy-Duty-Construction-Adhesive-2032666/206432103

Then, get yourself a basic piece of outside corner trim, like this stuff:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Royal-Mouldings-5205-1-1-8-in-x-1-1-8-in-x-8-ft-PVC-Composite-White-Outside-Corner-Molding-0520508011/202089993

Cut it to length with a hacksaw, and just glue it onto the corner with the PowerGrab.

After that, you can paint it all to match the wall. It won't be "perfect," but an ideal fix would involve removing and re-framing the door, installing drywall and trim, reinstalling the door, etc.

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it6zt93 wrote

That sounds like the best solution! Thank you! We plan on completely replacing the doors, but that is a project for another time.

Thank you again! I hadn't seen that flex board. I'll sand the excess mud and apply that then place the trim corner piece. I already have my paint. I had just planned on just painting and dealing with the bad drywall eventually or just replacing it. However, what's the point of half assing something then having to do it all over again? That's what the previous owners left us with short cuts and half assed work.

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JerseyWiseguy t1_it76334 wrote

If you plan on doing the doors in the near future, then yeah, it should be a good, quick, cheap, temporary fix for you.

One quick tip, from my own experience. The PowerGrab works great on that Polywall--instant hold, and it bonds strong. But since the Polywall is rather thin, and the PowerGrab is actually kind of thick, get yourself something like a scrap board or plastic putty knife or a disposable adhesive spreader, and spread the glue in a somewhat thin, even layer over the back of the Pollywall (don't just make thick lines of glue). Otherwise, when you put it up, you can end up with it looking and feeling lumpy.

Good luck!

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it9mjnd wrote

Thanks! So this is the current door set up to the furnace.

https://imgur.com/a/GZ19iYG

We did not do this. We will eventually frame the top and replace the doors so there is one set of doors.

Of course a project for a later time. We have a shower that we need to retile first. šŸ˜

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coffeeruns t1_it9agvt wrote

Polywall is a genius solution. I had a similar situation and used Lauan.

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muckpucker t1_it6zk8n wrote

Without other pictures showing the larger area I'm just going on what you offer us for a view. Have you considered purchasing 4-in wide window and door casing and installing that on either side and across the top?

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it70gri wrote

This is the only part that needs fixed at this time. There is no room for a door casing/frame. I'm painting the walls and this is such an eye sore it would just look weird to paint over it.

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01a4fc71-dd7c-4b07 t1_it8tzn8 wrote

What do you mean there is no room?

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theGermapino t1_itarx6f wrote

I second this. Just case it. Leave a reveal on the door side and cover the seams. There looks like plenty of room on the photo detailed.

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kylew1985 t1_it7dpzu wrote

I helped a buddy with a similar issue recently. I picked up some 1x6 planks, ripped them to the depth of the opening, and used them to cover the exposed 2x4's. Then I just put new trim around the doorway, putty/caulk/paint to finish. Came out looking really nice, and was less than $100 in materials to knock out.

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FlyGuyDan t1_it7yz9r wrote

I don't know if I'm interpreting this wrong but couldn't you just put some 3 1/4 inch door casing right over the top of that 2x4? The only part of the 2x4 you'd see would be the small reveal you'd leave by the hinges.

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it9msnf wrote

I'm not sure how that would look. Here is the door set up

https://imgur.com/a/GZ19iYG

We did not do this and eventually we will completely replace it. It's just not a top of the list project at the moment.

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FlyGuyDan t1_it9r1bs wrote

I've seen the casing go straight to the ceiling in houses where the ceiling was low like in finished basements and it doesn't look too bad really. And if you plan on replacing everything eventually it's not an expensive fix. You'd just need to either pop off that small price baseboard to trim it back to fit the casing or leave it and just use an oscillating tool to cut it

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ailee43 t1_it88jph wrote

put some actual door casings over it? Just has to be wider than 1.5 inches.

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it9mpnn wrote

I'm not sure how that would look. Here is the door set up

https://imgur.com/a/GZ19iYG

We did not do this and eventually we will completely replace it. It's just not a top of the list project at the moment.

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lucky_ducker t1_it8wo4q wrote

Use drywall mud to even out the grooves and render a flat surface. Then buy a length of wallpaper or wallpaper border and paper it over.

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weblinedivine t1_it94s1d wrote

If I wanted to get rid of those ridges Iā€™d either mud it with setting mud then drying mud OR Iā€™d try bondo & cream hardener since that seems to be in vogue on YouTube these days.

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[deleted] t1_itan8jq wrote

It should have been recessed by the thickness of plaster sheet then plaster over.

Architrave or moulding I believe it's called in the US is your only option if you can't recess the frame.

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KRed75 t1_itapk4x wrote

Get some drywall compound and drywall tape. Apply some drywall compound as to cover both 2xs and some of the wall next to it. Apply 2 strips of drywall tape to cover both joints and remove the excess with a taping knife. Let dry for a day or two. Apply another coat of drywall compound to smooth things out. Sand and paint.

The reason you're applying the drywall tape is because the joints will crack and be visible through the paint. The tape stops this from happening.

Or you can just apply drywall compound, sand and paint. However it will probably crack in the joints.

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theoriginalstarwars t1_it81zjd wrote

If the hinges go deep enough you could cut 1/4" off the wall surface of the 2x4s and then use 1/4" drywall.

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Long_gone_hiker t1_it9gs2j wrote

You could put a large book case in front of the door.

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[deleted] t1_it9kw71 wrote

I would find some casing that matches other doors in the house and install it all the way around the doors. You will need to take that piece of trim off at the bottom, but you can cut it down and reinstall the smaller piece next to the new casing.

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it9mwj9 wrote

I'm not sure how that would look. Here is the door set up

https://imgur.com/a/GZ19iYG

We did not do this and eventually we will completely replace it. It's just not a top of the list project at the moment.

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[deleted] t1_it9pk0n wrote

So when all 4 are open, its just like the entry to a hallway and not a framed out door.

Still, your door to the right has fairly simple framing. 1st, how often do you open the upper doors? If not often, I would consider nailing them closed. Put a cross member (simple 1x3 or 2x4) behind the top of the upper doors so they are stopped even with the lower doors. Then, since there is no door frame at the top, just put the casing on the front of the doors as if it is the top of the door frame. If the upper doors are even with the lower doors, it will look as normal as possible and most likely no one will notice it in that position. You could even put another cross member behind the point where the upper and lower doors meet to be sure they all stay flush. The cross members will not bear any load, so they just need to be tacked in place. If you really need to open the upper doors, that is a bigger problem and maybe you can make the cross members easily removable using joist hangers to hold them in place.

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letsstumphannah OP t1_it9vnsj wrote

This is a closet that the furnace and tankless hot water heater are in. The top "doors" don't even open. I'm assuming they used those for extra ventilation. I'd like to remove those top ones, put in a proper door frame, and have nicer looking doors installed. Of course they will have to allow for ventilation.

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[deleted] t1_ita5lgq wrote

Well, the problem is that if you put anything on the face, it will stick out past the doors which will interfere with fully opening the door. In the long run, there are numerous door options that have louvres that will satisfy the need for ventilation without looking like the folding doors you have. In the interim, maybe this would work - you can pull off the top doors and frame out the rectangle above the doors. Set the frame back 1/2ā€ then put a piece of drywall up and paint it. That will make it look better until you can redo the whole door. If you are concerned about ventilation, a simple rectangle with a return air vent cover would look fine.

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BlueBelleNOLA t1_it77zt0 wrote

I think it looks kind of neat, like intentional molding. Why not just sand it smooth and paint it?

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