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I have a door frame that we had a hard time figuring out due to ceiling bulk heads. The Rough Opening was supposed to be 82x32, however, after drywall we have a Rough Opening of 81 3/4" x 31 1/2". The right door frame stud has bowed inwards causing the middle to be 31 1/2", where the top and bottom are 32". We would like a 30x80" door for this bathroom, however, I will take a 28x30 if there is no other choice.

My question is do I attempt to plane the middle of the stud down with a reciprocating saw or planer to try to fit a 30x80" door? Or do I just go with a 28x80""?

Or should I just order a custom door based on the RO dimensions

[Update] This picture was taken before the drywall was put up. Drywall is up and primed.

[update 2] used a magnet to find the screws and take em out. Then cut a wedge 32" and jammed it in the middle. I had to knock the top in a bit as it wasn't 32". Then I put in a buch of 2inch drywall screws all the way down on both sides and took out the wedge. Worked like a charm! warped the drywall slightly around the box as I didn't factor enough movement. will have to fan this out a bit or just leave it. Thanks for the tips guys!

bathroom RO door frame

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  • Are you using a prehung door? If so, the door will most likely fit in the rough opening that is already built. There would not be a uniform gap all around the door frame, but shims don't really care.
    – Ast Pace
    Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 18:23
  • yes, prehung door. it's very close if not wider than the RO door opening. I'm going to tackle this tonight. I was talking to a guy at HD about this and he said for me to try some strapping between the stud and drywall.. this might be a bit hard to jimmy, but it may give some additional strength to hold the bowed stud in place. Will report back with results.
    – Dolph
    Commented Sep 15, 2016 at 15:57

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I can think of two potential fixes. In both cases, I wouldn't plane the stud at all, that compromises strength.

Plane the jamb

Door jambs are typically 5/8" or 11/16". In this case, I would just use a planer on the center of the jamb to shave it down to the 1/2" needed. There'd obviously be no shims in the center.

Fix the stud

If your drywall is not yet finished, and you a certain that the stud was not bowed before, you can try forcing it to be straight.

Pull all the screws out of the bowed stud. Cut a 2x4 to exactly 32", then use a hammer to wedge it in horizontally in the center of the door, pushing the stud straight again.

Put several drywall screws back in place -- it's going to be the drywall that holds the stud from bowing again, so you need to make sure the connection is good.

I'm definitely hesitant to suggest this, since if it doesn't work you'll end up with the edge of the drywall ripped apart by the screws holding it in, and if it gives way at some point after the construction is done, then you'll have a stuck door to contend with as well. You'll have to use your judgement to see if this is an appropriate fix.

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  • Thanks for the detailed response. I am considering fixing the stud and moving it in. I'm thinking of taking my mini hack saw or multi tool and cutting the drywall screws and then sledge hammering the stud straight. Thoughts?
    – Dolph
    Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 2:38
  • Why cut the screws? Just unscrew them. You can use a magnet to find them (a bunch of small neodymium magnets stacked together work well). I don't think a sledge will work, the stud will just bounce back, or you'll knock it loose from the bottom and/or top plate. Given drywall is primed, I'd probably go for the first option I gave and just plane the jamb.
    – gregmac
    Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 4:36
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Wedge a 2x4, 32" long (if that is the exact number at the top/bottom of the opening) in the middle of the opening to push the offending stud back. (If this pushes the other post, then ignore all this advice.)

Now put blocking above and below the middle to hold everything in place. Use longish screws (3"+). This should tame the wayward stud for long enough to get drywall on.

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  • I updated the original question.. sorry for the misinformation. I wish the drywall was off :(
    – Dolph
    Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 2:43
  • Drywall screws are a pain to cut... you'd be better off finding each of them with a magnet and unscrewing them. You could whack the top and bottom of the stud a bit with a sledge to move the stud in; simply hitting it in the middle won't do much for the bow. (Don't forget to make a bit of room in the drywall for the electrical box.) Once you've moved the top/bottom, put a couple of screws at each end (pre-drill to avoid splitting) and zip up the drywall again. Not ideal, but should be fine.
    – Aloysius Defenestrate
    Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 3:58

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