How to handle exterior door with wrong swing for mudroom
Hello! We have a bit of a dilemma the door we ordered came with the wrong swing as it was supposed to swing the opposite of current which would have opened it to what I planned as a mud room. We are no shoes house so it seems odd for me to put a bench on the opposite side considering it is not with the swing of the door. So seems like I need to put a bench in that small area that is only 40.5 inches. I still thinking I want storage on the opposite side but it will not be an area to take on and off shoes. I wish we could get the door fixed but it is not going to happen. Yes we had an architect, but many things didn’t follow the plan. We went in hard on the major things but this was one of those things that we didn’t fight. So trying figure how to work with it, as it is what it is.
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Can a Door swing OUT (exterior) in New England weather?
Comments (28)Interesting Buffettgirl. Post Cocoanut Grove fire, swing-out is mandatory on all public buildings, nationwide I believe. (In 1942, hundreds of people fleeing a fire in an elegant Boston nightclub crushed up against inward-swinging doors that then could not be pulled opened inwards against the crush. Nearly 500 people died. Accounts are absolutely horrific.) Why then should it be against code in Massachusetts on private residences? (I'm not doubting that you are correct, I just think it curious, even ironic, that it should be so. A puzzle.) It's probably not the primary exit anyway though, so that should probably not be a problem for Huango. I think, Huango, if you have a storm door, that pushing two doors outward wouldn't work (from inside you have to push the inner one open to get to the outer one, but there's no room ...). And depending on where the snow drifts, the door might get snowed in (or maybe that's not a problem if you don't use the deck much in winter). Or you could build a wind screen or overhang to divert the drifting snow. But otherwise? Obviously, check the code, but if it's the only reasonable solution, even if it's a bit odd, do it....See MoreDoes this cabinet door swing open the wrong way?
Comments (15)Thanks, everyone! I went back to check the cabinet door and it doesn't open any wider than the other doors, so it's probably the usual 110 degrees. It's not a blind cabinet (I have another drawer/door on the other side of the peninsula since I didn't want to have to crawl inside to get stuff). I'll ask my contractor about buying a new door and installing it with 90 degree hinges to see if we can avoid hitting the sink cab. Actually, if I had to do it over again, I'd have put in a drawer base there instead and this wouldn't be an issue .. oh well! I'll think about installing a pullout....See MoreHow long to install exterior and interior doors?
Comments (7)Handymac & Innea56. I have installed several of these sliders so will try to explain a little as they can sometimes be an advantage over a regular jamb door. For instance I had a regular door in my bathroom which when open, hid the toilet behind it. The interior wall had sufficient room to install a slider, about 36" for a 32" door. Think I purchased a pocket door track and hdw. from Johnson Hdw. for about $20. Attached the track along the wall holding it out far enough to allow the door to clear the wall about a quarter inch as it rolled along. Installed a closet door bracket at the bottom as to not allow the door to contact the wall when opening or closing(swing). I also did a little trim work to cover the track using about a 3" trim piece along the distance of the track. Handywork, or a masterpiece, as I like to describe it!! I am sure you understand. Now my toilet is no longer behind the door and the room seems much larger since that old swinging door is gone. I did another that had the tub behind the door and the door was difficult to open and close, due to the toilet being on the opposite side of the tub. When you closed the door you had to step aside to permit the door to operate. Plumbing was in the wall for the tub and a light switch was on the wall where the toilet was located so that did not permit a pocket door. So I installed the door on the wall outside the bath. Found an antique piece of wireglass and installed it in a slab door thatI bought for around $20. Another masterpiece with the trim and we have a new conversation piece as visitors admire the handywork. Now when the door is open it works a a piece of art, when closed it serves the intended purpose. Another was a small bath in which the door swung into the hall hiding the linnen closet when open. So I installed a slider on the inside of the bathwall. Now I have access to my linen closet and can close the bath door when necessary. Hope this will give you some ideas for future reference....See MoreDoor Swings into Bathroom Door
Comments (25)@ suzanne_m thank you, that's a good option as well! the drywall is in there for the linen for light switches, we weren't sure where to place them if it's just a tall cabinet since the bathroom door opens almost flush with the shower. We're using that opposite wall for towel hoooks. Yes, we're considering moving the bathroom to the sitting room and having a standalone laundry room in the current bathroom. Unfortunately, we can't move the office walls towards the existing bathroom because there's a bump out for the chimney that's been converted for HVAC right behind the tub, but we could flip the stair landing linen closet into that existing bathroom. We're also considering turning the current sitting room into a laundry room (it faces south, so the stairwell gets a lot of sunlight) and using the existing hall bathroom with a jack-and-jill door to the office so kids can traverse to the master without going up and down are few steps. We're adding a 30x30 skylight in that windowless bathroom. The office (built originally as the housemaid bedroom) above the kitchen and that 2 step turn are original to the house so unfortunately turning that 90-degree turn into a straight 2 steps up would require a lot of re-engineering of the current stairs and support beams for the addition downstairs....See MoreRelated Professionals
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last monthlast modified: last monthFirst, if your plans show the door opening the other way - the cost to switch the door and move the light switch and wiring are not your responsibility - also, the other items that were not completed in accordance with your plans are not your responsibility either - your builder needs to address these issues for you. I had several items that had to be changed prior to moving into my home due to something on the plans being missed or simply installed incorrectly. My builder gave me the option to (i) have all of the items corrected, or (ii) receive a cash reimbursement.
I have a "no shoes" house (I'm not OCD about it - just taught my daughters to take shoes off as soon as they came in the house when they were little mostly bc I don't like wearing shoes in the house).We used the door from the garage to enter the house 99% of the time. The house was built before mudrooms were a thing (1996) - my girls just learned to take their shoes off on the rug that was in front of the garage door and then take a few steps to put them away inside cubbies I had built inside the closet in the hallway from the garage.
Will you have a rug in your foyer? If yes, it doesn't seem like it would be a big deal for everyone to take their shoes off on the rug after coming in the house - and then taking a few steps over to the mudroom area that you are building on the other side of your foyer.
OR - you could add an IKEA Hemnes cabinet (the taller one isn't as wide as the shorter one - it would fit in your space). There are thousands of ways people have made them look nice.
The next few examples are all of the shorter/wider Hemnes shoe cabinet - but the same things could be done to the taller one:
The bottom left one is a taller Hemnes - again, you could do the same updates to the fronts of the a unit regardless of how tall/wide it is.
People have also used IKEA Stall shoe cabinets (and one of these would fit in your space):
Etsy also has quite a few sellers that make doors/drawers/overlays for IKEA furniture:
Artroom (seller on Etsy) made the above overlays + is having a sale right now. They have many different patterns/styles + types of wood/stain colors that you can choose:
Here is another IKEA Stall:
bturner12 thanked dani_m08- PROlast monthlast modified: last month
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I don't get it. I would think you would want the door hung as it is to encourage people to stay in the area in front of the door (which they'd have to do if only to close the door) rather than tromping around the room in their dirty shoes. A bench, place for shoes, coats, hats could be placed to the left of the door. (That tall cabinet is in the way.)
IKEA Panget
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last monthlast modified: last month40.5” is decent amount of space if you have a lot of footwear and consider if having to sit on a bench on the other wall will be a big issue.
The depth/width looks deep enough though for a bench and some storage and I can’t see it interfering very much unless you have young children that need help. Then consider another (more decorative bench that suits your decor) on the other wall, allowing kids and seniors to take their time.
Lorraine Leroux