What’s the Size of a Standard Front Door for Residential Homes?

Are you looking for the perfect front door for your residential home? Well, the first step is to know the standard sizes of doors available on the market. We can start off with the interior door dimensions.

Standard Interior Door Dimensions

Most interior doors will have a standard height of 80 inches. Conversely, the width will vary based on your preference. Considering the fact that interior doors are meant to lead you from one room to another, you may settle on a size based on functionality. Some questions to ask yourself include:

• Are you looking for an oversize door that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
• Do you need a simple interior door in a hallway?

In this case, you will have two types: an oversize door or hall-to-room door. According to the ADA, any door opening should be a minimum of 32 inches wide and a maximum of 48 inches for easy wheelchair movement. The same size would apply to a home improvement store or a home where you need to move wide equipment. For your basic interior doors, standard sizes will be between 80x32 inches.

Exterior Front Door Sizes

Your standard exterior door size will be 80x36 inches. Note that this size might change based on the opening there is in your house for the front door to go into. However, you also have the chance to customize your front door even more to meet your needs. In case you want to opt for exterior double doors, here are some standard sizes available for you.

Exterior Double Doors Sizes

A double door as the choice for your front door brings more appeal to your home given the classical touch it exudes. However, the size matters, and getting just the right measurement could bring out what you need. The standard size of an exterior is about 82x68 inches. 

Something to note: To fit 82x68 inches to your house, you need to have a wall thickness of between 1.1-3 inches. Other exterior double door sizes will be:

• 80x60 inches
• 80x64 inches
• 80x72 inches

Note that the height will typically be around 80-82 inches. But what if you are looking for doors that could fit an older home?

What About Doors in Older Homes?

Homes in the olden days never had standard sizes to adhere to, but were mostly based on personal preferences. The heights were taller at around 84 inches as opposed to today's 80 inches. The width would be around 37 inches with some wider at the top than at the bottom. For instance, you'd have a house about 80 by 371/4 inches at the top with 373/4 inches at the bottom. To change such a door today you might need to change the opening to fit into modern standard sizes of about 80x32 inches.

How to Measure Doors and Door Opening Sizes

Measuring the size of a door is simple, all you need is a tape measure. What follows is measuring your door in these simple steps:

• To get the measurement of your door width, place your tape measure on the width from one end of your door to the other with arms stretched horizontally
• For the height, measure from the flat top of the door to the bottom flat line of your door opening
• Lastly, write down measurements in height by width (you could do this in inches or feet based on your tape measure)

To measure your door opening, the math is simple. With the sizes of your actual door, all you need to do is add a few inches to your height and width.  

• For a standard front door add 2 inches to the width and 2 and a half inches to your height
• For a double door, add the same 2 inches to the width and 2 and a half inches to the height 

There needs some element of allowance or error when measuring the opening so that there are no challenges when installing your doors.

Sliding Glass Door Sizes for Patios

Some standard glass door sizes for your patios include:

• 5ft x 8ft
• 6ft x 8ft, 6ft
• 8ft inches by 6ft 

So how do you measure your doors and door openings?

How to Measure Doors and Door Opening Sizes

Measuring the size of a door is simple, all you need is a tape measure. What follows is measuring your door in these simple steps:

• To get the measurement of your door width, place your tape measure on the width from one end of your door to the other with arms stretched horizontally
• For the height, measure from the flat top of the door to the bottom flat line of your door opening
• Lastly, write down measurements in height by width (you could do this in inches or feet based on your tape measure)

To measure your door opening, the math is simple. With the sizes of your actual door, all you need to do is add a few inches to your height and width.  

• For a standard front door add 2 inches to the width and 2 and a half inches to your height
• For a double door, add the same 2 inches to the width and 2 and a half inches to the height 

There needs some element of allowance or error when measuring the opening so that there are no challenges when installing your doors.

Common Questions About Door Sizes

1. What interior door sizes are standard?

Standard interior doors sizes are 80x32 inches, 80x36 inches or more based on the need for space and movement of users, family, and equipment.

2. What exterior door sizes are standard?

Standard exterior door sizes are 80x36 inches. For exterior double doors, sizes will be 80x60 inches, 80x64 inches, and 80x72 inches.

3. Where is the information on the door size found?

A door schedule contains the size of your door. The door sizes on your schedule will include is width, height, and thickness.

4. Can you change the size of a door opening?

Yes, the size of a door opening can be changed to allow for a door to fit if some allowance is needed for the frame to fit. Also, the space can be filled if some space is left when installing the door. Additionally, you can also replace a door where there is a window opening.