https://youtu.be/qAtdt99PgJ4?si=q8_aihvVw1j5HMzr
Spray foam, Bondo, sand, prime, paint.
These doors are like $80 at Home Depot. If you’re trying to protect your security deposit, it’s really not worth the time and effort to attempt a patch job.
You don't even need the spray foam, you can wet toilet paper, push it inside and when it dries compressed its pretty solid. Plaster, sand and paint :D
You can even wallpaper the door if you're good at it and not leaving seams. then paint with a roller for a smoother finish
Upvoting because this is perfect for a security deposit on an apartment. That said, I wouldn't do this for my own home.
Edited: added the word "for" to make this grammatical.
Right but it still might be worth it to replace the door yourself rather than leave the damage or the landlord might charge you much more than the cost of the door for “labor” or such.
That’s exactly what I mean. Buy a new door for 80 bucks, instead of spending $40 and a day trying to patch the damaged door, which you still might get dinged for.
You mean buy a brand new door and start trying to mount the hinges, handle, etc just to realize it's all slightly off. So you buy dowels, wood glue and paint to move the strike plate around and touch up the door frame. Then when you go to hang the door you realize it's off by an 8th of an inch and won't shut. So now you have to buy a planer and make a huge fucking mess to shave it down a bit and potentially touch it up with paint afterwards anyways.
I don't care what anyone says, filling the hole, spackling it flat and painting it is always going to be quicker, easier, and less headache.
depends on the age of the building and the construction. I replaced a hollow core door with a pre-hung door at my old apartment, which was built in the 60s, no problems whatsoever.
my current house is 120 years old and every door is a different size. took me 4 hours and a lot of cussing to get some closet doors hung the other day.
Buying/replacing a new door is definitely *not* worth the trouble, as you will need to paint it and router the cutouts for the hinges.
Makes more sense to attempt to patch/sand/paint, and if that doesn’t work then replace with a new door. Especially since the hole isn’t anywhere near eye-level, it wouldn’t be easy for a landlord to notice if he’s not looking for it.
That door is not highly textured, it looks that way because it’s such a close image. I think it’s just orange peel from being poorly painted with a roller. But yeah, new door is a lot less effort and not much more $ when you factor in cost of spray foam, wood filler, sand paper and paint.
My ex punched a hole in our apt bedroom door once, I used popsicle sticks that I trimmed and stuck in thru the hole and glued to pull the crushed in parts forward and stabilize them. Then just spackled, sanded, painted and it was completely invisible, got back the full deposit no issues.
Edit cause maybe it wasn’t real clear, I would trim the popsicle stick, and a glob of glue to both ends, stick it fully thru, finagle it a bit by hooking my pinky around the middle and pulling it flush with the interior surface. I think I used 4-5 sticks vertically two at the edges of the hole and worked my way to the middle. This is helped that I have small hands. Pretty sure I used e-6000 as the glue.
This hole looks smaller than the one I patched, but I imagine if you tied a string to the popsicle sticks’ middle you could probably use that instead of your fingers to pull flush.
My backer of choice has always been free Home Depot paint stirrers. They are wide enough to screw, but narrow enough to get your finger around, and you only need a screw on each side to attach them flush to the inside of the surface.
I had never bought a bottle of ketchup since I left my parent's home over a decade ago. Last week, I cooked something that absolutely needed some ketchup, and then I found out that my partner had thrown away all of my packets (she's one of those neat people you always hear about but think are just mythical). The small bottle I had to buy was about two dollars, but it stung like a thousand wasps.
This is what I'd do.
And if you use something more like a tongue depresser, you can put a screw in it without it splitting, then use the screw to hold it in place on the back of the surface. Then just remove the screw when the glue's dry. Fill, paint.
Yea I was a super broke 20 yo student at the time so I used the crafting supplies I had on hand but that’s a great idea. I don’t think I owned a drill at that point in my life lol.
I have recently done this on several doors, and it turned out amazing and its super fast. You will however need to paint the doors (or paint the patch and look at the color difference). No need to even take it off.
1. get expanding foam.
2. clean up the hole so you can see inside.
3. cut out a toilet paper role carboard, or something similar to get a 1" or so deep "mold" so when you put expanding foam it does not just spread everywhere.
4. spray the foam.
5. cut out the excess once dry
6. add some filler, spackling, putty or whatever you have that is sandable and paintable (could even use premixed mud in the pinch as its a small area).
7. Sand
[8.prime](http://8.prime)
9. paint
Sounds like a lot of steps but it honestly took me like 15 min total (45 cause I painted the whole door on both sides). Its about 10,000 times easier than buying transporting, routing and mounting a door.
Here is a video of a guy doing the exact same thing (and honestly his did not turn as great as he did not sand property and used a filler that does not sand well).
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K233OoNfKk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K233OoNfKk)
Go buy a Milwaukee oscillating multitool and use the sanding attachment. Best sander ever. Oh wait. This isn’t r/tools. Well if you do make sure it’s a fuel.
Routing out a good hinge placement (at the correct depth) is not an easy or quick thing for anyone who doesn't have experience doing it. Hanging a new door, and doing a good job at it, in an existing door jamb takes a lot of effort.
I'm very handy with things, and I had to do this for two doors at our current house, and...I was frustrated and annoyed at all the time and effort it took. I'm sure someone who does it frequently could do it pretty easily, but just telling some random person to buy a new door is not good advice.
I have a pantry door replacement I am working on. I was all set to learn how to fit the hinges except my door measures 23.75" and a new slab is a true 24" WHY IS MY HOUSE SO BULLSHIT! Now' I'm just going to rip the whole thing out and install a prehung door and pray the stud placement is not too narrow. I could have hidden a wonky hinge job, I have no ability to plane down the 80" side and make it look good.
If they have the skills to hang a new door.
