Clear Width (Door Clearance) Door openings shall have a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches; however, if the doorway is more than 24 inches deep, then a minimum clearance of 36 inches is required.
TRIMMING TO SIZE
A well fitted door should have a 2mm gap on either side and at the top. The gap at the bottom will depend on the thickness of your flooring/carpet. Plane the door as required, using an electric plane will help you get an even finish, and sand for a smooth finish.
As a general guide, 5 to 10mm clearance horizontally & vertically is sufficient. This allows sufficient room to plumb, level & square the frame.
There should be a 2mm or 3mm gap between the door and the frame on both sides and the top. If you do need to cut the door down to size, keep in mind that you need to cut all four sides of the door equally whenever possible to retain an accurate shape or pattern if the door is panelled.
Ideally, there should be a gap of about 1/2 inch between the bottom of the door and the floor to allow for expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. Additionally, side clearances should be approximately 1/8 inch on both sides to ensure smooth operation.
As a guide the average undercut of your door should be between 8mm and 10mm, that's around ⅝ inch to ¾ inch from the bottom of the frame. if you are in doubt, shave or cut off a little and if it's not enough, shave off some more.
the gap between the underside of the door and unfinished floor should be between 10mm and 22mm, with the ventilation requirements for the building taken into account when determining the gap beneath internal doors.
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.
Q: How much clearance should I leave at the bottom of the door? A: Typically, leave about 1/2 inch of clearance at the bottom of the door to allow for smooth opening and closing, especially if there is carpet or a rug.
Hinge Margin: Space between the door panel and door frame on the hinge side of the door. A standard hinge margin is 1/16", but can vary based upon the hinges used. Strike Margin: Space between the door panel and door frame on the strike, or handle, side of the door. The standard strike margin is 5/32".
Front approaches to push side of swinging doors, if equipped with both closer and latch, shall have maneuvering space starting at the hinge side and that extends 12 inches (305 mm) minimum beyond the latch side of the door and 48 inches (1220 mm) minimum perpendicular to the doorway.
A door reveal refers to the space between the edge of a door and the door frame. This space is also sometimes called a door jamb or door stop. The reveal serves several important functions in the construction and operation of a door.
Framing rough opening sizes are really quite simple. Just add 2″ to the width of the actual door size. You should add 2-1/2″ to the height of the actual door. This will give you room to space the door frame off of the sub-floor.
Door openings shall have a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches; however, if the doorway is more than 24 inches deep, then a minimum clearance of 36 inches is required. The clear opening is measured from the face of the door to the stop of the frame while the door is opened to 90 degrees.
Space at least 60″ deep in front of a door will accommodate a forward approach, except in case of hinge approaches on the pull side. On the pull side of hinge approaches, 36″ minimum latch-side clearance is required if the depth is 60″ minimum (The depth can be 54″ minimum if the latch-side clearance is at least 42″.)
If light or drafts are coming around your door since it was installed, it is not level in the frame. You will notice this as soon as the door is first installed, or if you move into a new home and notice this problem, the door was most likely not installed properly when it was put in.
Apply Flood Paste (cartridge) directly into the gap between the threshold and the bottom of the doors, between the doors, around the lock sets or door handles, and all seams.
Margins (sometimes also called “rebates”) are the spaces between the door and the door frame. These are often important if you're looking at issues with your hinge jamb. Again, these spaces can be broken down into specific types: the hinge margin, strike margin, top (header) margin, and bottom (sweep) margin.
To help provide good thermal and sound insulation for your internal doors, there should be a gap of around 2-3mm between the door leaf and frame at the top and sides with a gap of around 9mm at the bottom.
Standard Size for Closet and Utility Doors
In houses built before 1990's the doors could be as narrow as 18 inches. Newer comes usually have a width of 30 inches and a standard high of 96” inches.
NFPA 80 currently allows a maximum bottom gap of 3/4 in.
Undercut is a term used to describe the dimen- sion from the bottom of the door to the bottom of the frame. Doors are undercut to provide clearance above the finish floor material. Typically they are undercut ⅝ inches to ¾ inches from the bottom of the frame.
Clearance issues are sometimes caused by loose or missing screws. Open the door to ensure it has all of the screws and that they are properly tightened. If the screws are loose and cannot be tightened, a thread lock material can be used to secure them.