Adding a door outside

20 years ago

On a house that we are buying there are 3 windows from the master bedroom to the back yard. I wonder if it is feasible without huge expense to convert one of them to a door to the outside. We would have a contractor do the work. House is brick. Just trying to get an idea if this is a huge and expensive undertaking or something more minor.

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Comments (5)

ttfweb
20 years ago
It should not be too bad to convert a window to the door. The header is already there, you just need to cut down the wall and create a threshold.

Looking at the picture, I would be concerned that a single window it is too narrow to accomadate an external door.
kats_meow
Original Author
20 years ago
Well, I could perhaps convert the one at the right end and widen it if necessary?
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karenforroses
20 years ago
How about a french door? Take out all the windows and put in a pair of french doors - it would be sooo lovely!
Pipersville_Carol
20 years ago
We did the same thing in our master bedroom. Replaced two medium-sized windows with a glass door and a huge window. I didn't use a double french door because the inswing took up too much floor space and screen doors seemed problematic. We built a little deck outside, too. It really makes the master bedroom suite feel luxurious.

Is your house frame with a brick veneer? Our house is made of concrete block, so they had to bust out the wall and frame out the opening. Demolishing the concrete was heavy work, if you have a frame wall it'll be easier.

It was part of a larger remodel so I don't know the exact cost, but it might have been around $2500 (about half of that was materials cost).
User
20 years ago
It will be at least $3000 and probably more, depending on the kind of door and how the opening is framed. The minimum width door that is comfortable to use is 30" wide. That width takes a 32" rough opening in order to install. It does not look as though one of those windows is 32" wide, so two windows would have to be remover to allow one door to be installed. That would mean extra framing and trimming on the exterior and interior. It would also look a bit odd, IMHO.

The french door idea would look better. French doors can be ordered for any size rough opening and come in several styles. One swing door and one immoveable, two swing doors, a slider and fixed side, and double sliders.

That raises the price, of course, probably starting at $6,000 and up.