How to Widen a Doorway

Ron's wife Lynn invited an architect to their new home to help with their long, winding hallway. To provide a more spacious feeling, Pat suggested that they consider widening the entry to the dining room. Ron and Lynn thought this was a great idea, so Ron got started.

Click here for a list of what you will need in order to complete this project.

1. Remove door casing
Begin by removing the door casing surrounding the existing doorway. Carefully cut through the paint and caulk where the casing meets the doorjamb.

Then gently drive in a wide putty knife to protect the drywall from damage as you carefully loosen the trim with a curved pry bar.

2. Inspection hole
Before cutting into any wallboard, it is always a good idea to know what is behind the wall, especially when there are electrical boxes, fire sprinklers, or light switches surrounding the doorway.

To see if there may be water pipes and/or electrical wires running behind the walls, cut a small inspection hole into the wallboard. Use a small square block of wood as a template and trace the outline for an inspection hole. Cut along the line using a drywall saw held at an angle.

Once the hole is cut out, hold a small mirror inside the hole and look around. If you see any pipes or wires, you will need to proceed with caution while you open the wall, and you will have to relocate or disconnect the pipes or wires once have the wall opened.

If you decide after looking into the wall, that there are too many complications to go forward with the project, you can use the piece of wallboard that was removed as a patch. The bevel you cut earlier will prevent the patch from falling inside the wall and you can simply cement it in place with joint compound.

3. Cut away the wallboard
You can cut the wallboard with a hand wallboard saw or you can use a rotary cutting tool, which is particularly handy for large sections of wallboard.

Before removing the wallboard, remove any trim, molding or chair rail on the existing wall. The putty knife and pry bar combination will once again allow you to remove trim without damage.

4. Remove framing
To remove the door framing, the first step is to cut the nails that attach the doorjamb to the framing. A reciprocating saw is perfect for cutting through the nails. Also use a reciprocating saw to remove the studs, by cutting through the nails at the bottom of each stud. After the nails are cut, pull the studs free. t the base plates to the post and gate and then bolt the hinges to the plates first on the gate side and then on the post.

If any electrical wiring needs to be removed, it is very important to make sure that the power has been turned off.

A Japanese handsaw is perfect for cutting through the base plate without damaging the floor below. Once the base plate has been cut all the way through, it is a matter of prying it up from the floor.

5. Replace framing
After removing some of the wall studs, you will need to build new studs in just the right location for the new opening.

To frame the new doorway, attach a shorter stud just inside the full size one. This shorter board is called a jack stud and will support the end of the new header, which is created by nailing two 2 X 4s together.

The ends of the header are attached in place by driving screws in at an angle, which is a process called toenailing.

Insert and attach short stud pieces, called cripple studs, above the new header. These will distribute weight over the header and provide a nailing surface for the wallboard.

6. Replace wallboard
Cut the drywall to size, fit it into place and attach it to the wall studs with screws.

7. Doorjamb and casing
Cover the exposed studs in the inside of the doorway with solid pieces of wooden doorjamb material, beginning with the top jamb piece.

To make the side jambs perfectly straight and vertical, insert pairs of shims every couple of feet, and then nail through the shims and into the 2 X 4 framing. Cut off the protruding shims with a small hand saw.

Next, use door casing to cover up the edge where the wallboard meets the doorjamb. Use a miter saw to cut 45-degree angles on the ends of each piece of casing.

The trim is then nailed in place.

8. Wallboard joints
To cover the exposed wallboard joints, first apply a bedding coat of joint compound. Wet the paper tape and lay it across the joint where the pieces of wallboard meet. Then press the tape firmly into the compound with a wide putty knife, holding the knife at a low angle. Apply a second coat of joint compound and smooth it with the knife. Allow it to dry and then sand.

9. Finishing touches
Finally, fill the nail holes, put on a fresh coat of paint and replace any molding that was removed.