powder room too small for swing-in door

we have a little powder room (sink/potty) with a swing-in door. there is just barely enough room to step inside & be able to swing the door shut. a really large person wouldn't fit at all. this is the guest bathroom & the only bathroom on our main floor. i'm sure if someone in there were to faint or have a heart attack or something, they'd be stuck. so, Question #1: is that even up to code??? the house is only 25 years old.

secondly, having the door swing out into the foyer/hallway would be the easiest fix, right (altho i really don't want the door swinging out into the hallway )? Q#2: is changing the swing of a door a big deal for DIYers? can you use the same door & just flip the hinge over? this is a nice old raised panel painted door, so reusing it would be nice. what about the frame & the place where the hinge used to be - fixable?

another option is to put in a pocket door, which would be my preference both functionally & aesthetically, altho probably expensive & a major project. how big a deal is that (assuming there's no electric or plumbing in the wall)? any estimates on cost for the door and/or labor? (there's no way we'd DIY this.) i saw another similar post & it was said that a permit & inspection is needed - is that right? also, could it be done without altering the existing wood floors, baseboards, wainscot paneling, trim, etc, and have it look original? also, do pocket doors not hold up well? and do they always have to rub inside & get the horizontal marks on them??

or should i just leave well enough alone since apparently no one has yet needed to be removed by use of the Jaws of Life in the past 25 years?

any comments/advice appreciated! thanks!

 

Changing the door from in-swing to out-swing is no big deal. If you can live with the hinges being on the opposite side, it is even easier.

1. Remove the door from its frame by taking out the hinge pins.
2. Remove the door facings.
3. Remove the jambs and rotate to opposite sides. This will put hinges on the outside.
4. Install jambs. Hinge side first.
5. Install facings.
6. Hang door. (you may want to hang temporarily in step 4 to get spacing correct between the door and the jambs.)

 

thanks for the reply!

actually, moving the hinges to the other side would be my choice!

by "door facing" do you mean the trim around the door?

and if we remove the whole frame (are jambs the same as frames?), will that wreck/damage a few inches of the wall all around the frame? as in, more than would be hidden by the trimwork?

we have hardwood floors. will removing & reinstalling the frame do anything to the floors?

 

Yes, the facing is the trim which covers the gap between the jamb and the wall.

The jamb is the board which has the door stop nailed to it. Yes, sometimes referred to as the frame. Once the trim is removed, you can cut the nails with a sawzall and not do any damage to the wall or the jambs. When you re-install the jambs, you will need to plumb, shim, and nail through the jamb into the rough framing. By carefully locating the jambs, the trim should cover the same area as before. Remember to cut along the edge of the trim where it meets the wall with a utility knife before removing the trim. This reduces the damage to the paint or wallcovering. When removing the trim, use a flat pry bar and start at the top corners. By working carefully, you should have minimal damage to the wall.

The jambs and trim should be on top of the flooring. If this is not the case, post back. Good luck with your project.

 

thanks for the clarification.

i suppose we could try this route, and see how we like the out-swinging door. then if we didn't like it, we could try the pocket door idea. or even switch it back!!!

thanks!