There are many reasons to replace a door, as it might not open or close as it used. It could be chipped or scratched and look untidy. Alternatively, you could just be tired of it and want a change—whatever your reason, there is one thing that you absolutely have to know, and that is the average door dimension for walls in the USA.
Knowing the average door width and height doesn’t mean you have to stick to those sizes, but it’s a good baseline you can use to see if your chosen size is off the specifications.
Average Door Dimensions for Interior and Exterior Doors
Standard door sizes vary according to the type of door you’re going to install. For example, interior doors include bathroom doors, pocket doors, and closet doors. Exterior doors include garage doors, patio doors, and entry doors.
All of the styles have their own set of standard dimensions and permissible variations.
Average Interior Door Sizes
As a rule, interior doors are 80 inches tall, 32 inches wide, and 1 ⅜ inches thick.
Room-to-Room Doors
Room-to-room doors tend to stick to the average interior door size, but they can vary by about 4 inches either way. If you want to radically resize the door, it’s critical that you find out the minimum and maximum sizes stipulated by the building codes in your state. Often there is no limit to the maximum height, provided there is enough space between the top of the door and the ceiling.
However, for safety reasons, you aren’t allowed to install cute little room-to-room doors for your kids. You can go wider if that is your preferred style, but if you live with someone in a wheelchair, doors should be at least 36 inches wide.
Period Home Doors
Some old-period homes have doors that are off the specifications. Usually, they’re a bit shorter and narrower than current standard sizes. It’s likely you’ll need to customize replacement doors to ensure they fit properly.
You can make the doors higher if you or someone who shares your house with you is tall and is tired of ducking to go from one room into another. This type of extension is not something that you should tackle yourself. If you do, there is a very real risk that you could damage the surrounding structure, and then your lovely period home will need some major repairs or remodeling.
Contact a reputable contractor to take the proper measurements of the door frame, door widths, and height and install the door without any fuss.
Pocket Doors
Pocket doors are a little trickier because you measure the height as normal, but you must measure the width twice. Pocket doors slide to the side to open. The average door width of a pocket type is 32 inches to 36 inches, so you’ll need more than double that for your sliding space.
Considering the double measurement and the track and rails that need to be installed, you’d do well to hire a professional window installation company.
Barn Doors
Barn doors are like pocket doors on steroids because the two halves slide in opposite directions. They are tall and wide and imposing, with statement hardware on the outside.
You need to ensure that not only do you have enough room on both sides of the door to double up the width but that it is in keeping with the rest of the house. For example, a small, contemporary city apartment might not be able to support barn doors.
Bigger residential houses, on the other hand, could be perfectly capable of pulling off the look.
Average Exterior Door Sizes
As a rule, the average exterior front or back door is 80 inches tall, 36 inches wide, and 1 ¾ thick. The width and door thickness tend to vary.
Glass Patio Doors
Sliding patio doors tend to stick to the standard height of 80 inches, but the width can vary from 60 inches to 90 inches.
Bifold patio doors, on the other hand, can be up to 120 inches high and 660 inches wide. The width is made up of glass panels that fold like a concertina. The number of panels depends on the total width of your patio.
French Doors
French doors could function as patio doors, back doors, and courtyard doors. The door is split into two halves, which swing open. Once again, the height is an average of 80 inches, and the width varies from 60 inches to 72 inches.
Garage Doors
The standard size of a single garage door is 108 inches wide and 84 inches high. There is a trend for new homes to have larger garage doors with a width of 120 inches.
The standard size of a double garage door is 192 inches wide and 84 inches high. The size you need is dictated by the size of your car.
How to Measure Interior Doors
Measuring for replacement doors is simple. All you have to do is measure the current door and head off to a home improvement center.
It starts to get a little more challenging when the reason you’re replacing the door is it no longer fits in the frame properly. In this instance, you need to measure from the door jamb to get the width. Take three measurements, one at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom of the door. You’ll use the widest measurement.
You get the length by measuring from the door jamb at the top to the floor. It’s recommended to take three measurements here too. Measure the depth using the door jamb from top to backside. The width typically ranges from 5 ½ inches to 6 9/16 inches.
When measuring for a new door, you need measurements for the rough opening, the total space into which the frame, jambs, and door will go. Getting the rough opening measurements is easy. As a rule, just add two inches to the width and 2 ½ inches to the height.
To get the width, you must measure from the inside of the side studs at the top, middle, and bottom. To get the height, you must measure from the floor to the header on each side and the center. You must measure the thickness or depth by using the smallest dimensions on the exposed drywall or sheathing.
Get Accurate Average Door Height and Width with Trusted Professionals
Unless you’re installing an average door height with average dimensions, it’s highly recommended that you hire window contractors.
Accuracy is absolutely essential, and the experts have the experience and tools necessary to measure the barest fraction of an inch.
Connect with a professional window installer for more information on what type of door fits your purpose. To ensure that you’ll have premium-quality doors for your home, contact us at 877-590-2741 at Euroline Steel Windows and Doors today!
