[deleted] t1_it9kw71 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 10:58 PM

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.

letsstumphannah OP t1_it9mwj9 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 11:14 PM

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.

[deleted] t1_it9pk0n wrote on October 21, 2022 at 11:35 PM

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.

letsstumphannah OP t1_it9vnsj wrote on October 22, 2022 at 12:23 AM

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.

[deleted] t1_ita5lgq wrote on October 22, 2022 at 1:43 AM

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 1/2” 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.