We did not want to install anything "new" in the house if we could help it, so when it came to the basement doors, we headed to ReHouse, a local salvaging company. We picked up two matching solid wood apartment fire doors that had original peep holes and no hardware. We wanted to use them as double entry doors, so there were a few major modifications to be made, starting with drilling the dead bolt hole larger. We used some scraps to make a jig so the hole saw wouldn't slip.

Both doors originally had a handle/latch assembly and a dead bolt. Even though the two doors were "matching" in the sense that they were the same size and composition, the deadbolt holes did not line up, so the bolt would not have fit into its corresponding latchbolt hole.

It took a while to get through the solid-core door, but eventually, we had a new hole for the dead bolt assembly.

Part of the core we took out of the door.