These resources are brought to you by the Cooperative Extension System and your Local Institution

Family Caregiving Home

Are there simple techniques for making doorways in my home wider?

Last Updated: January 29, 2008

View as web page


If your door frame is too narrow, and tearing it out and rebuilding a wider door frame is too expensive or won’t work in your home, you may want to install swing-away hinges.

These special hinges help to swing the door clear of the opening, adding about 2 inches of additional space and increasing the clearance space in the doorway. Another no-cost way to make doorways wider, although not always practical, is to remove the door completely.

This information may be especially important if you are a caregiver for a person who uses an assistive device to move around, such as a wheelchair.

For more information, specifically about accessibility, visit www.extension.org/pages/Making_the_Kitchen_Safe_and_Accessible.

Browse related Faqs by tag: family caregiving, housingcaregiving, homemodifications, homesafety


Have a specific question? Try asking one of our Experts

Unlike most other resources on the web, we have experts from Universities around the country ready to answer your questions.


View this page: