# Did I measure this door incorrectly?



## LRAO (Jan 3, 2007)

Hello,

I am about to change out a front door in a rental house I own.

I measured the (wood) door as 36 inches wide, and 77 1/2 inches from top to bottom. 

I went to Home Depot to look for a steel door, but they only only in 80 inches in height.

Is there something I didn't calculate or measure?

TIA!


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

door can be cut height-wise speaking... however , I know it would be tought to cut a steel door.... I think it is really your opening 77 1/2 is off the standard...


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## wolffhomerepair (Oct 25, 2006)

Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. What I mean is if you measured the actual existing door but are comparing it to the dimensions list on a new door they may not be the same. The list dimensions on a new door are typically the rough in dimension or the dimension of the outer frame. This dimension is important as it is the size the opening needs to be to allow the door to fit. To get the rough dimension on your old door it is best to remove the interior trim (this will have to come off anyway when you change it) and measure the frame dimensions.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 7, 2004)

Doors can be all over the place. I frequently work on older homes built back when carpenters actually made doors, they often framed the opening and then built the door to fit.

Door dimensions have changed over the years, so have the RO's as the pre-hungs have gone to heavier frames. There are 2 ways out. Cut & fit a new wood door or be prepared to change the RO for a new pre-hung. I usually choose the latter if the door was installed with trimmers.

Get the RO for the new pre-hung door and pull the casing inside. This will let you know how the old door was installed and how much room that you have to play with. Expect to have to cut out some of the header, most of the time this will not be too much.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

If you take your actual door slab measurement and go back into HD, and go to the millwork dept, they will be able to help you figure out exactly what size door you need and how much to cut down. (They can figure out the R.O based on the door slab)
They will then order it to your height specs (by cutting down at the factory).

Make sure that you have your inswing direction and your wall thickness (2x4 or 2x6).


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## custom_co (Jan 2, 2007)

call in an expert.. regards mike


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## mighty anvil (Oct 5, 2005)

As others have suggested, prefabricated door sizes are traditionally given in frame opening dimensions and the doors are fabricated slightly smaller and beveled on the strike edge to fit in the frames. If you have a height problem you might be able to alter the threshold.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

LRAO said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am about to change out a front door in a rental house I own.
> 
> ...


Sounds like you need to find a mill work supplier in your area , and call to see if they will deal with you retail, some only sell to open trade accounts. There are "replacement" doors manufactured that are shorter tha 80", and they (mill supplier) are much more suited than HD for knowing if there is a combinaton of door/threshold that will work for you. You can't cut the steel door, but stay away from steel anyway, they rust out at the bottom in five or six years, find fiberglass.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

AtlanticWBConst. said:


> If you take your actual door slab measurement and go back into HD, and go to the millwork dept, they will be able to help you figure out exactly what size door you need and how much to cut down. (They can figure out the R.O based on the door slab)
> They will then order it to your height specs (by cutting down at the factory).
> 
> Make sure that you have your inswing direction and your wall thickness (2x4 or 2x6).


Boy, your HD must be staffed by a much higher from of intellegance than any I have ever been in:laughing:. "Special order" anything from the big boxes almost always results in some sort of screwup that costs the customer in my expeiences.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

troubleseeker said:


> Boy, your HD must be staffed by a much higher from of intellegance than any I have ever been in:laughing:. "Special order" anything from the big boxes almost always results in some sort of screwup that costs the customer in my expeiences.


Actually, we order from quite a few different suppliers. There are just a few things that we are forced to order from them. We have been doing business with the same people there for years (at that mill work dept.) and at least the ones in that particular store are on the ball. 
Three of them have actual years of private mill shop experience.
It's like everything else in this business. 
You keep the 'people and businesses' that make your job easy and dump the ones that make it difficult.


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