Learn how to determine door swing and handedness so you order the right pre-hung interior door.

You found the perfect pre-hung door for your home. You go to order and see … left swing? Right swing? It’s a door, right? Well, yes. For some doors, notably doors with frames or those with hardware already installed, it’s important to order the correct swing and handing for your door. So, before you add to cart, let’s see how to determine your handing and door swing so that you get exactly the door you need.

First, Determine What Is Outside

If you’re replacing the door to your home, finding the outside of your door is easy – it’s the outside of your house. What about panel doors that are inside your home? That can be a little trickier.

• Doors from Hallways – For doors that lead from a hallway to a room, the hallway side is the outside.
• Doors from Garage or Entry Ways – For doors that lead from areas like a garage, foyer, or mudroom, the garage, foyer, or mudroom will be the outside.
• Doors that Lead from Room to Room – For doors that lead from room to room can be trickier, but typically flow with the way you would move into and through the room and how rooms relate to each other. For example, with a door leading from a bedroom to the bathroom, the bedroom would be the outside. For a door leading from the living room into the dining room, the living room would typically be outside. For a door between the dining room and kitchen, however, the kitchen will usually be the outside.

Second, Determine the Handing of Your Door

Handing is exactly what it sounds like. Is your door Left-Handed or Right-Handed? To determine this, look at your door from the outside and determine:

• If the hinges are on the left side, your door is left-handed.
• If the hinges are on the right side, your door is right-handed

Third, Determine the Swing of Your Door

Now we come to the swing of your door.

• If your door swings towards the outside, it is an outswing door.
• If it swings to the inside, it is an inswing door.

Now, you need to match your door’s handedness and its swing. If your door is,

• Right-handed and opens in, it is a right-handed inswing.
• Left-handed and opens in, it is a left-handed inswing.
• Right-handed and opens out, it is right-handed outswing, or right-handed reversed.
• Left-handed and opens out, it is left-handed outswing, or left-handed reversed.

If you are installing a new door with frame in your home where you had an open doorway before, it’s important to ensure that you choose the correct hand and swing for your new door. Choose a handedness and swing that ensure that the door does not cause obstructions when it swings or hangs open.

Are You Looking for Pre-Hung Interior Doors in Texas?

We offer a variety of beautiful and stylish doors for inside and outside your home in Texas. You can pick up your order same day. Don’t live in Texas or our location in Farmer’s Branch? No worries. We ship our wrought iron doors throughout Texas and nationwide. Browse our doors and place your order and contact us for assistance or any questions.