How to Make an Archway in a Door

Remove any doorstops and trim from around the doorway. Cut back the drywall with the drywall saw just enough to expose the studs and header that frame the doorway. Determine the style of arch you want. Measure the width of the doorway opening.

Make a cardboard pattern for the arch. For a half-circle arch, draw a line on a cardboard sheet equal to the doorway width. Put a tack through the cardboard at the exact center of that line. Tie a string to the tack and tie the other end to a pencil so that the pencil held vertically is exactly on one end of the doorway width line. Keep the pencil vertical and the string tight. Use the tack as a pivot point and draw a half-circle on the cardboard sheet.

Cut out the cardboard arch pattern and tape it to the doorway opening to check for appearance, fit and headroom. Use the cardboard template to mark the arch on two pieces of ½-inch plywood. Cut out the arch with the jigsaw. Cut the plywood with the circular saw to fit into the doorway. Allow at least 4 inches between the top of the arch and the top of the doorway framing.

Cut a 6-foot-long 2-by-4 down to a width of 2 ½ inches. Cut a piece from that narrowed board that’s the width of the doorway. Center it on the doorway header and nail it into place. Nail another piece of that narrowed 2-by-4 down each side of the doorway opening long enough to get within 2 inches of where the bottom of the arch will be. Nail one piece of the plywood arch on one side of the narrowed 2-by-4s you just installed. Nail the second piece to the other side. The plywood pieces should be flush with the doorway framing.

Cut 3-inch blocks from the narrowed 2-by-4 and screw them into place between the plywood sheets. Follow the curve of the arch and space the blocks about 6 inches apart. Cut strips of Masonite equal to the thickness of the wall. Starting from the floor, nail a strip of Masonite up one side of the doorway, to the blocks around the curve of the archway and down the other side of the opening.

Cut a piece of standard ½-inch drywall equal to the width of the doorway opening. Make it long enough to hang down over the arch. Secure it to the plywood face of the arch with drywall screws and a screwdriver. Cut out the curve of the arch with the drywall saw. Repeat on the opposite side of the archway opening.

Cover the inside of the archway with the flexible ¼-inch drywall, cut to the thickness of the wall. Start 6 inches below the beginning of the curve of the arch. Apply the flexible drywall to the inside of the opening so it follows the curve of the arch. Drive a pair of nails every 6 inches through the drywall into the support blocks around the arch. Nail straight strips of the flexible drywall down each side of the opening.

Fasten flexible drywall corner bead around the sides of the archway. Start from the floor on one side. Follow the line of the doorway, up one side, around the arch and down the other side. Fasten the corner bead with 9/16-inch staples spaced 3 inches apart. Repeat on the opposite side.

Apply drywall joint compound with the putty knife to cover the drywall corner beading. It will take three coats. Apply the first coat and allow to dry. Apply the second and third coats, allowing the compound to dry between coats. Sand the archway smooth and paint it.