Home, moving & space
Getting More Width From a Doorway
When a piece of furniture is just too wide for a doorway, the difference is often an inch or less — and a few reversible changes to the door, or to the furniture, can find it. This guide covers where the hidden width in a doorway is, which changes are reversible, and how to check how much each one gains before you start unscrewing things.
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Where the opening goes
A doorway’s clear opening is what is left of the frame once the door, its hinges, and the stops have taken their share. The open door alone can stand well into the opening on the hinge side. Each of those is a place to look for width, and each gives back a different amount — so measure before and after, rather than trusting a rule of thumb.
Reversible changes to the door
- Lift the door off its hinges. Most interior doors come off by tapping out the hinge pins. Then measure frame to frame.
- Remove the door stops on both sides. They are usually thin strips nailed in; take them off carefully and they go back.
- Fit swing-clear hinges for a permanent fix: they let the open door swing out of the opening instead of standing in it.
- Take off a door closer or any hardware that sits in the opening.
Changes to the furniture
Handles and knobs are the cheapest inch you will find. A dresser 31 in deep clears a 32 in door upright with 1 in to spare; with 1.5 in pulls it is 32.5 in deep and half an inch too wide. Unscrewing the pulls makes the difference.
- Take off legs, feet, or a plinth if they unbolt.
- Lift off a hutch or top section and carry the parts separately.
- Remove doors from a cabinet if they come off on lift-off hinges.
Carry it differently
Before changing anything, try every carrying position. A piece that is too wide upright may go through on its side or on its back, where a different side faces the door. Check whether it can be laid down, and whether there is ceiling room to stand it back up on the other side.
What not to do
- Don’t cut the frame or jambs to gain width without advice; they may be structural or hold the wall finish.
- Don’t force a tight fit — scraped frames and broken legs cost more than taking a door off.
- Don’t take apart furniture that isn’t designed to come apart.
More Width From a Doorway FAQ
- How much wider is a doorway with the door off?
- It depends on the door’s thickness and how far the open door stands into the opening. Measure the frame opening with the door off to know.
- Are swing-clear hinges worth it?
- They are a permanent way to recover most of the width the open door takes up, which helps wheelchairs and walkers as well as furniture.
- Can I remove door stops without damaging the frame?
- Usually, if you score the paint line first and lever them off gently. Number them so each goes back in the same place.
- Do handles really make a difference?
- Often they are what tips a near-fit into a miss. Measure the depth with and without them.
- What if a window is wider than the door?
- Bringing furniture in through a window is a job for professional movers with the right equipment, especially above the ground floor.
Related guides
- Doorway Clear OpeningMeasure the width and height furniture can really use: with the door open, from the face of the door to the stop, from the top of the threshold, and at more than one height.
- Standing Furniture Back UpWhy a tall bookcase or wardrobe laid down to get through a door may not stand back up: the arc it sweeps, the ceiling height it needs, and what to do when the room is too low.
Open the tool
Jump into Furniture Through Doorway Fit Calculator when you are ready to process your files.
