Cutting a door in wall
#1
Cutting a door in wall
I am looking for instructions on where to start and what to look out for in cutting a new door opening in a wall.
#2
That is asking for alot of info Basics to look for initially, is there electrical running through the area you want to make the whole? If not then your 2 steps ahead of the game already.
How big of an opening are you gong to cut-width wise. Personally anything over 3' i like to run some temporary bracing on the ceiling to help should the load until the new opening with header is installed, especailly if the roof has a large overhang and/or your doing this with a snow load at the time.
I dont know of any links on hand, and it might be easier to just go to a homecenter and buy a book for reference since there are alot of things that will factor into doing this correctly. Without sounding condesending, if your asking questions like this, in the whole scope of the project for a correctly performed job with great finished appearance it might be in your best intrest to call somebody in. Alot of time I'll have homeowners call and after discussing the situation and prices, some just want me to do the grunt work of it and they'll do the finish aspect which saves alot of money, while others just want it done after I explain roughly what it'll take for a proper finsihed appearance like the door/window was there from day one. With a number of factors to consider, you may be surprised at how affordable this project might actually be or how much money/time/aggravation you saved by hiring it out.
How big of an opening are you gong to cut-width wise. Personally anything over 3' i like to run some temporary bracing on the ceiling to help should the load until the new opening with header is installed, especailly if the roof has a large overhang and/or your doing this with a snow load at the time.
I dont know of any links on hand, and it might be easier to just go to a homecenter and buy a book for reference since there are alot of things that will factor into doing this correctly. Without sounding condesending, if your asking questions like this, in the whole scope of the project for a correctly performed job with great finished appearance it might be in your best intrest to call somebody in. Alot of time I'll have homeowners call and after discussing the situation and prices, some just want me to do the grunt work of it and they'll do the finish aspect which saves alot of money, while others just want it done after I explain roughly what it'll take for a proper finsihed appearance like the door/window was there from day one. With a number of factors to consider, you may be surprised at how affordable this project might actually be or how much money/time/aggravation you saved by hiring it out.
#3
Hello suobs and welcome to the forums!
IHI has made a pretty good point as to the overall aspect of doing a project like this as a diyer, particularly if this is indeed an exterior door. Trimming out an exterior finish so it looks as though the new door was always there can be tricky depending upon the exterior finish of the structure. Putting an interior door into a partition wall, is easily within the realm of someone who can read a tape and is compentent with hand tools and has them available. However you initial post was pretty vague, so we don't know at this point if this is to be an exterior or interior door. Give us as much info as possible and we'll be happy to talk you thru your project.
First step is to determine whether the wall where you intend to install the door is load bearing or not. If it's an exterior wall it's almost certainly load bearing, for interior walls you'll have to look at all of the house framing to determine if it's a load bearing wall or not. You start looking in the attic and see how the load from the roof down is supported. This isn't something that should be done by a diyer or even a novice handyman for that matter. Tearing into a load bearing wall without first providing for temporary support of the load of the wall can and probably will lead to all sorts of bad problems that you don't want to deal with. Like IHI stated another important issue is whether or not there is electric or plumbing running through the area intended for the new door opening.
Post back with as much info as possible about the proposed project and we'll try to give you some answers to your questions. However it might be a sound idea to get two or three estimates from local contractors on your project, this will give you some idea as to the costs and labor involved.
HTH & Merry Christmas! :glocke:
IHI has made a pretty good point as to the overall aspect of doing a project like this as a diyer, particularly if this is indeed an exterior door. Trimming out an exterior finish so it looks as though the new door was always there can be tricky depending upon the exterior finish of the structure. Putting an interior door into a partition wall, is easily within the realm of someone who can read a tape and is compentent with hand tools and has them available. However you initial post was pretty vague, so we don't know at this point if this is to be an exterior or interior door. Give us as much info as possible and we'll be happy to talk you thru your project.
First step is to determine whether the wall where you intend to install the door is load bearing or not. If it's an exterior wall it's almost certainly load bearing, for interior walls you'll have to look at all of the house framing to determine if it's a load bearing wall or not. You start looking in the attic and see how the load from the roof down is supported. This isn't something that should be done by a diyer or even a novice handyman for that matter. Tearing into a load bearing wall without first providing for temporary support of the load of the wall can and probably will lead to all sorts of bad problems that you don't want to deal with. Like IHI stated another important issue is whether or not there is electric or plumbing running through the area intended for the new door opening.
Post back with as much info as possible about the proposed project and we'll try to give you some answers to your questions. However it might be a sound idea to get two or three estimates from local contractors on your project, this will give you some idea as to the costs and labor involved.
HTH & Merry Christmas! :glocke:
#4
Well, reading it back over, I guess it was a pretty naive question, but as someone stuck on one of the posts, "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right." I always think I can, altho I might regret it.
It's an interior wall between a house I want to buy and the attached mother-in-law one BR apartment, which would make the house a 3/3. They were built at the same time so far as I know. Since I'll be having an inspector over to visit in week, I'll ask him/her about whether the wall is load bearing. I'll also look into contractors.
Thanks so far!
It's an interior wall between a house I want to buy and the attached mother-in-law one BR apartment, which would make the house a 3/3. They were built at the same time so far as I know. Since I'll be having an inspector over to visit in week, I'll ask him/her about whether the wall is load bearing. I'll also look into contractors.
Thanks so far!
#5
OK given that situation if your inspector can give you a definite answer on whether or not the wall is load-bearing, this might be within your means as a diy project. What is the current finish of the two existing walls? Keep us informed & we'll be happy to help.