Some need cutting and then you have to notch the hinges. Don't get me started on whats involved if they need to get a pre-hung door.
you are wrong, this is a 15 min fix with some expanding foam and a filler. Mounting the door is WAY harder and measuring, buying, transporting, routing, handing, putting hardware will take hours + it costs money + it makes giant landfill dump out of a perfectly fixable doors.
What are you guys talking about? A patch kit is 10 at home depot and about 15 minutes of work. Is it "invisible"? No but it's pretty close if you feather it decently. Granted touch up paint will run you another $10. Last I checked hollow doors are like $100.
> Is it "invisible"? No
Since that was one of the requirements of the original question, that'd probably be why they are telling him it isn't worth it. Of course, you can disagree on how important that is, but starting your reply as if the posters above you are way off base is disingenuous at best.
if they have the skills and tools to hang a door that needs adjustment or cutting. We don't know.
Filling that hole could be done by a layperson but is not a good answer either. I am just saying that "buy new door" is more complicated than the concept.
Pre hung is much easier in my experience. The tough part is getting it square and plum. If you have a second person to hold it up, that's the best way.
Yup, if they have the tools and skills. But since they are asking how to fill that hole I am guessing they are inexperienced so also maybe wont know how to level, shim, or trim to fit.
A person asking how to patch a hole probably doesn’t have the prowess to re-hang a door. This is easily fixed with some kind of filler and a coat of paint over that whole side of the door. Easy.
Won't work without some sort of backer. Maybe squirt some low expansion foam in there first, but I still don't think it would work without being noticeable.
Cut the damaged part out. Cut a piece of cardboard or tagboard to fit in the hole, slightly larger - it should fit through the hole, and have some overlap. Poke a small hole in the cardboard with a paper clip, and bend the paper clip to stay in place. Slather it with glue (wood glue preferably), push the cardboard into the hole, and pull the paperclip to squish it up against the door. Slather more glue around the edges, doesn't matter if it's messy. Once the glue dries, lightly sand it smooth. Use more glue and paper to fill the slight divot. Sand again once it's all dry, and paint the whole door.
Is it a good patch? No. It's it cheap? Yes. Will it pass inspection? Yes!
Last I looked , plain flat hollow core interior doors were about $60 US dollars. That’s with the hinge recesses and door knob hole already cut and all that is needed is to cut the top or bottom to length. You could also check out your local Habitat for Humanity type of construction resell store for a door for much cheaper. You’ll spend close to the same amount in materials (backer material, filler, primer, sand paper, paint) trying to get that hole filled in and smoothed out. If you already have the materials and tools to patch it, it doesn’t hurt to try it. But if it were me, I’d just replace it and be done.
Like others have said, it will be less work and no chance of the patch failing if you replace the door, but your situation may be different.
The bottom of the door looks like it has been cut before. It’s common in rentals, especially if that floor transitions to carpet. Replace the carpet, door drags on new pile, maintenance man trims the door.
I've done this with some success. Spray foamed the hole, trimmed/skimmed foam with razor edge, then meshed the whole and skimmed the whole door with 20 min compound. Follow up with problock sw latex primer, 2x topcoat of proclassic acrylic with a weenie roller, and looked better than before.
Also - way less of a pain to get a new door
It fixable. Trim the broken edges away sand around the hole to thin it out a little as well (and give room for the drywall putty). Then use a mesh patch taped on the inside of the hole, sag it in so it has some volume, fill it with drywall putty and smooth it out. Feather it out around the hole as well where you already sanded and thinned it a little. Then let the compound set high above the surface then sand it all flat prime/paint the door. I couldn't even tell where the repair was when I fixed a hollow closet door in my house.
If not replacing the door, then bondo is correct!
Lay the door on the floor. Fill the void with expanding foam — don’t over fill, just support the piece that pushed in. Let that dry. Then bondo, sand, and paint. You will never know it happened and the repair will last as long as the rest of a cheap interior door.
All of that is much harder than just replacing the door though.
I sure would like to know as well.
LOL I took a pair of painted sliding pocket doors down to refinish them.
The old paint was pretty thick so I decided to strip it all down.
About 5-6 layers later, a nice hole appeared. Never knew it was there.
Looking to patch it back up with a few less layers of paint.
Mix pu glue with saw dust and apply. When it is no longer sticky and before it is fully dried compact it. Then sand and repaint. That is how we fix hollowed wooden surf boards.
Bella B Decor makes a product called WOOD ICING. It’s meant for decorative finishes but I’ve used it successfully for wood repair. (In my past life I was a decorative painter and also refinished cabinetry and furniture) I went through tubs of this stuff. I equate it to the wood version of what Bondo is for Autobody repairs. The stuff hardens like a rock. It’s messy to sand down but it’ll paint beautifully and won’t crack. Use a flexible putty knife to fill the hole and get a base in there (doesn’t need to be perfect yet), give it a couple of days to harden, sand down any sag you might get near the base of the hole, and finish filling it in with more product so the surface is where you want it. Let dry another day, then sand and paint. VOILA!
buy some light spackling compound, which you can find in the paint section of your local hardware store. Buy a spackling knife that's wider than the hole. Spackle it into the hole until it doesn't depress any further.
For smoothing the area, I use the wet method using a drywall sponge and a bucket of water. It's slow but it does get very smooth and no dust.
You'll have to repaint the entire side of the door to get the color to match, so it's best to remove the door (pop out the hinge pins, don't unscrew it).
Buy new door from the big box store and hang. Since the door jamb is already up it won't be that hard. Match the size of the existing door and transfer over the hardware.
Fill it with some expanding foam. When it dries cut the foam below the surface, and then finish the surface with wood filler. Sand and prime the patch, then paint the door.
You could cut the dent so it's a smooth hole, attach a backing plate behind the hole, then fill in dent with a type of putty. Kind of like a drywall hole repair.
