But, unless space is an issue, most bedroom doors swing in. The International Residential Code (IRC) doesn’t rule on bedroom door swings. That way you avoid all that moving, routing, and patching. You can save yourself a lot of hassle by installing a new, pre-hung door ($240-$401) that swings the way you want. Pry off the doorjamb, or use a reciprocating saw and metal-cutting blade to cut the nails holding the doorjamb in place.If you can save it, great, but it often breaks so be prepared to buy new casing.

Remove the hinge pins and take off the door, leaving hardware in place.If you're changing the door so it swings into a different room, you can remove the entire doorjamb and turn it around: Relocate the doorstop bumper that prevents the door from hitting the wall.Repair the old hinge locations with wood putty or filler, then prime and paint the jamb.This video will show you how to chisel new hinge recesses.) ( This video will teach you how to router the hinge recesses. Router or chisel new hinge and strike plate recesses on the opposite jamb.(If you're moving the door so it swings from the opposite side, but still swings into the same room, you won't have to change the door stop molding.) Remove the existing door, hinges, and strike plate from the doorjamb.But you can do it yourself if your carpentry skills are up to snuff. The carpenters changed the door swing before I could take good “before” pictures, but here's a look at the space now.Ĭhanging the way a door swings might take a carpenter about an hour to do. The first impression of the new space was cramped and uncomfortable. But when I remodeled the space, the right-swinging door opened into the suite just a hair past the wall of the new bathroom. When the door opened only into unfinished space, it was no problem. When I refinished part of my basement into a bedroom-bathroom suite, I wrestled with door-swing issues. Remove the door and switch to a sliding or pocket door, and you have 13 sq.Now you’ve got room for a desk, table, or dresser. Change the swing from left to right (or vice versa) and you free up the wall space where the door would rest.in a small room, which could let you have that sofa after all.

Change the swing from inside to outside, and you can reclaim the entire 13 sq.

Here are Some Advantages of Changing the Swing: Change the door swing and you can decide where to place that wasted space - on the left or right of your doorway, or on the inside or outside of the wall. Got space problems? Changing the way your door swings might help.Ī 32-inch door typically eats up about 13 sq.

House flipper install door