Subfloor in the way of new door frame

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Supaju

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I want to install a 32" door (I have the slab) in this 36" opening between the finished basement hallway and the unfinished furnace room. So I'm thinking I'll frame the doorway to fit by adding a couple king studs to narrow the frame. I understand I'd need to nail some sole plates to the concrete floor, then toe nail the studs to the sole plates and head plates.

Problem is the existing basement subfloor seems to run halfway through the door opening. I think this is plywood or OSB over DMX. So I'm not sure if I should A) attempt to remove the subfloor in the way, or B) try to frame around the floor. If A, then should I try and cut in place or do I need to remove a large portion of the subfloor and reinstall up to the wall? If B) do I cut my sole plates in half width and butt them up against the subfloor? Or should I just cut a 1x1 notch out of the end of a stud and then run that stud right from the concrete floor up to the top plate?

Pictures attached. Really hoping you get this and thanks for the help!
 
Welcome.
The existing opening may have been left that size so the equip. could be removed and replaced, a good thing to verify.

Is the door going to be a swing-in or a swing out?
 
It looks like you should notch the bottom of the new studs to fit around the subfloor.

And also notch the new jambs, if you don’t hang the door directly off the studs.

But first, razor cut away any carpet and padding that would be in the way of the studs or jambs resting directly on the plywood.

Then make or buy a nice transition piece or threshold, to ease that abrupt change in floor level
 
Welcome.
The existing opening may have been left that size so the equip. could be removed and replaced, a good thing to verify.

Is the door going to be a swing-in or a swing out?

Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely check sizes of furnace etc.

Swing in door for sure, no room in the hallway but lots in the utility room. I think I can mount it so that it closes flush to the carpet?
 
A 32 inch slab fits in a 34" jam.. Just to clarify.
You don't need a plate under a single stud or board.

Ok good to know. Note that I gain an inch when I remove the existing trim there but yes it's pretty close already.
 
It looks like you should notch the bottom of the new studs to fit around the subfloor.

And also notch the new jambs, if you don’t hang the door directly off the studs.

But first, razor cut away any carpet and padding that would be in the way of the studs or jambs resting directly on the plywood.

Then make or buy a nice transition piece or threshold, to ease that abrupt change in floor level

Sounds like a plan. So I notch the studs but don't attach to the concrete? I can probably nail them to the existing studs and maybe toenail up top into the head plate? Not a load bearing wall at all and the door slab is hollow so I'm not really concerned about weight.
 
No need to toenail anything.
Maybe bang a few extra nails through existing hinge side stud into whatever is behind it, to verify good attachment.
 
If reduced door opening will hinder future appliance pass through, you can always mount the new studs on screws, easy to pop everything off someday.
 
Just a check in here for those that might have a similar problem. Remodeling is all about economics and compromises. If you keep opening up things, then it gets more expensive the deeper you go down the rabbit hole.

In this example, the original poster asked whether he should remove the sub-floor. That could be an expensive mistake. It could require removal of the carpet and once this is removed then there may be something else hidden that will cost a great deal of money to deal with. This simple job could go from under $200 to over $2000 or more if a wrong decision is made.

In this example, the OP looks like he has a nice finished area on one side of the proposed doorway and a storage area on the other side. The goal is to button up the finished area so that it is not "spoiled" by the storage area.

The storage side has a lower floor level than the finished side. So I would look to have the new door open into the storage side. I would not change the level of the subfloor, but I might look at some sort of floor transition in the doorway. However this may not be 100% necessary if the storage area is going to remain unfinished.

The other thing that I would look at is a pre-hung interior door unit rather than just a slab. That way you aren't dealing with having to put in casing, molding, etc which ends up costing more than the slab. Pre-hung door units are less than $100 and the instillation can be done in about an hour in this case. You'll spend all day with a slab and it may not look at professional as you might like. You can notch the bottom casing and trim of the pre-hung door unit so that it will fit perfectly. Then put a finish coat of paint on it and you are good to go.

Keep in mind, that at some point you are going to sell your house. You want it to look as finished as possible and not have a less than professional look on your doors and trim.
 
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