Is your front door costing you money due to its poor installation? Do your sliding doors no longer suit your home? No matter the reason, you likely have a door in your home that you want replaced. How can you measure a door for a replacement, and what does the reinstallation process look like?
Let Opal Enterprises walk you through the process of preparing for a door replacement. Our expert installation team can give you the tools you need to accurately measure your door and its frame prior to a replacement. We can also do the job for you, ensuring you get the new door you want with half the fuss.
Ready to learn more? Read on to learn about the tips and tricks we use when measuring doors for replacement.
Make Sure You Have the Right Tools
Before you can measure a door for replacement, you need to have the right tools on hand. The tools that our team uses to keep our measurements accurate include the following:
- Measuring tape
- Pen and paper or cell phone with Notes app
- Stepping stool or ladder
- A spotter
You can attempt to measure a door without the appropriate tools. Trying to translate a finger’s length measurement into feet and inches can prove challenging, though, not to mention inaccurate. Similarly, trying to find a replacement door when you haven’t written down your original door’s measurements can see you purchase a unit that’s too small or too large.
While you may not need to use a stepping stool or ladder to measure the height of your door, you should have a spotter on hand if you do. A spotter can break your fall if your ladder fails, ensuring that you can stay safe throughout the door replacement process.
Our doors have best-in-class energy efficiency, durability, and security
Measuring Your Door
Now that you have all the tools you need to move forward, you can:
Step 1: Find the Width of the Door
Many home and business owners opt to replace their doors because said doors shrink over time. As such, there may be gaps between your current door and the edges of your doorframe. That’s why it’s important to measure both the width of your door and the width of your doorframe before you commit to a replacement.
When shopping for a new door, you’ll want a unit that fits within your door frame without leaving any gaps behind. Make sure you use a tape measure to determine the width of your door frame’s gap from internal edge to internal edge. Measuring from the exterior edges may leave you with an inaccurate assessment of your door’s desired width.
Step 2: Find the Height of the Door
The same rules that you apply to measuring your door’s width should apply to measuring your door’s height. Make sure you have a spotter on hand if you need to stand on a step stool to reach the top of your door. Otherwise, measure the height of the door, then compare that against a measurement of the door frame from interior gap to interior gap.
Step 3: Find the Thickness of the Door
Last but not least, you need to determine how thick your current door is. You can do this by opening the door and measuring the short edge that runs parallel to your door frame. You can then work with installation professionals to determine whether or not you have room to thicken your door or if you need to invest in a smaller unit.
Step 4: Shop for a Door that Suits Your Style
Once you have all of your desired measurements, you can begin to look for a door to replace your current unit. If you’re searching for a door online, make sure you filter your options by the height, width, and thickness of the door that you found during the measuring process.
Hardware store employees can also help you browse in-person options based on your measurements and desired look.
Replacing a Hinged or Sliding Door
When we say, “measure your door for replacement,” what kind of door are we referring to? The answer to that question varies. Most properties’ front doors, bathroom doors, and room doors operate on hinges. As such, most property owners will want to specifically measure their doors to account for a hinged replacement.
That said, some property owners will want to replace sliding doors. Can those parties use the same measuring methods as property owners replacing hinged doors? Not necessarily.
When you replace a hinged door, you should make sure you account for the size of the hinges when establishing your door’s width and thickness. You can then work with an installer to ensure your installation is flush while still accounting for any space the hinges take up.
If you’re replacing a sliding door, you need to account for the horizontal thickness of your door as much as you do the vertical thickness. Doing so can keep your replacement doors moving on their sliding tracks. Get a door that’s too thick for its vertical track or horizontal seal, and your sliding door may leak or fail to move at all.
Do you have questions about measuring or replacing a sliding door? Reach out to Opal Enterprises today to schedule a reinstallation consultation.
Our doors have best-in-class energy efficiency, durability, and security
Professionals Can Make Your Door Replacement Project Simpler
Have you been thinking about replacing your door for a while now? Are you struggling to find the time, tools, or materials to get the job done? Consider turning that DIY project into a DI-don’t, and let professionals tackle the job instead. The installation team with Opal Enterprises can step in and help you install a new door without infringing on your precious time.
You can schedule an appointment with our team today to get a ballpark estimate as to how much your door replacement might cost. After we visit your home and measure your replacement, we can provide you with a more exact estimate.
Ready to get started? Contact us by phone or online and learn more about how Opal Enterprises’ installation services can benefit your home!