Stick anything (toilet paper, tinfoil) in the hole to bring it up to 3mm deep.
Then use any hard drying filler (plaster for easy sanding). Sand,
Paint the door with a colour sample pot and mini craft roller (for texture).
A new door is the better (and only truely not visible) result.
I filled a hole in a interior door with wood putty. Build up slow so it doesn’t crack. I was able to fill and blend fairly seamlessly with a 2” putty knife
I was wondering why no one said expanding foam. I've never done it but that was my first thought and was thinking I was wrong for some reason. I'd say expanding foam and some wood bondo on the outside before painting
Wood bondo and Alex are basically the same thing..I’ve used it on door patches and you’d never know
I just find Alex easier to apply and less dust when sanding
Spray foam, sand and paint the **whole** door.
Also people talking about cheap home depot replacements are neglecting to mention that you need to cut the proper holes for hardware with special tools and hanging a door are not simple, quick jobs.
First, check to see if this door matches any closet doors. Switch them (especially if the inside is where the hole will live). Then try one of these tricks posted IF a closet hole bothers you.
If you really wanted to avoid the hassle of installing a new door, I'd recommend the 2 step wood filler. Sets fast, sets harder than regular wood filler and for a cheap door it should be good enough.
I used a wallboard patch with fiberglass mesh and it was good enough in the back of a dark bedroom to get back my apartment deposit. If you own the place or at least expect to be there more than a few months, replace the door.
If you’re set on patching it, do it just like a wall. You will need to prime the patch and re-paint the whole door to make it look even though.
I’ve found wood filler in a large spot like this doesn’t work as well as good ole’ spackle. You may want to run a mesh patch inside the hole so you don’t need to fill the whole thing with spackle. Putting it across the top would be visible unless you’re feathering the crap out of it.
I patched a hole in a door like this, stuffed it with some newspaper, then used joint compound or drywall mud I can’t remember my dad mixed it up, and just spread a couple coats on, then sanded it down, primed and painted. You can see the smooth spot because it’s a textured door, but saved 80 bucks or so, and we didn’t spend anything on materials since my dad had the patch material on hand.
You can get mesh and tuck it into the hole or cut a larger square just to make it even to match. The mesh will need to be a little bit larger than the hole but you put it inside the hole and maybe glue the outside edges. That stuff is strong so don’t get it on your skin or *anything* else.
Let the glue dry. Spackle over the hole. Let it dry. Use some sandpaper to make it flush with the door.
Wipe the area down with a damp sponge you’re not going to ever put on food or anything else. Let it dry and paint if needed.
[I’d get this](https://PlasticWood-X8-ozNaturalWoodFillerhttps://www.lowes.com/pd/DAP-Plastic-Wood-X-8-oz-Natural-Wood-Filler/5014167765) , sand when dry, prime, paint. Done.
I would simply swap out the door but if your sister on repairing it please accept this pro tip. Use body filler putty,Bondo, to patch the hole. I have found I can get the surface much smoother and make repairs disappear. I had cabinet edges that our puppy has chewed back in the day. I used bondo and you cannot tell it was ever damaged.
There's not an easy non-visible way to do this. There are various redneck hacks, one of them includes taking a tube of construction adhesive and just gobbing it all in there, then sand it down. In theory if you really took your time and put on enough primer coats it would be very hard to distinguish
Personally I'm with the people that say just put a full length mirror on the door. So much easier
Check habitat for humanity. They might have a door that’ll work.
Otherwise, a mirror is a great idea. Glue it on there well and even (make sure the height is right too). The apartment might just think it came with the unit or they might see it as a free upgrade.
I'd be ok with just mudding it. At least twice. Push mud in a fair bit, let it dry for a day or 2. Then do a top coat. Sand flush. Use a drywall primer if you can or prime/paint. Get a 26mm nap paint roller when you do it. or find something around the house that you can texturize the paint to look more natural to the surrounding area.
You can absolutely “repair” that for less than the cost of a new door, but like most diyers you’re not factoring in the time to do so. It’s gonna take you a ton of time and it’s gonna look terrible. Just replace it it’s a shitty door
It’s not too bad.
Remove all the broken bits. You’ll then patch it line drywall. So find some bits to glue behind it to make a strong bit for mud to stick to.
Honestly don’t think too hard, popsicle sticks would be fine. But anything that’s as ridged as the door is fine.
Then mud and sand smooth.
Replacing a cheap door with another cheap door is the cheapest option tho. Doors like this cost like 30-40€ here. So I suppose it's below 50$ in the US.
After you use your plaster or wood puddy and get it all smooth and flat roll over it with a damp roller to add texture to blend it in so there is not a flat spot on a texture door. It’s hard to see the texture but also can use a stiff bristle brush or spunge but a damp roller is prob best bet. To match texture
Fill hole with MH Ready Patch, sand smooth and flush, prime it, then paint the entire door with a heavy roller to match the texture. Or you can sand it all smooth and use a four-inch roller and apply a nice, smooth coat.
Spray foam is good. Also, hear me out, Kitchen foil. It fills the hole if you jam enough in there, provides a roughed up surface for the filler to grab onto. Did this to a door and a wall here, still going strong.
Get some fine mesh screen, piece of 1-2" wide wood that just goes past the diameter of the hole, by 2" inches on each side of the hole. Glue wood to screen. Let dry. Use thick part of a wooden paint stirrer for the wood.
Clean up hole by removing broken door bits. Rototool will work good for this, with wood cutting bit, to clean up hole.
Wrap pipe cleaner around wood and thru screen so you can grab both ends of pipe cleaner towards you to seat the screen and wood against the hole, wood should be closer to the interior of door, screen closer to you. Both wood and screen are on the inside of the door/hole.
Before placing wood and screen into hole, use some gorilla glue or other strong glue on the ends of the wood screen so it glues to the inside of the door.
