Standard door sizes keep everyone safe—but no promises you’ll fit that couch through
Standard door height is 80 inches, but widths can vary.
Building codes in your area might indicate minimum door size requirements.
A carpenter or millworker can build custom doors to accommodate your size needs.
Doors are sold alone, known as a slab door, or on a frame, known as pre-hung doors.
You might not put much thought into the dimensions of the doors in your house—until you need a new one. Before ordering one, there are standard door sizes that you should know that’ll help make the process easier for you. Read on for a guide on the average door dimensions so you can purchase a door that fits your needs.
To start things off easy, most modern doors have the same height. A door's width and thickness are what sets them apart. Let’s look at the standard door dimensions based on its location in your home.
| Door Placement | Height (Inches) | Width (Inches) |
|---|---|---|
| Bifold closet doors | 80 | 24–36 |
| Interior door | 80 | 32 |
| Exterior door | 80 | 36 |
Accurate door measurements are essential for a successful installation. Height and width matter, but jamb width, door swing, and clearance are also key. A professional installer can assess these details and recommend the best solutions.
Interior doors have a standard height of 80 inches. The standard door width varies with placement and type. Below, we’ll cover some of the most common types of interior doors and their sizes.
The term “interior door” refers to doors that lead from one room to another or to a room off a hallway. In modern homes, standard door dimensions are 80 inches (6 feet, 8 inches) tall, 32 inches wide, and 1 3/8 inches thick.
As with anything in life, though, it can vary. So if you need to replace a door or buy an over-the-door storage solution, always measure first. Interior door widths can range from 28 to 36 inches wide. The bigger the door, the thicker it’s going to be.
And if you were hoping to put in an adorable kid-sized door on the playroom entrance, hold up. You’ll need to check the building codes before proceeding with a door to keep grown-ups out. Building codes will vary by state. You can go larger than the code requires, but you can’t go smaller. Smaller, narrower doors are usually allowed for entrances to utility rooms or closets only. The average cost to install an interior door is $360 to $1,300.
To accommodate a wheelchair user or people with disabilities, you’ll need a wider door opening. The Americans With Disabilities Act requires commercial properties to have 36-inch door openings to accommodate wheelchairs, and this size is available in most stores.
If you or someone who frequents your house is exceptionally tall and could use more head clearance, you might opt for taller doors. Extra-wide or extra-tall doors may not be in stock at your local retailer, but they can be ordered or custom-made. These doors can go up to 10 feet tall, 8 feet wide, and 3 inches thick.
If you are trying to replace petite-sized doors in an older home, you might need to do some finagling. While your home might not be subject to the latest building codes and door size requirements, it might be tough to find shorter doors. In this case, you could find a local carpenter to make something special for you. You might also find vintage options at resale or antique stores.
And if you need to install taller doors, a door installer near you can help reconfigure the opening to fit an average-sized door.
If you want to install a pocket door, make sure to measure twice. Pocket doors are 32 to 36 inches wide, just like interior doors, but remember you need double the space for the pocket the door slides into. The door’s thickness will also be important because it needs to fit on your track and into the wall. Standard door thickness is 1 inch to 1 3/4 inches.
If you want to do something special and install barn doors, you can easily go big. Barn doors are often custom-made, and the hardware goes on the outside of the wall. Just make sure you have enough clearance and strength to slide the door open. Barn doors are typically 1 1/2 inches to 3 inches thick, 36 to 42 inches wide, and 80 to 96 inches tall.
Anyone who has ever bought, rented, or lived in a home knows closet sizes vary greatly. As such, so do the doors. Two-panel bifold closet doors range from about 24 to 36 inches wide and 80 inches high. It’s common to have two bifold doors work together in a closet. Closet doors are also thinner than interior doors, at about 1 inch thick.
Exterior doors are 80 inches tall, similar to interior doors. However, their widths vary by type of door. Read on to see the standard sizes for an exterior door.
Exterior doors are bigger than interior doors, with 36 inches being the standard (and you’ll appreciate those extra inches when moving a new sofa inside). The standard exterior door is still 80 inches tall. Exterior doors are a smidge thicker at 1 3/4 inches to keep the outside air out. Exterior door installation costs about $1,500.
Glass patio doors can scale to match your love of the outdoors. There are a few options when it comes to sliding glass door sizes. While the standard door height is 80 inches, the width can range from about 60 to 90 inches. The standard thickness is 1 3/4 inches, though it varies with the glass thickness.
