How to Remove a Door in a Wall

Removing a door can expand an opening.

Doors sit inside frames, which are simply pieces of wood that define the space of the door and provide a place to hang the door. If your door stops opening or closing properly, you may need to remove the door and frame so you can replace them. Your interior door and frame are held in place be just a couple of screws or nails, so removing the door in a wall is as simple as removing those screws.

Things You'll Need

• Nail set
• Hammer
• Pry bar
• Putty knife
• Jigsaw

Instructions

1. Place a nail set against the bottom of the top door hinge. Tap the nail set with a hammer until the pin pops up. Do the same thing on the lower hinges.

2. Open the door and pull it off the hinges. Remove the door from the area.

3. Insert a pry bar under the trim around the door. Pull out on the bar to pry off the trim. If you want to protect the trim from damage, place a putty knife behind the pry bar and only pry up a little bit at a time. Continue until you remove all three pieces of trim from around the door.

4. Look into the space between the door frame and the wall to find the nails or screws that hold the frame in place. Use a jigsaw to cut through these screws.

5. Pull out the door frame to remove it. This may take a little force, but as long as you remove all the nails, the frame will come out.

References

• OnlineTips.org: Replacing a Doorframe
• The Family Handyman: How to Replace an Exterior Door
• Ask the Builder: How to Install a Prehung Door
• Hometime.com: Installing and Replacing Doors