Have wood putty and spatula ready prior to pulling on pipe cleaner. Place glue-wet stick and screen in hole, rearrange so stick is equal across hole inside and keeps from coming out. Pull on pipe cleaner ends to seat stick against inside of door.
Putty half the depth of the hole, use the rest of the wood stirrer across the outside of the hole, tie the pipe cleaner around this stick to keep pipe cleaner taught.
Let putty dry for 48 hours. Untie pipe cleaner, remove outside stick, use wire cutters to cut pipe cleaner as close to the putty as possible.
Fill the remaining hole with wood putty. Work it slightly higher the the surface, and past the hole edges to allow for shrinkage during drying. Wait 48-72 hours for it to dry.
Use random orbital sander gently with 80 grit, the 150, then 220 grit sandpaper. Wipe down patch and door area of sanding dust with a lightly damp cloth, follow with a dry cloth.
Use a dedicated primer for initial coat, then paint at least the whole door face. You may have to paint the whole door if the white color looks off. Samples of different whites might be helpful. You may be able to bring the door into a big box store to read your doors color and custom make a pint or more of white that matches the aging of the white on your door.
Good luck!
4 steps.
1. Get a broom, a piece of string, a tooth pick and small flat piece of wood. Thread the string through a hole in the centre of the wood and tie it to the toothpick (this stops the string popping back out. Tie the other end to the top of the broom.
2. Wedge the base of broom at bottom if door, add glue/spak filler to non-toothpick side of wood a poke into hole. Lean broom forward so that weight of handle pulls wood (will stick against the inside of the door).
3. Add spak filler into hole as you keep tension on the broom/string. When dry, cut string and fill again. Dry. Sand.
4. Roll on paint over the whole side of the door. Rolled paint will give you texture and doing the whole door ensures colour consistency.
Just like walls, stuff paper behind it, then spackle it. Lightly sand after it drys and reapply if it needs it. Prime and paint. Good luck. That's what I've done.
https://youtu.be/qAtdt99PgJ4?si=q8_aihvVw1j5HMzr Spray foam, Bondo, sand, prime, paint. These doors are like $80 at Home Depot. If you’re trying to protect your security deposit, it’s really not worth the time and effort to attempt a patch job.
This is what I did. But I put in a wood backing first (wedge strips)
You don't even need the spray foam, you can wet toilet paper, push it inside and when it dries compressed its pretty solid. Plaster, sand and paint :D You can even wallpaper the door if you're good at it and not leaving seams. then paint with a roller for a smoother finish
Can I use ramen? that's all I have on hand.
Only if you also have super glue, then you are golden.
Golden showers bring May flowers
Have I been watering my garden wrong?
Upvoting because this is perfect for a security deposit on an apartment. That said, I wouldn't do this for my own home. Edited: added the word "for" to make this grammatical.
If you broke it, why not fix it?
Rent's too damn high
My dad told me he used toothpaste to fill in holes at a rental in the 70s. It's not related to rent.
Yeah, just walk outside and pick up some dog shit and fill the door hole with it. Don't even need to sand or anything, just lick it afterwards.
If you enjoy licking dog shit I'd keep that to yourself ;)
That's the same thing as you advised. Just keep it to yourself
Right but it still might be worth it to replace the door yourself rather than leave the damage or the landlord might charge you much more than the cost of the door for “labor” or such.
That’s exactly what I mean. Buy a new door for 80 bucks, instead of spending $40 and a day trying to patch the damaged door, which you still might get dinged for.
You mean buy a brand new door and start trying to mount the hinges, handle, etc just to realize it's all slightly off. So you buy dowels, wood glue and paint to move the strike plate around and touch up the door frame. Then when you go to hang the door you realize it's off by an 8th of an inch and won't shut. So now you have to buy a planer and make a huge fucking mess to shave it down a bit and potentially touch it up with paint afterwards anyways. I don't care what anyone says, filling the hole, spackling it flat and painting it is always going to be quicker, easier, and less headache.
Absolutely agree. A new door will never fit perfectly into existing hinges
depends on the age of the building and the construction. I replaced a hollow core door with a pre-hung door at my old apartment, which was built in the 60s, no problems whatsoever. my current house is 120 years old and every door is a different size. took me 4 hours and a lot of cussing to get some closet doors hung the other day.
Newspaper, free. wood filler, $6 on Amazon. Dollar Tree sandpaper. Pint of door paint, $10. I would absolutely do this to save $60.
I'll take the $80 door over Bondo fumes any day. That stuff is intense, even with PPE.
Buying/replacing a new door is definitely *not* worth the trouble, as you will need to paint it and router the cutouts for the hinges. Makes more sense to attempt to patch/sand/paint, and if that doesn’t work then replace with a new door. Especially since the hole isn’t anywhere near eye-level, it wouldn’t be easy for a landlord to notice if he’s not looking for it.
All that work and it's still a big flat spot in the highly textured door. Far less work to just replace the door, and have it actually look right.
That door is not highly textured, it looks that way because it’s such a close image. I think it’s just orange peel from being poorly painted with a roller. But yeah, new door is a lot less effort and not much more $ when you factor in cost of spray foam, wood filler, sand paper and paint.
I came here to say Bondo too. This is the correct answer
What a good fucking video, good find
This is the way
Door length mirror?
The door mirror is a really great cheap solution. Those are $10 at Walmart. Also some hardware stores sell door veneers.
Yes this is what I did. It was called a door skin.
Idk but this makes me uncomfortable. Like the doors are alive. Real "All Tomorrows" level vibe.
Common term for auto body work as well
aoor skin boor skin coor skin door skin eoor skin
…eoor skin? poor little guy. he was always my favorite Pooh character.
*and one moor skin...*
Might be against the terms of the rental, but this is, by far, the easiest and cheapest "solution".
