http://www.frontiernet.net/~toller/door.jpg
There is drywall on the other side. It is a partition wall.
I want to replace my 32" door with a 36" door.

Presumably it is just a matter of ripping out one side of studs and the
header, putting new ones back in 4" further apart, and then cutting the
drywall back; but things sometimes aren't as easy as they look.

Why are the studs doubled like that? Is that necessary?
Do they make a 35" door? If they did, I could take out the inner studs to
get enough room for a 35" door. As a practical matter my exterior (sliding
glass) door is only 35", so that would be good enough.

"Toller" wrote in message
...
http://www.frontiernet.net/~toller/door.jpg
There is drywall on the other side. It is a partition wall.
I want to replace my 32" door with a 36" door.

Presumably it is just a matter of ripping out one side of studs and the
header, putting new ones back in 4" further apart, and then cutting the
drywall back; but things sometimes aren't as easy as they look.

Why are the studs doubled like that? Is that necessary?
Do they make a 35" door? If they did, I could take out the inner studs to
get enough room for a 35" door. As a practical matter my exterior
(sliding glass) door is only 35", so that would be good enough.

You need the double studs and headers to comply with the building codes.
Yes, it can be done depending on your skill level and pain tolerance.

Toller wrote:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~toller/door.jpg
There is drywall on the other side. It is a partition wall.
I want to replace my 32" door with a 36" door.

Presumably it is just a matter of ripping out one side of studs and the
header, putting new ones back in 4" further apart, and then cutting the
drywall back; but things sometimes aren't as easy as they look.

I'd put the new studs in before cutting anything out wherever
possible.

Why are the studs doubled like that? Is that necessary?

Yes. You're terminating a wall in two new places, and need
to stiffen them. Swinging the door puts constant movement
on the hinge side studs, and someone kicking the door in
might break either side stud if not tied to a jack.

Do they make a 35" door? If they did, I could take out the inner studs to
get enough room for a 35" door. As a practical matter my exterior (sliding
glass) door is only 35", so that would be good enough.

Does that leave enough room to shim the jambs plumb?

from buffalo ny: if this is from an attached garage into the home, this
may be your chance to improve the door safety with a fire rated door.
36" would be a desired minimum door size. check your permit office, in
some dwelling structures in some jurisdictions your mandatory door
swing direction and openings are already spelled out for you in your
building codes. you can custom order any size door. sometimes a hidden
electrical item may be in the cavity. framing makes for support,
security, integrity of door hinges and latches, and allows for your
slamming of door without plaster damage when you hit your thumb with
the framing hammer.

Toller wrote:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~toller/door.jpg
There is drywall on the other side. It is a partition wall.
I want to replace my 32" door with a 36" door.

Presumably it is just a matter of ripping out one side of studs and the
header, putting new ones back in 4" further apart, and then cutting the
drywall back; but things sometimes aren't as easy as they look.

Why are the studs doubled like that? Is that necessary?
Do they make a 35" door? If they did, I could take out the inner studs to
get enough room for a 35" door. As a practical matter my exterior (sliding
glass) door is only 35", so that would be good enough.

buffalobill, take a look at the walls on either side of the door. If
this in an attached garage, I'd agree that this is a good time to put
in a fire rated door, but that would have to be just the first step in
improving the safety of this situation.

A fire door would be overkill unless there are plans to bring the rest
of the wall up to code.

From what I see, if this IS a wall between the garage and the house,
somebody wasn't paying attention to code when they built it.


buffalobill wrote:
from buffalo ny: if this is from an attached garage into the home, this
may be your chance to improve the door safety with a fire rated door.
36" would be a desired minimum door size. check your permit office, in
some dwelling structures in some jurisdictions your mandatory door
swing direction and openings are already spelled out for you in your
building codes. you can custom order any size door. sometimes a hidden
electrical item may be in the cavity. framing makes for support,
security, integrity of door hinges and latches, and allows for your
slamming of door without plaster damage when you hit your thumb with
the framing hammer.

Toller wrote:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~toller/door.jpg
There is drywall on the other side. It is a partition wall.
I want to replace my 32" door with a 36" door.

Presumably it is just a matter of ripping out one side of studs and the
header, putting new ones back in 4" further apart, and then cutting the
drywall back; but things sometimes aren't as easy as they look.

Why are the studs doubled like that? Is that necessary?
Do they make a 35" door? If they did, I could take out the inner studs to
get enough room for a 35" door. As a practical matter my exterior (sliding
glass) door is only 35", so that would be good enough.

From what I see, if this IS a wall between the garage and the house,
somebody wasn't paying attention to code when they built it.


I suppose I should have been more explicit. It is an interior door in the
basement. (I did mention that it didn't need to be more than 35" because
that is all the exterior door was, so it was implied to be an interior door.