Is Your New Door Too Wide for Your Door Frame? 4 Options That Can Help
A narrow front door is typically a throwback to the decade in which the home was built. People did not have wide furniture nor wide bodies. Most people and things that needed to fit through a door a hundred years ago needed just enough space to walk through. Hence, you have an older home with old door frames. Now that you want a new entry door installation, you are faced with an atypical modern problem; doors that do not fit the door frames on your house. Here are some solutions and options that can help.
Ordering a Custom Door
You could have a professional window andentry door installation expert measure your current entry door. Then he/she will give you the dimensions of the current door and its frame so that you can place a custom order for a new door. This can be a rather expensive option, depending on just how narrow your current entry door is, and how much frame is required to fill the space. Other factors affecting cost are the style and finish of the door, but at the very least, you could still keep the same door space (if you wanted to, that is).
Using a Combo Door and Side Light(s)
Sometimes you can buy an entry door with a side light window or two. These doors are made a little smaller to accommodate the accompanying side light windows. It allows you to keep your door size, but add more light to your entrance and/or foyer. A contractor would have to cut out the space needed for the side light prior to installation.
Bonus Tip: Most people who can only put in one side light generally put it to the side of the door where the handle is. This allows the homeowner to peek out of the side light before opening the door and while keeping a hand on the handle to prevent forcible entry.
Hiring a Contractor to Widen the Door
Your next option is to hire a contractor to widen the entry door area. He or she could widen this area such that any door you bought from a home improvement store would fit. You and your contractor would have to determine how much larger the door could be, and then remodel the door opening to fit that size of door. You would also have to order your new door and framework in advance of the contractor's work so that he/she could install the door on the same day that the expansion is made.
Using a Split French Door That Opens Inward
French doors that open inward would fit the space you have while creating the illusion that you have a lot more space in your entryway. You want the vertically-split door to open inward so that you have that extra two inches of room provided by doors that open all the way inward. If the doors were to open outward, you would lose an inch of room on both sides of the door frame, resulting in the removal of the doors every time you try to squeeze something larger through your front door. Additionally, this type of door adds an elegant touch to your entryway and the door panels can be trimmed to fit the frame space perfectly.
Talk to a Contractor
Depending on which of the above options you choose, you would need to speak to a contractor anyway. If you are not looking for an estimate now, you can still get some ideas and professional advice from a pro. Do yourself a favor and talk to more than one window and door contractor in the area to see what the prevailing advice is.
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