How to Cut a Door Into Plywood Walls

Cover the floor with drop cloths pushed against the base of the wall on both sides of the cutting area to catch debris knocked free from the cutting process. Wear a pair of safety goggles, hard hat, work gloves and a particle mask to protect you from dust and debris as well.

Measure the door that you're installing, including the door jamb that you'll be attaching the door to with a tape measure. Mark the proposed location of your door onto the drywall paneling using a piece of chalk and the measurements taken. Use a straightedge to help you draw the lines for the door opening.

Remove the drywall panels covering one side of the wall where you wish to place the door. Cut a slit through the tape covering the joint between the wall and the ceiling using a utility knife. Make a square cut in the center of the door area with the knife, creating an opening in the drywall about 1 square foot in size. Pry off the drywall in large clumps using the pry bar until you reach the taped edges of any drywall panels overlapping the proposed door opening. Slit the tape down the panel joints with the utility knife, and then remove the panel edges. You'll need to place new drywall after door installation.

Remove any plywood sheathing encountered beneath the drywall layer using the pry bar. Run a stud finder across the plywood to locate the studs right outside the edges of your door opening location. Make a cut down the plywood about 4 inches from the located studs using the reciprocating saw with a wood cutting blade attached. Pry off the plywood within the cut area where you intend to place the door. Make a second cut with the saw right alongside the wood studs framing your door area to remove the final 4-inch strips, providing room within the stripped area to remove the other side of the wall to make your opening.

Attach a metal cutting blade to the reciprocating saw, and then cut through the nails along the base and top of any wall studs within the proposed door area. Place the blade flat against the bottom sill plank running along the base of the wall, at the joint between the stud and plank. Start the saw and push the blade to the other side of the stud, through any nails holding the stud in place. Repeat the process with the top of the stud against the top plank, and then pry the studs from the plywood wall with the prybar to clear the studs from the plywood surface. After cutting away the studs, cut the sill plank on the floor between the two nearest studs still in place. Pry up the plank.

Place a chalk mark on the plywood wall at the height of your door with the doorjamb attached, using the tape measure. Place multiple marks at the door corners and along the top of the door in case of a sloping door. Choose the highest mark, and then draw a line at that mark the full width of the door with jambs using the straightedge. Draw vertical lines from the line representing the top of the door to the base of the wall, again using the straightedge.

Drill holes through the plywood wall using a drill bit that’s large enough to create holes through which the saw blade can fit. Place the holes at all of the inside corners of the door location, top and bottom, and every 16 inches along the edges of the doorway. Check the wall material on the other side of the wall, and choose a drill bit that can cut through that material as well as the plywood.

Replace the blade in the saw with a wood cutting blade, or with a blade capable of cutting through the covering material on the other side of the plywood wall. Place the blade through one of the top corner holes and then turn on the saw. Cut through the plywood, following the drawn door line to the base of the wall. Remove the saw from the hole at the base of the wall and then repeat the cutting process on the line at the other edge of the doorway. Remove the saw and make a final cut through the wood along the top of the doorway.

Give the plywood section a firm push to knock it down, completing the opening.