Have you ever wondered what size your doors should be? If you are building a new house and want to have bespoke internal doors made, this can be extremely costly. The more practical alternative is to stick with the standard sizes already used to ensure you get the best possible choice in styles and colours and of course to ensure that you have no trouble fitting them. Here’s everything you need to know about the sizes of your doors.
Standard door height
Typically, internal doors will be a standard height of 78 inches, or 6.5ft. This should be suitable for most domestic needs, but if you require bespoke doors, or you need specially designed doors for a business premise then you will need to be prepared to pay more for this. For external doors, it’s not uncommon for these to also be the same size, although at the Door Store we also offer additional sizes – 80 inches and 81 inches in height for larger entrances. Check our site for more details on the sizes available in the door styles you like.
Standard door thickness
When it comes to door thickness for your internal doors, a standard size of 40 inches is used, unless you are installing a fire check door which is required to be 44 inches and is slightly thicker to incorporate the additional core component materials. These fire check doors are designed to slow the spread of smoke and fire throughout your home, and are a legal requirement. New homes should already have these in place and if you are replacing old doors in your home you must ensure that you replace the fire door too. Standard door thicknesses for your front door are also 44 inches, which provides the ideal level of security.
Standard door widths
This is where you have a little bit more flexibility when it comes to choosing your doors. For most doorway entrances, a width of 30 inches is standard, however it is possible to have wider and narrower options, depending on their use around your home. For example, you might have a smaller opening for a cupboard door under the stairs or a walk-in wardrobe, and for wheelchair accessibility it is recommended that doors be a minimum width of 36 inches. If you are planning to install new doors in front of a hot press, we would recommend louvre doors, which are available in multiple sizes for your convenience.
How to measure your door sizes properly
If you’re not sure what size of door you need, measure the current one from top to bottom, and from left to right as well as the width of the door jamb and the height and width of the frame for the most accurate measurement. Take these details with you when you go door shopping and it will help you narrow down your choices for your preferred door styles.