Dimensions Guide

The door is one of the most important parts of the house. It serves as a moveable partition wherein people can enter and exit. Furthermore, it serves as protection from unwanted and undesirable outside factors. By having a strong, reliable and heavy-duty door, people can feel safe, sound and worry-free all the time. It is also used as opening for containers, cages and cupboards. In order to understand it much better, it is good to know the different standard door dimensions.

Dimensions of a Standard Door

In the U.S., the standard door size is 36 inches by 80 inches or 0.91 meter by 2.03 meters. In some areas, the usual door size is 1.2 meters by 2.1 meters, which is widely used in comfort rooms, bedrooms as well as in main entries. The width of doors is 0.8 meters or more, depending on the purpose.

Additional Facts and Other Important Information

A door is made up of a number of important components. There is a horizontal beam situated at the top of the door called lintel. Also called a header, its primary purpose is to support the wall above the door. The vertical posts located at the sides of the frame are called jambs. Next is the sill, a horizontal beam found underneath the door. Its purpose is to support the frame.

There is also a thin slat found inside the doorframe, which is called the doorstop. It stops the door from swinging through when you are closing it. There is also an architrave, which is basically a decorative molding, the purpose of which is to outline the frame of the door. It is very easy to enhance how door looks, especially with the help of certain hardware or furniture. These include decorative doorstops, handles and hinges.

The door has a rich and colorful history. Some of the materials used in the earlier forms of the door were oak, cedar as well as olive wood. During the Ancient Roman and Greek times, doors came in various forms, the most common of which were folding doors, sliding doors and double doors. The Westminster Abbey in London is the oldest door in the whole of England. This fixture dates back to as far as 1050.

There are various kinds of mechanisms used in doors. These include rotating doors, folding doors as well as sliding doors, all of which are considered standard doors. Of course, do not forget the hinge doors, which are amongst the most common types of doors available today.