How far should a door stop be?

Author: Austin Harber  |  Last update: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Swing the door open and judge where you want it to stop — be mindful of the door handle position. With your pencil, mark the wall or skirting where the stopper, or for a spring door stop its mounting plate, will be positioned — ideally about two inches in from the edge of the door.

Where should door stoppers be placed?

Starting at the bottom of the door where it swings into the baseboard, measure about 2″ in from the edge of the door along the baseboard. Using a pencil, mark a spot equidistant from the top and bottom of the baseboard. This is where you will install the doorstop.

What is the gap between door and door stop?

Position the side stop pieces against the marks on the jambs, ensuring a consistent gap between the stop and the closed door (around 1/8 inch is ideal to account for paint or future adjustments).

Which is the more effective location for the doorstop?

Be sure to install your door stop vertically under wherever the door handle is, as this will minimise the force on the door's hinges when it's being opened and closed and will reduce any flexing to the door.

How deep should a door stop be?

The thickness of a door stop will depend on the detail which the door manufacturer has tested or has had assessed. The door manufacturer will provide details of the size of doorstop required with his door leaf. It is not necessary for a doorstop to be 25mm deep. Double action doors will be tested with no stop at all.

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What is the standard gap under door?

One critical aspect to emphasize is the gap between the door and the floor, which should be between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch for optimal functionality.

What makes a good door stop?

Use solid stops or heavy-duty hinge pin stops for thicker, solid-core doors, and if you choose hinge stops, install them on both the top and bottom hinges if the door is exceptionally heavy. If your door tends to swing on its own, consider a magnetic stop to hold the door open.

Do people still use door stops?

Door stoppers are overlooked items that play a necessary role in residential and commercial buildings. There are a wide variety of doorstops available in the present day, so let's examine the various benefits of installing a doorstop.

What height for a door stop?

It should be tall enough to prevent the door from hitting a wall, skirting board or furniture, but not so tall that it becomes a tripping hazard. Similarly, the size of the doorstop should be appropriate for the size and weight of the door.

What is the minimum door stop size?

25mm stops date back to the days before intumescent seals and smoke brushes existed and were a rudimentary way of forming a seal on a door - if your doors are correctly fitted with intumescent seals (and if on an escape route smoke brushes) the 25mm stop is not required and a 19mm stop should suffice.

What is the ideal door gap?

A gap of around 1/8th of an inch is recommended for standard doors to keep the elements out, protect the paint on the trim, and ensure that the door closes and opens smoothly. The right amount of space is equal to the thickness of your door with a little extra room for clearance while opening or closing.

What nails to use for door stops?

Fire a brad nail approximately every 8 to 10 inches for the length of the door trim and stop. Use the Arrow PT18G Pneumatic Brad Nailer to secure the new pieces. For the door trim, we chose 2” brad nails. For the stop, we chose 1” brad nails.

Do door stops go on baseboards or doors?

In a house they will typically go on the baseboards. There was one occasion that I know of that they were installed on the doors in a hotel bathroom (trying to install a stop on a tub isn't practical). You also can use hinge pin stops in a residential application as well.

Which is better rigid or spring door stop?

The rigid type is better than the spring because there is no give. If the door is slammed toward the wall and the spring type isn't mounted so that the impact is directly centered on it, the spring may give enough so that the handle pops into the wall. The rigid type won't do this.

How to stop a door opening too far?

Option 1: Wall-Mounted Stops
  1. Choose where you want the stop to go (on the wall or baseboard).
  2. Use the measuring tape to mark the spot where the stop will meet the door.
  3. Drill holes and secure the stop to the wall with screws.
  4. Test the door to make sure it doesn't swing too far!

What is the best placement for a door stopper?

When it comes to mounting door stops, the general recommendation is to install them on the skirting board whenever feasible. This placement keeps them out of the way, as the area behind doors is typically not where people walk, making them less obtrusive.

Why are door stops not allowed in hospitals?

Therefore, a wedge holding the corridor door open would never be permitted because it would not release if the door was pushed or pulled. However, door wedges would be permitted on doors that were not required to self-close (such as a hazardous room), corridor doors, smoke barrier doors, or fire-rated doors.

What is the best door to avoid burglary?

A security door differs from a typical door because it is often reinforced with steel or aluminum. These doors feature layers of steel sandwiched in-between wood, making them more challenging for would-be burglars to break.

What to put in a homemade door stop?

The gravel was put in little plastic bags to keep it all together at the bottom of the doorstop and then the rest of the door stop was filled with polyester stuffing. Another great tip is to use cushion inners/pads for the polyester stuffing. It's much cheaper than buying specific stuffing.

How heavy should a doorstop be?

The majority of doorstops weigh approximately 1.2Kg but there are a couple of heavy weight doorstops which weigh in at 2.2 Kg for the larger doors. Currently we have Pig Tam Doorstops DSHVY02 and DSROUND05 Caesar Rhino Doorstop available.

How far should a door be off the floor?

In general, the gap beneath an interior door will be between three-quarters of an inch and half an inch. This width depends largely on the type of flooring, as door frames are generally installed when the floor is unfinished. A standard door can have varying levels of clearance over different flooring types.

What is the code for the gap under a door?

NFPA 80 currently allows a maximum bottom gap of 3/4 in.

What does "undercut door" mean?

An undercut is the distance between the bottom of the door and the door frame itself. Any carpenter generally uses this term. Many people think the undercut and floor clearance are the same, but that's not technically correct.

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