If you really want a grand opening, bifold patio doors don’t even have a standard size. They can be 10 feet high and 55 feet wide. Just add panels as your home allows. The cost to install sliding glass doors is $2,600 on average.
French doors are two side-by-side doors that swing open for double the impact. They can be used as interior or exterior doors. The two doors together have a standard width of 60 to 72 inches, a height of 80 inches, and a thickness of 1 3/4 inches.
Not all pet doors are made equally. The most common animals that homeowners get pet doors for are cats and dogs. While cats are smaller breed animals, dogs can range from small to extra large. The standard door size for cats has a width and height of 5 to 12 inches. For dogs, the standard size can range from 6 inches wide to 12 inches tall for smaller breeds to 15 inches wide to 30 inches tall for extra-large breeds. Their thickness can range from 1 3/4 inches to 2 inches. The average cost to install pet doors is $100 to $500.
The weather can be unforgiving to your primary door. Storm doors help protect it from rain, snow, and the sun. Plus, it lets you bring more natural light into your living space. Since they’re created to go in front of your primary door, they're similar in size. The standard size of a storm door is 32 to 36 inches wide and 74 to 81 inches high. They also need a mounting surface with a width and thickness of 1 inch.
Screen doors are similar to storm doors. The only difference is that the glass in storm doors is replaced with screens, allowing more fresh air inside a home. The standard screen door size is 32 to 36 inches wide and 74 to 81 inches tall, with a 1-inch-thick mounting surface. Screen door installation costs about $300.
Use a tape measure to determine the height in three different places: the center of the door, the left side, and the right side. Write down the shortest measurement of the three.
Repeat the same process for the door’s width by measuring the top, middle, and bottom, recording the shortest of the three. Measure both the inside and outside of the door.
Finally, measure the depth of the door by opening it and measuring its thickness.
Once you have a good idea of the standard size of the doors around your home, it's time to purchase one. When you buy a new door, you may have the option of buying it pre-hung on the frame or just the door itself, which is called a slab. So, you’ll need to learn how to measure a door to ensure you’re buying the right size. Here are a few pointers to help:
If you’re buying just the door itself, measure just the existing door (height, width, and thickness).
When buying a pre-hung door, open your existing door and measure from one side of the frame to the other. Measure from the top of the frame to the floor. Then subtract 3/4 of an inch for floor clearance. You’ll also need to measure the jamb thickness so your new door fits snugly inside your walls.
Consider a custom door if standard door sizes don’t meet your needs.
For most DIYers, a pre-hung door is the better choice for new installations since these come with attached hinges, a doorframe, and a precut hole for the strike plate. Pre-hung doors are also the better choice for exterior doors since you won’t have to worry about perfectly installing the door within the frame to avoid leaks.
| Pros of Pre-Hung Doors | Cons of Pre-Hung Doors |
|---|---|
| Easier installation | Heavy at 50 to over 100 pounds |
| Weatherproof | Require two people for installation |
| Ideal for large-scale projects with multiple doors | More costly |
Otherwise, you can opt for a slab door, which is just the door without the frame or hardware. This option is more affordable but requires more labor during installation, especially if there isn’t an existing doorframe. But getting a slab door might make more sense if you’re replacing an existing interior door and you don’t need a new doorframe.
| Pros of Slab Doors | Cons of Slab Doors |
|---|---|
| More sizes available | Requires precise measurements and cuts, some of which are complex |
| Not as heavy as pre-hung doors so one person can install them | Takes longer to install |
| More budget-friendly | Prep work for the frame may be required |
You want a small gap of 1/8 of an inch between the door and the jamb. However, the gap size depends on the direction the door swings and whether it contains glass. You will also want to aim for the same size gap on all sides of the door, so it opens and closes smoothly.
Yes, if you’re replacing a door slab, it must be the exact size of your existing door. If your new door is too small, you’ll need to purchase a new door to fit or hire a handyperson to make your frame smaller. Or if it's too big, you’ll need to return it or shave it down to fit.
Most of the interior doors in your home are the same size. For example, most bedroom doors may be the same size. However, your closet doors might be the same size as each other but are a different size from the bedroom doors. You might also have bedroom closet doors that are a different size from hallway closet doors. It’s best to be safe and measure any door you want to replace.
