You may remember how this blog started...
My house caught on fire.
The subsequent remodels made us a construction blog.
C'mon back to our roots!
This is a Master Bathroom with a 23" door. 
This is a Guest Bathroom with a 23" door.
And this is a wheelchair that's 29" wide.
Do the math.
So today, I'm going to show you how to widen a door.
Don't break out in hives.
This is easier than you think, and you don't need Bob Villa's workshop to do it.
First, with a craft knife, run around the door, cutting through the paint seal.
Simple enough, right?
Now, wiggle a prybar in the crack you've created.
Tap the bar in further with a hammer.
Wiggle it a bit until the molding starts to pop off.
Just repeat this every 18 inches or so around the entire frame.
Once it's all loose...
...just pry it off!
Yeah, it's that simple.
Pull the whole thing off.
Set that aside.
Looks like something out of a Roadrunner cartoon, huh?
You don't need an impact driver.
They're just...COOL.
You can also use an electric drill, power screwdriver,
or just go old school route and get a phillip's head.
Eaither way, unscrew the door hinges from the frame and set the door aside.
Now, that interior molding trim? 
Repeat what you did outside.
Now we're ready to cut! 
Using a level and straight edge, measure how far you want to widen the doorway.
Mark it with a pencil.
Take a swazall or a hand blade and just follow the line.
BOOM.
You have now widened the doors all by yourself!
Coming soon...
How to frame that big hole you just made in the living room.
4 comments:
ummmm... don't you have to check first and make sure it isn't a load bearing wall and there might be headers involved? I seem to recall this issue on a past reno of ours... but I may be mixed up, that or you'll handle it in the second part
Periwinkle is absolutely right, and we DID check for studs around the door to make sure there was nothing load bearing. After taking out our own walls with a sledge hammer, this is so second nature, I forgot to include the step! In a late 70s style house, the load bearing areas are pretty evident by columns and wall structure configuration; however, make sure before you fire up that sawzall that you aren't going to be dealing with studs or headers. These are game changers. And we WILL cover that when we take the kitchen apart. Completely.
Now this is some news I can use. Thank you.
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