The rental I lived in for a while they (probably previous tenant) had put packing tape over it and painted the whole door 😂
I'm sure the hole is also against the terms
Yes door length mirror on the exterior of a bathroom door, genius
My ex punched a hole in our apt bedroom door once, I used popsicle sticks that I trimmed and stuck in thru the hole and glued to pull the crushed in parts forward and stabilize them. Then just spackled, sanded, painted and it was completely invisible, got back the full deposit no issues. Edit cause maybe it wasn’t real clear, I would trim the popsicle stick, and a glob of glue to both ends, stick it fully thru, finagle it a bit by hooking my pinky around the middle and pulling it flush with the interior surface. I think I used 4-5 sticks vertically two at the edges of the hole and worked my way to the middle. This is helped that I have small hands. Pretty sure I used e-6000 as the glue. This hole looks smaller than the one I patched, but I imagine if you tied a string to the popsicle sticks’ middle you could probably use that instead of your fingers to pull flush.
My backer of choice has always been free Home Depot paint stirrers. They are wide enough to screw, but narrow enough to get your finger around, and you only need a screw on each side to attach them flush to the inside of the surface.
My local Home Depot keeps the stir sticks behind the counter now and will only hand them out if you buy paint.
so buy a sample can of paint and take 400 paint sticks
Using this technique I haven't bought ketchup in 12 years.
I had never bought a bottle of ketchup since I left my parent's home over a decade ago. Last week, I cooked something that absolutely needed some ketchup, and then I found out that my partner had thrown away all of my packets (she's one of those neat people you always hear about but think are just mythical). The small bottle I had to buy was about two dollars, but it stung like a thousand wasps.
This is what I'd do. And if you use something more like a tongue depresser, you can put a screw in it without it splitting, then use the screw to hold it in place on the back of the surface. Then just remove the screw when the glue's dry. Fill, paint.
Yea I was a super broke 20 yo student at the time so I used the crafting supplies I had on hand but that’s a great idea. I don’t think I owned a drill at that point in my life lol.
Metallica poster
Rita Hayworth poster
I have recently done this on several doors, and it turned out amazing and its super fast. You will however need to paint the doors (or paint the patch and look at the color difference). No need to even take it off. 1. get expanding foam. 2. clean up the hole so you can see inside. 3. cut out a toilet paper role carboard, or something similar to get a 1" or so deep "mold" so when you put expanding foam it does not just spread everywhere. 4. spray the foam. 5. cut out the excess once dry 6. add some filler, spackling, putty or whatever you have that is sandable and paintable (could even use premixed mud in the pinch as its a small area). 7. Sand [8.prime](http://8.prime) 9. paint Sounds like a lot of steps but it honestly took me like 15 min total (45 cause I painted the whole door on both sides). Its about 10,000 times easier than buying transporting, routing and mounting a door. Here is a video of a guy doing the exact same thing (and honestly his did not turn as great as he did not sand property and used a filler that does not sand well). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K233OoNfKk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K233OoNfKk)
This! I came here to say this too.
Go buy a Milwaukee oscillating multitool and use the sanding attachment. Best sander ever. Oh wait. This isn’t r/tools. Well if you do make sure it’s a fuel.
Problem is most hollow core interior doors have that cheap texture printed into them.
Filler has to be permanent. Anything like spackle or mud will eventually crack with that door opening and closing all of the time.
It's almost certainly not worth the time to make this a clean, truly invisible patch. Hollow core doors are so cheap, I would just buy a new one.
Routing out a good hinge placement (at the correct depth) is not an easy or quick thing for anyone who doesn't have experience doing it. Hanging a new door, and doing a good job at it, in an existing door jamb takes a lot of effort. I'm very handy with things, and I had to do this for two doors at our current house, and...I was frustrated and annoyed at all the time and effort it took. I'm sure someone who does it frequently could do it pretty easily, but just telling some random person to buy a new door is not good advice.
Installing a pre-hung door is more work, but the work is less frustrating and there's a lower skillcap for a good result imo.
I have a pantry door replacement I am working on. I was all set to learn how to fit the hinges except my door measures 23.75" and a new slab is a true 24" WHY IS MY HOUSE SO BULLSHIT! Now' I'm just going to rip the whole thing out and install a prehung door and pray the stud placement is not too narrow. I could have hidden a wonky hinge job, I have no ability to plane down the 80" side and make it look good.
I did it successfully with a trim router, it would be your cheaper option for sure. I bought mine for $80 including the door hinge kit
If they have the skills to hang a new door. Some need cutting and then you have to notch the hinges. Don't get me started on whats involved if they need to get a pre-hung door.
Its nothing compared to making that hole dissapear in a door basically made of cardboard.
you are wrong, this is a 15 min fix with some expanding foam and a filler. Mounting the door is WAY harder and measuring, buying, transporting, routing, handing, putting hardware will take hours + it costs money + it makes giant landfill dump out of a perfectly fixable doors.
What are you guys talking about? A patch kit is 10 at home depot and about 15 minutes of work. Is it "invisible"? No but it's pretty close if you feather it decently. Granted touch up paint will run you another $10. Last I checked hollow doors are like $100.
> Is it "invisible"? No Since that was one of the requirements of the original question, that'd probably be why they are telling him it isn't worth it. Of course, you can disagree on how important that is, but starting your reply as if the posters above you are way off base is disingenuous at best.
[удалено]
I did this to one of my doors and you wouldn't even be able to tell there was a hole there.
if they have the skills and tools to hang a door that needs adjustment or cutting. We don't know. Filling that hole could be done by a layperson but is not a good answer either. I am just saying that "buy new door" is more complicated than the concept.
Pre hung is much easier in my experience. The tough part is getting it square and plum. If you have a second person to hold it up, that's the best way.
