Turn a Window into a Door
A window opening offers an easy spot for adding a door to your home. Let Mother's workshop wonder Dennis Burkholder walk you through this project.
May/June 1987
Dennis Burkholder
When the time comes to add on to your home—be that addition a greenhouse, a deck, a garage or a bedroom for a new arrival—you'll be forced to cut a hole in the side of your house for a door. Many people face the prospect of ripping out existing walls with a bit of trepidation. Between the siding and the dry wall lies the great unknown.
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You can ease the trauma by removing a window and enlarging its opening for a door. A door that's the same width as the window can utilize the existing framing, and you'll avoid disturbing the interior or exterior finishes unduly. The tops of windows in most houses are the same height as the tops of doors, so the headers (doubled framing boards at the top) work equally well for either aperture.
Once you've found a candidate, measure from the floor to the underside of the board that the top of the window butts against to see that there's 6' 8" clearance. (If it's less than 6' 6", the job will be complicated considerably; if it's more than 6' 10", another board may have to be added to the header, and the finish above the door will have to be patched.) Most exterior doors are either 3' 0" or 2' 8" wide, so your prospect should measure at least 2' 8" inside the side jambs (the boards that the window slides or snugs against).
Preparation
Unless you're an experienced carpenter, we strongly suggest that you buy a prehung door. It comes already fitted to its frame with hinges in place and exterior trim (in the case of an exterior door), and it's often bored for the lockset. Otherwise, you'll spend at least another half day, and probably more like a whole one, fiddling with mortises for hinges, squaring the frame, etc. A bare door typically costs about 25% less than a prehung door, but the savings dwindle quickly as you add hinges, a threshold and jambs. The exterior 15-pane French door we installed cost $125 alone or $165 prehung. If you plan to paint the doorjambs, ask for a less costly finger-jointed frame.
A reciprocating saw (see issue 104 for more information) is just about indispensable in most home remodeling jobs, and this one is no exception. It will allow you to cut through the wall's full thickness and will be a great aid in removing nails that hold the window in. You don't have to buy one, though; just plan to pay about $20 to rent one for the day.
With a prehung door, this is an easy one-day project.
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