In order for someone in a wheelchair to comfortably navigate a home, the doorways in said home must be at least 32 inches wide (36 inches if the chair must turn to pass through the door). Many older homes were built without any consideration given to wheelchair accessibility, however, making door widening necessary in the event that home needs to become navigable by someone in a wheelchair.
What to Expect During the Door Widening Process:
Generally speaking, it will take at least a few hours to widen one door.
To begin, an outline will be measured and drawn on the wall to indicate where the new door frame will be.
Any casing around the door frame and baseboard that falls within the parameters of the new doorway will be pried off and removed. A shim will be used to prevent any damage to the drywall behind the baseboard.
A small section of drywall will generally be removed so that those conducting the door widening can inspect the interior of the wall, noting the position of wires and other features they may need to avoid. Light switches and electrical outlets may need to be relocated if they are too close to the doorways that are to be widened. The power will, of course, be shut off while these changes are being made.
Once everything is ready, the wall will be cut into with a variety of saws, removing the portions that need to be discarded to make way for the new door.
The new doorway will then be framed, a new doorjamb installed, and new casing affixed to the frame. The drywall will be finished and the baseboard that was removed will be put back into place.
Finally, when all is complete, any holes in the wall will be patched up and a new coat of paint will be applied to the trim and walls, making everything a uniform colour.
A Few Other Points to Consider:
The price of your door widening job will depend foremost on whether you’re widening an exterior or interior door; exterior doors cost far more to remodel as there is usually brick or siding involved (as well as the door itself being pricier).
If there is a door in a location where the frame cannot be widened (such as at the end of a very narrow hallway), other solutions can be investigated. For example, one can use “swing away” hinges, which allow the door to swing away much more fully from the frame, leaving a wider space for someone in a wheelchair to navigate through.
Having your doorways widened has aesthetic benefits in addition to being essential for accessibility reasons; wider doorways allow more light to flow through a home, creating a brighter, more cheerful atmosphere. They also help to create the illusion that the home is larger and more spacious than it actually is.