How to Make Door Rough Openings

Overview: One of the most important steps in framing walls is getting the rough openings for door framing right. Items that determine what the height of a door rough opening will be the floor finish and the use of the floor underlayment. Door widths will stay constant with standard size doors.

In new construction most doors are hung after the floors are installed. This permits flooring contractors (tile, hardwood, vinyl, and laminate) to lay their flooring products without making tricky cuts around door jambs. It also makes for a neater and cleaner door installation. The exception to this is when floors are carpeted. Doors are hung before the carpeting is laid. When doors are hung in carpeted areas it’s a good idea to shim them up 1/2", putting a shim under each door jamb leg.

This eliminates the need to trim the bottom of the doors after the carpet is installed.

For a 6' 8" high door (80 inches) frame the rough door opening height to 82 3/4". This allows room for all the different floor situations mentioned above. If your header material is a double 2x12, holding it to the top plate will give you that height. Rough openings for door widths are pretty much standard. The rough opening width is 2 inches wider than the door itself. This allows room for the door jambs which are usually 3/4" thick. This will provide approximately 1/2" of play and shim room when installing a pre hung door. For a 36" door (3' 0") the rough opening width should be 38". Listed below are the most common door sizes and their rough openings.

Door rough opening sizes:

2' 0" x 6'8" -26" x 82 3/4"

2' 2" x 6'8" -28" x 82 3/4"

2' 4" x 6'8" -30" x 82 3/4"

2' 6" x 6'8" -32" x 82 3/4"

2' 8" x 6'8" -34" x 82 3/4"

2' 10"x 6'8" -36" x 82 3/4"

3' 0" x 6'8" -38" x 82 3/4"

To figure the rough opening for double doors or French doors, take the door size times 2 and add 2". The most common sizes for exterior doors are the 2'8" and the 3'0" doors. The 2'8" door is usually used for the back door and access door from the garage. The 3'0" size door for exterior doors is common because of the size of appliances and furniture. Exterior doors with sidelights and sliding patio doors rough openings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. These rough opening sizes should be verified from the supplier before construction begins.

Getting the rough openings right the first time saves you a lot of work for having to change the opening after the walls are completed and the drywall is installed. Now that you know how to make door rough openings, it’s time to build some walls.

Framing Walls | Wall Framing Layout

How to Build Headers

How to Make Door Rough Openings

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