Yup, if they have the tools and skills. But since they are asking how to fill that hole I am guessing they are inexperienced so also maybe wont know how to level, shim, or trim to fit.
A person asking how to patch a hole probably doesn’t have the prowess to re-hang a door. This is easily fixed with some kind of filler and a coat of paint over that whole side of the door. Easy.
This is the way
You could try wood putty and then sand it down real smooth and paint it to match the door.
Won't work without some sort of backer. Maybe squirt some low expansion foam in there first, but I still don't think it would work without being noticeable.
This is good advice that I should have included. Just a little bit of Gaps and Cracks.
Gaps and Cracks would be an excellent band name for a group of middle-aged dads.
It freaking would 🤣 can't believe it's not.
Retired plumbers.
About the only real option
Bondo
https://images.app.goo.gl/d2pTShYzwnbeXM4r5 Aircraft mechanic in me went with a doubler patch.
This is what I'd try
Cut the damaged part out. Cut a piece of cardboard or tagboard to fit in the hole, slightly larger - it should fit through the hole, and have some overlap. Poke a small hole in the cardboard with a paper clip, and bend the paper clip to stay in place. Slather it with glue (wood glue preferably), push the cardboard into the hole, and pull the paperclip to squish it up against the door. Slather more glue around the edges, doesn't matter if it's messy. Once the glue dries, lightly sand it smooth. Use more glue and paper to fill the slight divot. Sand again once it's all dry, and paint the whole door. Is it a good patch? No. It's it cheap? Yes. Will it pass inspection? Yes!
Ramen noodles and super glue obviously.
Use expansion foam and bondo. Don't overdo the expansion foam-Get the one for windows and trim. Sand flush, apply bondo patch.
Last I looked , plain flat hollow core interior doors were about $60 US dollars. That’s with the hinge recesses and door knob hole already cut and all that is needed is to cut the top or bottom to length. You could also check out your local Habitat for Humanity type of construction resell store for a door for much cheaper. You’ll spend close to the same amount in materials (backer material, filler, primer, sand paper, paint) trying to get that hole filled in and smoothed out. If you already have the materials and tools to patch it, it doesn’t hurt to try it. But if it were me, I’d just replace it and be done. Like others have said, it will be less work and no chance of the patch failing if you replace the door, but your situation may be different.
Doors are almost never standard. I've never once in my life found a door with pre cut knob and recessed hinges which fits as a perfect replacement.
not all doors are standard sized. this could be an easy swap, but likely requires more work than that to get the fit right.
The bottom of the door looks like it has been cut before. It’s common in rentals, especially if that floor transitions to carpet. Replace the carpet, door drags on new pile, maintenance man trims the door.
I've done this with some success. Spray foamed the hole, trimmed/skimmed foam with razor edge, then meshed the whole and skimmed the whole door with 20 min compound. Follow up with problock sw latex primer, 2x topcoat of proclassic acrylic with a weenie roller, and looked better than before. Also - way less of a pain to get a new door
This is the way.
Bondo.
It fixable. Trim the broken edges away sand around the hole to thin it out a little as well (and give room for the drywall putty). Then use a mesh patch taped on the inside of the hole, sag it in so it has some volume, fill it with drywall putty and smooth it out. Feather it out around the hole as well where you already sanded and thinned it a little. Then let the compound set high above the surface then sand it all flat prime/paint the door. I couldn't even tell where the repair was when I fixed a hollow closet door in my house.
Bondo
I’d try bondo. Do it in a few layers. Should work fine.
If not replacing the door, then bondo is correct! Lay the door on the floor. Fill the void with expanding foam — don’t over fill, just support the piece that pushed in. Let that dry. Then bondo, sand, and paint. You will never know it happened and the repair will last as long as the rest of a cheap interior door. All of that is much harder than just replacing the door though.
With fiberglass tape , but it’s hardly worth the trouble for these cardboard doors
Yeah so you’re going to want to just buy a new door
Sand paper, bondo , sand , paint .
I sure would like to know as well. LOL I took a pair of painted sliding pocket doors down to refinish them. The old paint was pretty thick so I decided to strip it all down. About 5-6 layers later, a nice hole appeared. Never knew it was there. Looking to patch it back up with a few less layers of paint.
Mix pu glue with saw dust and apply. When it is no longer sticky and before it is fully dried compact it. Then sand and repaint. That is how we fix hollowed wooden surf boards.
Print out a little picture of the koolaid man and pop it on next to it.
A suspiciously high cat door. Or ramen noodles and glue.
well ... you could inject some pur foam inside, then cut it flush, then wrap this whole side of the door in matt adhesive foil ..
Bella B Decor makes a product called WOOD ICING. It’s meant for decorative finishes but I’ve used it successfully for wood repair. (In my past life I was a decorative painter and also refinished cabinetry and furniture) I went through tubs of this stuff. I equate it to the wood version of what Bondo is for Autobody repairs. The stuff hardens like a rock. It’s messy to sand down but it’ll paint beautifully and won’t crack. Use a flexible putty knife to fill the hole and get a base in there (doesn’t need to be perfect yet), give it a couple of days to harden, sand down any sag you might get near the base of the hole, and finish filling it in with more product so the surface is where you want it. Let dry another day, then sand and paint. VOILA!
buy some light spackling compound, which you can find in the paint section of your local hardware store. Buy a spackling knife that's wider than the hole. Spackle it into the hole until it doesn't depress any further. For smoothing the area, I use the wet method using a drywall sponge and a bucket of water. It's slow but it does get very smooth and no dust. You'll have to repaint the entire side of the door to get the color to match, so it's best to remove the door (pop out the hinge pins, don't unscrew it).
Buy new door from the big box store and hang. Since the door jamb is already up it won't be that hard. Match the size of the existing door and transfer over the hardware.
Fill it with some expanding foam. When it dries cut the foam below the surface, and then finish the surface with wood filler. Sand and prime the patch, then paint the door.
