Beyond Code minimums it's up to you.

The most common widths are 28"-32". I only use a 28" door in a bathroom or a closet. Otherwise, there will be problems moving furniture in or out. I couldn't imagine using 36" interior doors as standard unless this was a custom home for particularly large occupants or wheelchairs.

This post was edited by worthy on Sat, Oct 4, 14 at 11:26

That makes me feel better...thanks Worthy. :)

Ours are 34", mostly because I bought a bunch of matching antique doors that are almost all 34". We wanted big enough doors to allow for a wheelchair should either of us ever need one. Since we are in our 60's, and plan to stay here the rest of our days, this is a very real possibility. The only smaller doors are the basement stairs (30") and a small closet (24"). I made the hallways big enough to allow trim around the doors.

Our architect designed our current home with 3' doors- not because we are large or in wheelchairs, but because he knew that we plan to age in this home, and one day one of us MIGHT be in a wheelchair.

I will have to say, I love the size of the doors. They look awesome and made it SO much easier on moving day!

This post was edited by AngelaZ on Sat, Oct 4, 14 at 9:15

Hi Michelle,

Our architect spec'd for 2' 8" doors (rough-in opening 3 feet). We told him we wanted it to be our forever home, so he had future mobility in mind when he designed the door size. These doors will be lots larger than our starter home. I would definitely want room for trim/casing around the doors.

Carol

If you're going with the larger doors because of future accessibility concerns, you might want to also use lever handles. (Doorknobs have actually been banned in all new buildings in Vancouver, B.C.)

Banning DOORKNOBS?! OK, that's just silly.

That ban on doorknobs irritates me greatly.
My purse always snags on them, as does my clothing, which is a giant PITA.
As well, how do you childproof those? (I wont be having kids, but I feel for others who cant put those plastic doorknob things on them).

Changing doorhandles can be done at a later date if mobility becomes a problem....but heck, maybe by then you'll want those pushbutton door openers like stores have!

I'm also designing my house for 36" doors btw. We went with 4ft hallways.

A typical portable manual wheelchair can pass through a 30" door opening with the door at 90 degrees but often that forces the user to push the tires instead of the rails.

A typical motorized wheelchair can pass through a 28" door opening with the door at 90 degrees but because these things are fast I recommend a 30" door.

The only reason I can think of to make interior doors larger is if they are on a narrow hallway or to make furniture moving easier or if you plan on using a very wide wheelchair like the ones provided to the public in hospitals and airports.

Making all of the door openings 36" wide may create an unnecessary obstacle for the elderly and disabled because the swing arc is so great and they might not have the dexterity to step back out of it. My father developed Parkinsons at 80 and found large doors difficult to use because stepping back or to the side took a great deal of effort when using a walker.

IMO 32" doors are a good design compromise whether or not you want to stay in the house all your life. I've been designing houses for over 40 years and none of my clients or relatives were able to do that for reason having nothing to do with accessible design.

I'm not a fan of oversized doors:

They take up more wallspace and require a larger swing.
They're more difficult for an elderly person to open.
They cost more.

And if you find yourself needing wider doors later, you can switch out your hinges for swing-away or clear-swing hinges. This gives you an extra 2" of opening.

And let's talk about what's most likely to happen as we all age -- the likelihood is NOT that we'll all end up in wheelchairs:

Rather, if we need mobility help, we're most likely to have a cane or walker.
If that isn't "enough" as time goes on, we're more likely to need a wheelchair when we leave the house . . . but we're probably going to continue to be fine with the walker inside the house. Thus, it'd make more sense to put effort into a spot to store the wheelchair (either by the back door or in the garage) instead of worrying about getting it through interior doors.

And I can't help noticing that so many people tout the importance of wide doorways . . . yet include so many other details in their plans that will be more problematic than standard sized doors. For example: Staircases, 90 degree turns in hallways, toilets in narrow closets, small showers.