Do you need to know how wide a doorway is? Maybe you have heard doorways can have different widths and want to know if that is true.
Or are you curious and want to know more? No matter the reason that brought you here today, we have the answer for you!
Finding out how wide a doorway is can be tricky, especially if you have never measured one before.
You head online for some guidance but are met with page after page of confusing and conflicting information.
You are left frustrated and overwhelmed, unsure where to turn or who to trust. How will you ever know how wide a doorway is?
Well, that is where we come in! You can turn to us to find out how wide a doorway is and everything you need to know about doorways!
How Wide Is A Doorway?
Let’s dive right into today’s article. How wide a doorway is varies. Commonly, doorways have a width of 36 inches in the US.
You would typically find these doorway widths in residential homes, especially newer-built homes.
In older homes, we do find more discrepancies with doorway widths.
This is often attributed to homemade doors and narrow or ultrawide spaces that need to be filled with custom doors.
Other common doorway widths you will find across the country are 30 and 32 inches.
These doorways are wide enough for most doors that you can purchase in hardware stores or online.
Doorways are designed to have a snug fit with the door, after all, you don’t want a draught!
You can expect your doorway to have the same width as your door, so if you need to know the width of your door, you can measure it or the doorway.
It’s worth noting that these measurements are for the gap in your doorway and do not include the frame.
Now that we have established how wide a doorway is, let’s dive in a little deeper to learn more about them.
Standard Doorway Widths
Depending on the type of door and doorway you have, you can find different standard widths.
Of course, there are discrepancies in all of these, but they should provide you with some general guidance. Let’s look at the different doorway widths now.
Exterior Doorways
Exterior doorways typically are 36 inches wide. These allow for larger front doors that we see in homes.
In older homes, there might be wider exterior doorways and you can expect the number to double if the exterior door is a double door!
Along with the common 36 inches, you can find exterior doorways with widths of 30 inches, 32 inches, and even 42 inches!
Sliding Glass Doorways
Sliding glass doors need larger doorways usually to allow for the doors to slide open and close.
The standard width is 72 inches, but you can also find them up to 96 inches wide! Of course, these are designed to be large spaces to allow for lots of natural light.
The width and height of sliding glass doors will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
When you are looking for sliding glass doors, don’t determine the width of the doorway you need until you have chosen your door.
This ensures that you make the doorway wide enough!
Interior Doorways
Interior doorways come in a few different widths. The most common are listed below for you.
- 24 inches
- 28 inches
- 30 inches
- 32 inches
- 36 inches
These doorways will be found in most homes, with modern homes having doorways of 36 inches on average.
Of course, in narrow spaces, there might be smaller doorways, like cupboards under the stairs.
Older homes tend to have wider discrepancies and you might find that each interior doorway has a different width!
How To Measure My Doorway
Measuring your doorway is fairly easy to do. You can follow our step-by-step guide below to measure your doorway like a pro!
Step 1 – Open The Space
First, you need to open your door if there is one in your doorway. You need the space to be clear so you can measure it with ease.
Step 2 – Measure The Top
Take your measuring tape and run it along the top of your doorway from left to right.
Make sure you are only measuring the gap in your doorway and not the door frame.
Make a note of the number. Doorways and doors are usually measured in inches.
Step 3 – Measure Again
In older homes, you will want to measure your doorway in more than one place. We recommend doing this for all homes in case there are any discrepancies!
Take your measuring tape and measure across the middle of your doorway and again along the bottom.
The three measurements should be pretty similar or the same if your doorway is not the perfect rectangle.
Make a note of all of the measurements from your doorway. You can use the largest to purchase the right size door for your doorway.
You might need to trim it in parts to ensure there is a snug fit for the whole doorway.
If you are unsure how to do this you can have a professional do this for you. They will typically trim the door to size and hang it for you!
Step 4 – Measure The Thickness And Height
If you are purchasing a new door for the doorway, you also need to measure the height and thickness of the doorway.
We recommend taking these measurements in three different places too and using the largest number.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! Doorways are typically 36 inches wide, but this does vary depending on the type of doorway you have.
In older homes, we do find more discrepancies, so be sure to measure the doorway in several places to get the right size door for the doorway.
You can also use the guide we showed you earlier to see the general doorway widths for different types of doors!
No task is too small. We can guide you and offer advice, no matter if you are filling in gaps in the wall, hiding cords, or simply fixing up construction mistakes. We love to help, and strive to do so in any way that we can.
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