Opening the Door to Success: A Comprehensive Guide on How to Measure Exterior Doors
January 15, 2024
By: The Finished Space
Are you looking for a quick guide on how to measure your exterior doors? Upgrading your front door is a great way to ensure that your home makes the best first impression possible. Of course, there’s a key to bringing that vision to life – understanding how to measure for an exterior door replacement.
Measuring is a crucial part of the replacement process. After all, if you don’t get the measurements right, your project could become unnecessarily complicated, and lead to additional costs and delays. Don’t worry, even if you’re not a seasoned contractor, our expert guide will show you exactly how to measure a front door for replacement.
The Benefits of Replacing Your Door
Before we discuss how to properly measure doors, let’s talk about the big ‘why’ behind door replacement. A stylish new exterior door is not just a facelift for your home, but it also has many other benefits.
It’s a game-changer that will boost your curb appeal, and make passersby stop and admire. Modern doors can dramatically increase energy efficiency, and reduce unnecessary heating and cooling costs. On the security front, a new door could mean heightened security against potential intruders.
In order to reap all of these fantastic benefits, your new door needs to fit like a glove. So, before you get carried away envisioning your revamped entryway, you need to get down to the nitty-gritty of door measurements.
How to Measure Pre-Installed Doors
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to measuring pre-installed doors:
Step One – Start by measuring the width of your door from the inside of your house. Measure from one side of the door panel to the other.
Step Two – Next, measure the door’s height by taking the measurement from the top edge of the door panel to the bottom.
Step Three – Once you have the height and width of your door, it’s time to measure the door thickness and jamb width. The door thickness can be measured directly from the door’s edge. To measure the door jamb depth, measure the depth and height of the wooden frame supporting the door. This may involve removing a portion of the surrounding trim because you don’t want to accidentally measure the trim.
Step Four – Carefully measure the door frame’s width and height, and measure the inside edge of the trim from one end to the other from the inside of your house.
Step Five – If you think your door might be warped or uneven, take three measurements at the top, middle, and bottom sections of the door. This will give you an accurate look at whether your door is misshapen.
How to Measure a Door with Sidelights
What about doors with sidelights? For those who don’t know, sidelights are the small windows that often appear on either side of your entryway. Getting measurements for these types of doors can be a little more complicated. Here’s the step-by-step guide for measuring a door with sidelights:
Step One – Start by measuring the width of your door and include the sidelights in your measurements. Remember to keep the exterior door and sidelight measurements separate.
Step Two – Once you have measured the width, it’s time to measure the height of both your door, and the sidelights. Keep these measurements separate, as well.
For the remainder of the measuring process, follow Steps Three, Four, and Five from the first section.
How to Measure Double Doors
To replace double doors, you’ll need to do a little extra work. Here’s a step-by-step guide to measuring double doors:
Step One – Start once again by measuring the width of the doors from the inside. To do this, you will need to take the entire measurement of both doors together.
Step Two – Next, measure the height of both doors, ensuring they’re the same size. Remember that double doors should always be mirror opposites of one another.
Once you have the width and height of your double doors, follow Steps Three, Four, and Five, outlined in the first section, to obtain the depth of your doors and the height and width of your door frames.
How to Measure Double Doors with Sidelights
What about double doors with sidelights? We couldn’t forget about you! Here’s a quick guide to measuring double doors with sidelights:
Step One – As you might have guessed, you’re going to start by measuring the entire width of the double doors and sidelights. Keep the measurements separate so you know how wide your doors need to be and how wide your sidelights need to be.
Step Two – Next, you’re going to measure the height of both sidelights and double doors. Again, keep the measurements separate.
Once all of the measurements have been jotted down, follow Steps Three, Four, and Five from the first section to get the full measurements for your double doors with sidelights.
Don’t Forget to Replace Your Door Frames
In home décor, the smallest details can make the biggest difference. If you’re thinking about replacing your doors, why not replace your door frames too?
By investing in high-quality trim and moulding from Metrie, you can make your brand new door a true masterpiece. Our finely crafted products are industry-defining and could serve as the perfect aesthetic accent for your entryway. Isn’t it time you gave your home the stylish upgrade it deserves?
