Widen and Expand Doorway

Michael Scott
by Michael Scott
11 Materials
$50
1 Day
Medium

The front room in my house had unusual shaped doorways. I wanted to widen them and raise them a little. Both to get better airflow and to update them.

I started by cutting the Sheetrock above doorway out. I used a utility knife to cut straight up from the angled part that I wanted to remove. I went over the cut several times before taking a hammer and beginning to remove Sheetrock.

I removed the Sheetrock and hammered out the top boards. I planned to widen doorway as well so I removed boards to the doorway with a plan to build back next to electrical outlet, widening opening as much as I could.

I framed the doorway where I wanted it using 1x4x8 boards and covered the wall with Sheetrock. I applied mud, let dry and sanded then applied a single coat of primer.

I framed out the doorway and added trim. I used a miter saw to make cuts and finishing nails to hammer the boards in. There was also flooring installed as well as a fresh coat of paint. I painted all the trim boards in the doorway white to match existing trim.

I used 3 inch trim and caulked any gaps before painting. I used a miter saw to make cuts.

I am happy with the change. I feel like the rooms have a much better flow and an updated look.

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  3 questions
  • David McIntosh David McIntosh on Nov 10, 2018

    A few steps seem to be missing. Looks like you took the whole wall down then framed and sheet-rocked a new one? Would love to see the framing of the new wall before Sheetrock. Did you put in a header?

  • Jeanette  E Jeanette E on Nov 12, 2018

    looking at the pictures from start to finish, it looks like you have a good width on the arch so doesn't that mean you have lost floor space too?

  • Rosemary Rosemary on Dec 25, 2018

    How do lighten a heavy sliding glass door?

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3 of 22 comments
  • Carla Carla on Dec 25, 2018

    Proportion and colors are beautiful. You have a great eye!

  • Donna Lynn Pounds Donna Lynn Pounds on Dec 27, 2018

    Fantastic job! It really improved the look of your home!

    • Michael Scott Michael Scott on Dec 27, 2018

      Thanks, that is 1 of several doorways that I did that way. Wanted all the entry’s to match besides those that had doors which were bedrooms and baths. I’m thinking I may build a barn type door to separate music room from living room if I wanted to do some recording, etc.

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