Replacing original 100 year old doors damaged by tenants

[Jeremy Fields]

I have a 5 bedroom home that is about 100 years old and has the original solid wood interior doors. These doors arent perfect, after all, they are old, however still very sturdy. That is until my tenants decided it would be a good idea to kick them in.

Should I replace the doors with new ones, just like the originals, or at least close? They will easily be $200-$300/ea. To repair them will likely cost close to the same amount. The alternative is to replace with cheaper hollow core doors, however I feel that cheats me out of a quality original door. I want to do what is right for both myself and the tenants. New doors are better than what I started with, so is that fair?

Your thoughts please.

[Max T.]

I would only replace with hollow core if you are going to replace all of them. If it is just one or two, I would replace with solid wood so they all match.

I personally prefer solid doors. They feel better and last longer and can be cut to fit irregular openings.