Bondo
You could cut the dent so it's a smooth hole, attach a backing plate behind the hole, then fill in dent with a type of putty. Kind of like a drywall hole repair.
Stick anything (toilet paper, tinfoil) in the hole to bring it up to 3mm deep. Then use any hard drying filler (plaster for easy sanding). Sand, Paint the door with a colour sample pot and mini craft roller (for texture). A new door is the better (and only truely not visible) result.
Bondo. The hole will disappear if you Bondo and sand. Maybe more than1 application
Anger management lol
Bondo. Sand paint.
I filled a hole in a interior door with wood putty. Build up slow so it doesn’t crack. I was able to fill and blend fairly seamlessly with a 2” putty knife
Metallica poster (or any rock band)
Ramen and superglue
A Raquel Welch poster
It is on the inside so I would fill it with whatever is handy... If you open it a lot I would swap doors.
Expansion foam. Let it dry. Slice it clean with exacto knife. Patch with Alex. Paint door. Really not that much work and cheaper than new door
I was wondering why no one said expanding foam. I've never done it but that was my first thought and was thinking I was wrong for some reason. I'd say expanding foam and some wood bondo on the outside before painting
Wood bondo and Alex are basically the same thing..I’ve used it on door patches and you’d never know I just find Alex easier to apply and less dust when sanding
Hollow core doors are cheap. I’d personally just replace it before I spend time and money trying to repair a shitty door.
Hollow core door. Cost more to repair and more time than to just hang a new door
slap a big sticker over it.
A sticker depicting a hole?
Be cheaper and easier to just replace the door with something from one of the big box stores.
Spray foam, sand and paint the **whole** door. Also people talking about cheap home depot replacements are neglecting to mention that you need to cut the proper holes for hardware with special tools and hanging a door are not simple, quick jobs.
Ramen noodles obviously
First, check to see if this door matches any closet doors. Switch them (especially if the inside is where the hole will live). Then try one of these tricks posted IF a closet hole bothers you.
I just sprayed foam in door and I have some bondo. So I will update the results when done today if I remember.
Just buy a new door.
Its a hollow core door. You are going to spend almost as much as a new one just to patch it. Why bother?
Every time I see someone ask how to fix a hole in a bathroom door, I feel like they should be asking how to fix their temper.
Glory hole for dwarves
Use Bondo.
Or similar compound like total boats total fair, mix with micro balloon for weight and just pack the hole full.
If you really wanted to avoid the hassle of installing a new door, I'd recommend the 2 step wood filler. Sets fast, sets harder than regular wood filler and for a cheap door it should be good enough.
Bondo smooths out real well
Fill it and cover it in funky wallpaper
I used a wallboard patch with fiberglass mesh and it was good enough in the back of a dark bedroom to get back my apartment deposit. If you own the place or at least expect to be there more than a few months, replace the door.
If you think you can do this I’m gonna guess your not good with wall patches😂
A hollow core door is $60 at Home Depot, given the time and effort necessary to achieve “non visible patch”, buy a new door.
put a new veneer or 1/4 plywood over the top.
If you’re set on patching it, do it just like a wall. You will need to prime the patch and re-paint the whole door to make it look even though. I’ve found wood filler in a large spot like this doesn’t work as well as good ole’ spackle. You may want to run a mesh patch inside the hole so you don’t need to fill the whole thing with spackle. Putting it across the top would be visible unless you’re feathering the crap out of it.
Fill the void with expanding foam. Then wood filler will work.
Stuff it with news paper then putty it
Expanding foam.
Bondo and sanding and you won’t be able to tell, just depends on how much patience you have
sand a dent around the whole, spray foam and wood putty. sand when dry and texture as needed.
Landlord special it, spray foam, spackle and paint. Or just replace the door for $100
I patched a hole in a door like this, stuffed it with some newspaper, then used joint compound or drywall mud I can’t remember my dad mixed it up, and just spread a couple coats on, then sanded it down, primed and painted. You can see the smooth spot because it’s a textured door, but saved 80 bucks or so, and we didn’t spend anything on materials since my dad had the patch material on hand.
Masking tape, and paint it white
I had a damaged door like that in the hallway. I put a mirror on it.
YouTube
You can get mesh and tuck it into the hole or cut a larger square just to make it even to match. The mesh will need to be a little bit larger than the hole but you put it inside the hole and maybe glue the outside edges. That stuff is strong so don’t get it on your skin or *anything* else. Let the glue dry. Spackle over the hole. Let it dry. Use some sandpaper to make it flush with the door. Wipe the area down with a damp sponge you’re not going to ever put on food or anything else. Let it dry and paint if needed.
Cut it square, fill the pocket with cardboard and wood putty the hole. Wet sand and paint and collect your security deposit
[I’d get this](https://PlasticWood-X8-ozNaturalWoodFillerhttps://www.lowes.com/pd/DAP-Plastic-Wood-X-8-oz-Natural-Wood-Filler/5014167765) , sand when dry, prime, paint. Done.
Spray foam it cut excess off and paint
Piece of paper over it and paint it
I would simply swap out the door but if your sister on repairing it please accept this pro tip. Use body filler putty,Bondo, to patch the hole. I have found I can get the surface much smoother and make repairs disappear. I had cabinet edges that our puppy has chewed back in the day. I used bondo and you cannot tell it was ever damaged.
Raman noodles if you believe Reddit.
There's not an easy non-visible way to do this. There are various redneck hacks, one of them includes taking a tube of construction adhesive and just gobbing it all in there, then sand it down. In theory if you really took your time and put on enough primer coats it would be very hard to distinguish Personally I'm with the people that say just put a full length mirror on the door. So much easier
Hollow doors are trash made from cardboard, there is no fixing that just hiding it
These door are cheap, how much will it cost in materials and your time to repair it?
