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.

Unless you have the equipment and shop to make any cabinet in any wood and in any style and any size that any customer might want, then you aren't a custom cabinet maker. Period. Someone who orders doors and just makes boxes may have the right to call themselves a "cabinet assembler" or "cabinet finisher" even a "semi-custom cabinet shop", but there is NO WAY that they are a true custom cabinet maker. Appropriating that label to make yourself appear to be more skilled and capable than you are is unethical and self aggrandizing false advertising. I find it extremely distasteful. Ask him if he can make you a 1" thick, 17 11/16 x 41 1/8, mitered and coved walnut frame around a reverse raised panel sapele inset with cherry inlay, and the box be the same (integral door as box). If he can't do it, then he isn't a custom cabinet maker and has zero right to use that title. Finishing is also a step that the "custom" guys can have questionable practices. If they don't have their own clean room on site where they spray their finishes and use a conversion varnish as a top coat, then RED FLAG them and pass them by. You don't want the site finished inevitable dust and dirt in your cabinets's finish. Nor do you want the non durable finishes that they can produce but that won't show up until their warranty has expired. That is not to say that such a cabinet shop cannot produce some great and even economical cabinets for you if what you want is a common profile in a common wood. However, the quality will have far more to do with the company that they order the doors from than the box maker. Mitered doors will be composed of 4 different stiles and rails just like the mortise and tenoned doors will. Anytime you have 4 different pieces of wood, you have the chance of them not matching perfectly. That's a sign that is is a natural substance. Each tree is different, and you should NEVER expect a 100% match between wood. What you should expect is a very close match, if the maker uses premium all heartwood and no sapwood. That is a LOT more expensive than standard cherry, which is a mix of heart and sap. And yes, a mitered join has more surface to be affected by wood's natural swelling and shrinking in response to fluctuating humidity levels. You may notice some tiny gapping in the winter, and the joint may swell back to no gap in the summer, or even a tiny bit of buckling or warping because the wood has absorbed so much summer humidity if you don't have AC. A whole house humidifier in the winter and the use of AC or dehumidfiers in the summer is the key to any wood in your home to being happy. And that goes for that elaborate crown molding, to your cabinets, to your wood floors or any other wood furniture.

Our house was built in 2001. We have a double front door and garage entry door, both fiberglass by Thermatru. The front door with full lite glass has had serious warping. The top and bottom both twist in. This is in a covered area facing East. The garage entry is fine, but the seal went out in the 1/2 glass. I sent claim to thermatru direct. Via email I was able to get replacement. But not what I wanted. They were willing to send me one new door slab and 3 new pieces of glass since our style was discontinued. That would have been a nightmare trying to get the new one to match both inside and outside with paint and stain. We compromised with 2 new front slabs and 1 new glass. They sent it immediately. We are just getting around to replacing with spring weather. I’m exasperated and haven’t even started. Seeing what they sent, it is going to be a huge hassle to change out the glass AND strip and repaint the surrounds, etc that didn’t get replaced. Now looking at steel doors from Menards, Mastercraft. I see the good and bad reviews, but honestly I’d be happy if that lasted 2/3 the time these did as these fiberglass doors are crap. I want durable fade free doors. I did buy a Home Depot door for garage to house, with glass, not fire rated, my concern in that. Our installer said it was the easiest door he’s ever put in and to this day it opens and closes perfectly. On at least its 5th year. Didn’t spend more than $500 for it.

Disclosure: I am a grandmother, consumer, non-techie, and considering a move into the Consumer Advocate arena. The sections of this post include: - About Bosch Benchmark - GE Ovens - How Swing Effects Roasted/Baked Food - How to Estimate Your Oven’s Swing (aka variance or range) About Bosch Benchmark I am in the process of replacing my second Bosch Benchmark double wall oven. The top ovens had a swing of 93* and 73*, respectfully. The first oven performed beautifully for 6 months, the second for a few weeks. Faulty electronics were evident in my experience. Note: the first oven was version /01 (installed 12/15) the second version /04 (installed 2/2018). Bosch uses average temperature to determine if an oven operates within spec. Within 28 months, my ovens were operable for 9 months, inoperable for 19 months. **How many households with kids could keep their family on track with inoperable ovens?** Bosch, on their part, offered me a buyback this month. But it took a tremendous amount time and bird-dogging on my part. GE Ovens GE states on their website the acceptable swing is +/- 30* using a 350* temperature setting. Hence, your oven meets spec if it’s temperature ranges from 320* to 380* within a 20 minute cycle time. (Check out the GE Appliances site and search for ‘oven temperature variance.’) How Swing Effects Roasted/Baked Food Here are a few examples of how a high oven temperature swing effects food roasted/baked from tried-and-true recipes: - prime rib (shooting for MR) is well on the outside, bloody red around the bone - a tried and true family fruit cake recipe, baked for at least 70 years on all types of ovens, took much longer to bake, passed the tooth pick test, was sticky on the top center, and crumbled when sliced - a chicken and rice casserole never got done; I used the rice cooker to finish cooking the rice and the chicken was too tough to eat - two cake mix cakes, in which I adhered *exactly* to all directions, were baked using the shortest time indicated; they were full of tunnels, extremely dry, and tasteless How To Estimate Your Oven’s Swing 1. Position an oven thermometer in the center of the oven. (Cooks Illustrated recommends a CDN Oven Thermometer... of course Amazon has them.) - - - do not open the oven door until the test finishes - - - 2. Set your oven to 350*, and let it heat up for an hour. 3. Choose a start time. 4. Every 5 minutes (4 times in 20 minutes) note or take a pix of the oven thermometer. 5. The highest and lowest temperatures registered represent the oven swing. Note: technicians use a special tool to measure oven swing that is much more accurate. Phew! Time to return to my research!