You can usually make a doorway wider without remodeling by taking the door off its hinges, swapping in offset hinges, or trimming back the door stop. Together those three changes can win back two to three inches of clearance with nothing more than a screwdriver, a small saw, and an afternoon. That is often the exact difference between a walker or wheelchair fitting through the door and not fitting at all.
As Dr. Brandy Archie, occupational therapist and host of There's an OT For That, explains, most people assume the only fix is to cut the wall open. In our home assessments we measure doorways all the time, and the cheaper fixes come first. This is occupational therapy work: matching the opening to the person and the mobility device they actually use, not just to the building.
Why would you need to widen a doorway in the first place?
The bathroom door is usually the narrowest doorway in the house, and it is also the room we use most. When someone starts using a walker or a wheelchair, that is the doorway that stops them.
What we often see instead is a workaround: the walker gets parked outside the bathroom, and the person "toddles" in and grabs the sink. Brandy calls this one of her least favorite solutions, because the bathroom is already one of the hardest places to be safe when you are not at your best. Turning sideways to squeeze a walker through a narrow door is also harder on your balance than walking straight through, so a few extra inches can directly lower fall risk.
Why not just have a contractor widen it?
Sometimes you can, but sometimes it is not even possible. Brandy shares that early in her career she would tell families, a little too quickly, to "just get someone to widen the doorways." After working alongside contractors, she learned that the beam across some doorways is load bearing, and cutting it would compromise the structure of the house. Even when it is possible, a true widening typically runs two to six thousand dollars.
That is why we start with the options below. They cost a fraction of that and rarely need a contractor at all.
Option 1: Can I just take the door off?
Yes, and it is the cheapest choice. Anyone with a screwdriver who can handle the weight of the door can lift it off its hinges in a few minutes, no skill required. Removing the door typically gains back an inch and a half to two inches, because the thickness of the door itself is no longer sitting in the opening.
If you still want privacy, a tension rod with a curtain closes the space without taking any width back.
Option 2: What are offset hinges and how do they work?
Offset hinges (also called swing clear hinges) are Brandy's favorite fix when someone wants to keep the door. They are angled, so when the door opens it swings out of the doorway and sits flush with the frame instead of sitting inside the opening. You get the full width of the opening back, usually the same inch and a half to two inches as removing the door, while still having a door that closes.
A few things to check before you order:
- Swing space. You need about three inches between the open door and the wall it swings toward, because the door now sits farther out.
- Hinge corner shape. Take one existing hinge off and look at the shallow recess in the wood, about a quarter inch deep. Its corners are square, rounded, or extra rounded. Match that shape so the offset hinge drops right in with no chiseling.
- Hinge count. Doors have either two or three hinges. Count them so you order the right number.
Brandy's installation tip: swap one hinge at a time, top to bottom. The door stays hung on the remaining hinges, so you never have to hold its full weight.
Option 3: What if I still need another inch?
Trim the door stop. That is the thin strip of wood inside the door frame that stops the door from swinging through. You do not need to remove the whole strip, only the section below where the wheelchair or walker actually touches. Taking it off on both sides wins back about another inch.
This takes a little more work: a handsaw or a Dremel tool to cut through the roughly half inch of stop molding, then a small pry bar or wide flat screwdriver to pop it off. If you stop the cut below the latch, the door still closes and latches like normal.
How much width can you gain altogether?
Offset hinges plus a trimmed door stop can add up to about three inches of usable clearance without any construction. For many homes, that is enough to walk straight through with a walker or roll a wheelchair through without scraping knuckles.
If you are not sure how much width your device actually needs, an occupational therapist can measure the doorway and the device together. You can get help from an OT virtually or find an OT near you for an in home assessment.
Frequently asked questions
How much wider do offset hinges make a doorway?
Offset hinges typically add an inch and a half to two inches of clear width. That is the thickness of the door, which no longer sits in the opening once the hinge swings it flush with the frame.
Do I need a contractor to install offset hinges?
No, you only need a screwdriver. As long as the new hinges match the corner shape of your existing hinge recess, they swap in with no cutting.
Is it safe to walk sideways through a narrow door with a walker?
It works, but it is riskier. Turning sideways is harder on your balance, so making the doorway wide enough to walk straight through removes a real fall risk, especially in the bathroom.
Can every doorway be widened by a contractor?
Not always. Some doorways sit under a load bearing beam that cannot be cut without compromising the structure, which is one more reason to try hinges and door stop changes first.
Will trimming the door stop stop my door from latching?
Not if you keep the cut below the latch. The upper part of the stop still does its job, so the door closes and locks normally.
We carry offset hinges in every common corner shape in our collections, and you can ask SAMIE on our site for step by step help choosing the right ones. If cost is a concern for a larger project, see our alternative payment options.
