When designing your house, there are a lot of choices you can make. However, some aspects of homebuilding are simply not choices; they’re regulations.
One of the regulations applies to the size of a door, but precisely how big is the standard door?
The most common size for the exterior door in a residential home in the United States measures 80 inches tall and 36 inches wide. Of course, this is just the most common size; different doors have different door sizes, and the main entrance door allows for some variety in terms of size.
If you’re a prospective homeowner trying to choose the best size for your front door, you have many options.
Here, I will dive deeper into the various types of doors in a home and their respective sizes to help you choose.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Door Size
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While it makes sense to go with the prettiest door design available without batting an eye, that might not be your best bet.
You need to consider many factors before choosing a size for your interior and exterior doors to ensure you’re getting the best door for your home. Here are some of those factors and how they may affect your final choice.
1. Budget
The size of a door is directly proportional to its cost, all other things being equal. While size isn’t the only factor affecting the price, it plays a pretty significant role.
If you’re planning to cut costs on your door choice, you may want to stick with smaller-sized doors when making your choice. However, larger doors always look better and more welcoming.
2. Availability
There are standards for all kinds of doors, and you need to choose your preferred size from the predefined criteria.
Coming up with a random door size for your home won’t work, as there is a very low probability of it being available in the market. This post will show you all the basic door sizes, and you may have to choose from them.
How Big Is a Single Entrance Door?
The single entrance door is the standard door type you see in most buildings. It is also the smallest door size, as it only requires the door frame with minimal enhancements.
There are several standard door sizes for a single entrance door, but the most common measures 80 inches by 36 inches. Occasionally, you’ll find single entrance doors measuring 80 inches by 32 inches and 80 inches by 30 inches.
All these measurements look very similar, and it may be hard to tell the difference between these door sizes by mere observation. It would take some experience or even a measure to say the specific size of the door.
In recent years, building companies have started popularizing the 96 inches’ door height. It is considerably taller than the regular 80 inches but not as common.
How Big Is a Double Entrance Door?
The double entrance door is typically more extensive than a single entrance door by a significant margin. It is best for large houses, and it signifies openness and luxury. There are also different makes of the double entrance door, making it a compelling option for most homebuilders.
The double entrance door is about twice as large as the single entrance door, hence the name. It maintains a similar height to the single variant but with twice the width. Basically, the double entrance door is two single entrance doors joined side to side.
Therefore, the average double entrance door is 80 inches tall, with two equal wings of 36 inches each, adding up to 72 inches width. The double entrance door is also available with two wings of 32 and 30 inches each, making it 64 and 60 inches wide, respectively.
Double entrance doors don’t usually get the ultra-tall 96 inches’ treatment. It will only make the door look gigantic, which may not be the best for a residential building.
How Big Is a Standard Sliding Glass Door?
A sliding glass door isn’t usually the entrance door to a building, but it is pretty popular in several rooms around a house. They typically separate different rooms inside a home, and they can also open to a backyard, garden, or swimming pool area.
Sliding glass doors generally have similar sizes to double entrance doors. But unlike double entrance doors, they don’t open into the room; instead, you slide them into the room to open them.
The average sliding glass door measures 80 inches tall and 72 inches wide. You can also get considerably wider sliding glass doors, with some up to 96 inches wide only measuring 60 inches tall.
Sliding glass doors may have square designs sometimes, with an increasing number of these doors coming in 96 inches by 96 inches.
How Big Is a Standard French Door?
French doors are exquisite doors that originated some hundreds of years ago. They look much like a standard double entrance door, but they open inwards and latch together when closed.
They don’t usually make entryway doors, but they are common choices for doors opening to a backyard, swimming pool, or patio. They also go well between kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms since they allow light to pass through them.
Most French doors are 80 inches tall and 72 inches wide. However, smaller and larger French doors have grown popular in recent years, with some measuring up to 96 inches tall and 42 inches wide.
How to Measure a Door Size
You don’t need to hire a professional to measure the size of a door. Anyone with knowledge of primary school math can measure and record the size of any door without much help.
When measuring the size of a door, you shouldn’t only quantify the height and width. You should also measure the door’s thickness, as it’s also a valuable property of a door. Most doors are 1.75 inches thick, and your measurement should be pretty close to that.
After measuring the doorway opening, you should also add two inches to the height and width (but not the thickness). This is the opening size that should be created for your door to occupy. If you follow all of these rules correctly, you should have your rough-in measurement.
What Is the Best Door Size for You?
With so many types of doors of varying sizes, you may be undecided about which door is best for your specific case.
Not all doors are made the same. While some are interior doors made to connect open rooms inside the home, others are exterior doors that are best as entryway doors.
If you’re looking for an entrance door, you should consider choosing between a single entrance door or a double entrance door, depending on the size and design of the entire house.
However, sliding glass doors and French doors are better for doors that open into swimming pool areas, gardens, patios, and backyards. They also work well between living rooms and dining rooms, and they allow a lot of natural light by design.
Whatever kind of door you end up choosing, you should always try to prioritize the 80 by 36 inches standard door size and its extensions. This door size complies with the standards of the American Disabilities Act and looks simply natural.