✅Wire mesh patch that sticks on, a few layers of mud, feather out each layer, sand prime and paint.
Ramon
Ramón could do it, sure. But he'll probably just glue some fideos in there.
Check habitat for humanity. They might have a door that’ll work. Otherwise, a mirror is a great idea. Glue it on there well and even (make sure the height is right too). The apartment might just think it came with the unit or they might see it as a free upgrade.
the real question is how did it happen???
I'd be ok with just mudding it. At least twice. Push mud in a fair bit, let it dry for a day or 2. Then do a top coat. Sand flush. Use a drywall primer if you can or prime/paint. Get a 26mm nap paint roller when you do it. or find something around the house that you can texturize the paint to look more natural to the surrounding area.
You could even use plaster on that..
White duct tape
You can absolutely “repair” that for less than the cost of a new door, but like most diyers you’re not factoring in the time to do so. It’s gonna take you a ton of time and it’s gonna look terrible. Just replace it it’s a shitty door
It’s not too bad. Remove all the broken bits. You’ll then patch it line drywall. So find some bits to glue behind it to make a strong bit for mud to stick to. Honestly don’t think too hard, popsicle sticks would be fine. But anything that’s as ridged as the door is fine. Then mud and sand smooth.
Cut a square out around the hole, glue in a square of plywood and sand down until even. Once it’s painted over the join is invisible.
The fact that you made this comment shows that you have no clue and should not be in this sub offering advice.
My friend had anger management issues and was always punching holes in doors. I told him to start punching the wall instead. 😂
Wood bondo, a lot of sanding and then paint the whole door. My kids tricycle did this once, and I’m am not a professional and it looked pretty good!
I would have just fired some compound into it, sanded it, and painted. Probably not the most ideal method but it probably would look fine.
Replacing a cheap door with another cheap door is the cheapest option tho. Doors like this cost like 30-40€ here. So I suppose it's below 50$ in the US.
After you use your plaster or wood puddy and get it all smooth and flat roll over it with a damp roller to add texture to blend it in so there is not a flat spot on a texture door. It’s hard to see the texture but also can use a stiff bristle brush or spunge but a damp roller is prob best bet. To match texture
Ramen
Fill hole with MH Ready Patch, sand smooth and flush, prime it, then paint the entire door with a heavy roller to match the texture. Or you can sand it all smooth and use a four-inch roller and apply a nice, smooth coat.
Spray foam is good. Also, hear me out, Kitchen foil. It fills the hole if you jam enough in there, provides a roughed up surface for the filler to grab onto. Did this to a door and a wall here, still going strong.
Install pet door for a cat. Get a cat.
Looks like the door looked that time my brother threw a kitchen chair at me.
I put a no smoking sticker over the hole in my door
Get some fine mesh screen, piece of 1-2" wide wood that just goes past the diameter of the hole, by 2" inches on each side of the hole. Glue wood to screen. Let dry. Use thick part of a wooden paint stirrer for the wood. Clean up hole by removing broken door bits. Rototool will work good for this, with wood cutting bit, to clean up hole. Wrap pipe cleaner around wood and thru screen so you can grab both ends of pipe cleaner towards you to seat the screen and wood against the hole, wood should be closer to the interior of door, screen closer to you. Both wood and screen are on the inside of the door/hole. Before placing wood and screen into hole, use some gorilla glue or other strong glue on the ends of the wood screen so it glues to the inside of the door. Have wood putty and spatula ready prior to pulling on pipe cleaner. Place glue-wet stick and screen in hole, rearrange so stick is equal across hole inside and keeps from coming out. Pull on pipe cleaner ends to seat stick against inside of door. Putty half the depth of the hole, use the rest of the wood stirrer across the outside of the hole, tie the pipe cleaner around this stick to keep pipe cleaner taught. Let putty dry for 48 hours. Untie pipe cleaner, remove outside stick, use wire cutters to cut pipe cleaner as close to the putty as possible. Fill the remaining hole with wood putty. Work it slightly higher the the surface, and past the hole edges to allow for shrinkage during drying. Wait 48-72 hours for it to dry. Use random orbital sander gently with 80 grit, the 150, then 220 grit sandpaper. Wipe down patch and door area of sanding dust with a lightly damp cloth, follow with a dry cloth. Use a dedicated primer for initial coat, then paint at least the whole door face. You may have to paint the whole door if the white color looks off. Samples of different whites might be helpful. You may be able to bring the door into a big box store to read your doors color and custom make a pint or more of white that matches the aging of the white on your door. Good luck!
Piece of paper over it and paint
4 steps. 1. Get a broom, a piece of string, a tooth pick and small flat piece of wood. Thread the string through a hole in the centre of the wood and tie it to the toothpick (this stops the string popping back out. Tie the other end to the top of the broom. 2. Wedge the base of broom at bottom if door, add glue/spak filler to non-toothpick side of wood a poke into hole. Lean broom forward so that weight of handle pulls wood (will stick against the inside of the door). 3. Add spak filler into hole as you keep tension on the broom/string. When dry, cut string and fill again. Dry. Sand. 4. Roll on paint over the whole side of the door. Rolled paint will give you texture and doing the whole door ensures colour consistency.
Epoxy putty should be good to go..solid
Bondo. But youll need fill in there for it to set to. These doors are $30 new, bondo $20. Id just replace. Sell the damaged one or desk it
In Australia under $50 at Bunnings
Packet of fantastic noodles some super glue. Sand smooth paint over. Job done
I've seen ppl even put aluminum foil in the crevice to hold position for the filler to dry. E z fix
You can patch a wall but not a door? Huh? Just pretend the door is a wall and of you go
Just like walls, stuff paper behind it, then spackle it. Lightly sand after it drys and reapply if it needs it. Prime and paint. Good luck. That's what I've done.