How to Create a Doorway

Frame a Doorway

• 1

  Lay out the plan for your wall framing on a piece of paper. Measure the exterior dimensions of your door's finish frame and size the rough opening accordingly.

• 2

  Install a king stud on each side of the doorway with a distance between the two king studs that is 3 inches wider than the planned rough opening. King studs extend all the way from the base plate to the top plate. Nail a cripple stud onto the side of each king stud that faces the rough opening. Cripple studs extend from the base plate to the top of the rough opening, and are nailed directly to the king studs. Install a header across the top of the rough opening. A header is made out of two 2-by-8 boards that are nailed together and installed so that their ends butt up against the king studs and they rest on top of the ends of the cripple studs.

• 3

  Stand the wall up in the location where it is being installed. After the wall is nailed on, cut out the section of the base plate that passes through the doorway rough opening.

Cut a Doorway

• 4

  Outline the location of your doorway rough opening on the surface of the wall. How you cut out the opening depends on the material used in the wall. A wood framed wall that is sheathed with drywall and wood siding can be cut apart with a utility knife and a reciprocating saw. A brick or concrete block wall requires a sledgehammer.

• 5

  Cut or knock out the material to open up a hole that corresponds to the outline that you made. Install a header above the opening to support any weight that is above the new opening.

• 6

  Construct a frame out of dimensioned lumber to fit inside the rough opening. Use boards with a width that is equal to the thickness of the wall.