[Leifashley27]

I have a 4' opening to our HT room at the top of our stairs that I'd like to close off with a single 32" door (is that big enough to get furniture through?)


Couple of questions:


- Do I put the studs over the existing drywall to "frame in" the opening or do I remove the drywall just enough to get stud to stud connection?

- What's the best way to make sure the drywall matches the existing drywall next to it? The overall span (front face of wall) is about 6'... should I just drywall the whole thing again with another sheet over it so it's all flush and the texture matches?


I've done framing, drywall, and texture before... just never did anything where I was trying to make something new match something existing.

 

[macmedic]

32" should be wide enough for most furniture but in my experience doors are never "wide enough".

Remember to make the rough opening significantly larger than the door (2"-3" wider & taller) so that you can shim it plumb. I'd remove the existing sheetrock and frame it properly - theater doors tend to be heavy and you want your framing to be as solid as you can make it.

Make sure that you plan which way the door will swing and which side the hinge will be on. If it swings into the theater it could interfere with the stage/riser.

 

[budk]

Most doors will indicate how large the opening in the framing should be to attached frame. 2-3" is way too much room to shim. It's been awhile but typically the opening should be ~1/2" larger than the door frame. Even at 1/2", you would still have 1/4" on the sides for shimming which should be plenty.


I would also cut back the drywall and attach stud to stud.

 

[ArmandoM]



Quote:
Originally Posted by budk /forum/post/18182362


Most doors will indicate how large the opening in the framing should be to attached frame. 2-3" is way too much room to shim. It's been awhile but typically the opening should be ~1/2" larger than the door frame. Even at 1/2", you would still have 1/4" on the sides for shimming which should be plenty.


I would also cut back the drywall and attach stud to stud.

Definitely agree on attaching directly to the stud. Not that big of a deal to cut away some drywall to get it as solid as possible.


As for macmedic's comment about the rough opening. 2" wider (or a bit more would be ok) than the door (not the frame), is typical. (2" wider than the door frame would absolutely be too much.)


Basically for a 32" door, your rough opening should be 34" wide, to give room for the frame, plus a bit of room for shimming.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

32" wide should be enough for just about anything you want to put in a theater. Sadly, one of the doors I have to go through is much narrower than that and I have to remove the door, frame and all, from the wall if I want to get my seats out. I suppose that could be considered a security feature, right?


You really should go to the studs on your framing. It will allow for greater sound isolation which is very important.


You are installing an exterior door, right? You want a solid core door with weatherstripping all around.

 

[4DHD]

Assuming a complete sheetrock opening, remove the corner beads and sheetrock on the face of the opening. Then if you want to center the new door in the opening, frame up two sections that will nail to the exposed studs, bottom of header and floor. Or just add framing to one side or the other, if you want to offset the new opening.


That 48" opening should be about 49" with the SR removed, and the new opening for a 32" door needs to be 34.5~35" wide. The overall width of the new door jamb should be about 33.5", depending on the thickness of the jamb stock.

Then its just a matter of adding strips of rock to the new framing, taping, texturing and adding the door casing.