How to Remove & Relocate a External Entrance Door for a House

Remove the existing exterior door. Remove any trim on the interior side of the door first, using the hammer and pry bar. Use the reciprocating saw to cut the nails along the sides of the doorway. There should be no nails along the top of the doorway if the door is a single door. Keeping the door on its hinges and locked shut, remove the old door from the house.

Layout and cut the rough opening for the door's new location on the interior of the house. Match the measurements of the original rough opening where the door was located if reusing the old door. Follow the door manufacturer's recommended rough opening dimensions for a new door. Measure and mark the new door's location on the wall. Find an existing stud to start the layout. (One 2-inch-by-4-inch stud will be nailed to the right hand side of that stud, and the start of the actual opening is based on the stud nailed into the full height stud). Cut away any drywall on the interior side and between the two sides of the rough opening and the space from the sub-floor to the ceiling. Remove any insulation in this area.

Build the new rough opening. Cut two studs, called jack studs, to the height of the top of the rough opening. Nail one to the full height studs that started the layout. The full height stud should extend from sub-floor to the ceiling. Install one full height stud (if one is not already in the correct place) to create the right side of the rough opening. Account for the width of the jack stud that will be nailed flush against it when laying out the opening. Nail the other jack stud to the other full height stud on the left-hand side.

Build a header to sit along the top of the jack studs by cutting two studs the length of the door opening. Take the measurement from the inside span of the two full height studs where the jack studs are attached. Nail the two boards together so that they are as flush as possible; place the header on top of the jack studs and nail it into them. Infill the space between the header and ceiling with more studs, called cripple studs, spaced on 16-inch centers.

Cut the opening on the exterior portion of the rough opening. Remove any siding or exterior finish in that area. From the interior side of the opening, drill a hole in the corner of the exterior sheathing. Fit the blade of the reciprocating saw in that hole and cut along the edges of the jack studs and header. Cut through the bottom plate and the 2-by-4-inch board at the base of the exterior wall. Remove the sheathing and piece of the bottom plate. Nail the exterior sheathing to the new studs along the rough opening. Clean all dust and debris from inside the new rough opening.

Install the new exterior door using manufacturer's guidelines and instructions.