{"id":2053,"date":"2026-08-26T16:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T16:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/blog\/can-a-custom-door-be-made-to-fit-an-old-or-unusual-door-opening\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T16:46:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T16:46:00","slug":"can-a-custom-door-be-made-to-fit-an-old-or-unusual-door-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/blog\/can-a-custom-door-be-made-to-fit-an-old-or-unusual-door-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a Custom Door Be Made to Fit an Old or Unusual Door Opening?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Older homes often come with plenty of character, but they can also come with door openings that do not match today&#8217;s standard sizes. Frames may be taller, narrower, wider, arched, or slightly out of square after decades of settling.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, that does not mean you have to rebuild the entire entryway around a standard replacement.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> creates custom exterior doors for real-world openings, including historic homes, unusual dimensions, arched entrances, and replacement projects where maintaining the original proportions matters. Their team can work from the actual opening instead of forcing the home to accommodate a generic door size.<\/p>\n<h2>Older Door Openings Are Often Not Standard<\/h2>\n<p>Homes built decades ago may have entryways that differ considerably from today&#8217;s common dimensions.<\/p>\n<p>An older doorway might be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Taller or shorter than expected<\/li>\n<li>Narrower or wider than a typical entry<\/li>\n<li>Slightly out of square<\/li>\n<li>Designed for an unusually thick door<\/li>\n<li>Built with sidelights or a transom<\/li>\n<li>Arched or radius-shaped<\/li>\n<li>Surrounded by original historic trim<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> specifically notes that older frames are not always perfectly square and that its doors can be produced around the actual opening rather than generic measurements.<\/p>\n<p>This can make a custom solution especially useful when preserving the existing architecture is important.<\/p>\n<h2>A Replacement Door Can Be Built Around the Existing Entry<\/h2>\n<p>Replacing an old door does not always require changing the surrounding wall.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> can configure replacement entry systems around details such as width, height, jamb depth, swing, and threshold. Sidelights and transoms can also be incorporated where needed.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of reducing or enlarging the opening simply to accommodate a standard product, the entry can be designed around the dimensions already present.<\/p>\n<p>That can be particularly valuable for historic homes where changing the proportions may alter the appearance of the facade.<\/p>\n<h2>Historic Doors Can Be Recreated<\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes the challenge is not only getting the new door to fit. Homeowners may also want it to resemble the original.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> works with historic-style replacements and can recreate elements such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Panel arrangements<\/li>\n<li>Original proportions<\/li>\n<li>Profiles and mouldings<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/door_glass.php#gsc.tab=0\">Glass styles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/all_arched_top_doors.php#gsc.tab=0\">Arched or radius tops<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Traditional wood details<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For these projects, homeowners can send photographs of the original doorway along with approximate measurements. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> then prepares a design proof for review before fabrication begins.<\/p>\n<p>This allows an older home&#8217;s architectural character to remain intact while replacing a worn or damaged entry.<\/p>\n<h2>Arched and Radius Openings Can Be Accommodated<\/h2>\n<p>Curved entrances are another situation where buying a standard door can be difficult.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/all_arched_top_doors.php\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> offers arched and radius-top exterior doors in single and double configurations. These designs can also incorporate sidelights, glass, ironwork, and transoms.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> has produced large radius-top entry systems with custom jambs and surrounding glass specifically for remodeling projects, showing how an unusual opening can become part of the design rather than something that needs to be eliminated.<\/p>\n<h2>Sidelights Can Help With Difficult Widths<\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes the doorway itself is not unusually shaped, but the overall opening is much wider than a standard single door.<\/p>\n<p>Sidelights can help fill that additional space while keeping the entry proportional.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> offers various sidelight widths on certain systems, allowing the overall unit to better fit existing openings during replacement projects.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the home, the finished entry might include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One door with a single sidelight<\/li>\n<li>One door with two sidelights<\/li>\n<li>Double doors<\/li>\n<li>Sidelights with a transom<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/all_arched_top_doors.php#gsc.tab=0\">An arched entry <\/a>with surrounding glass<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This flexibility gives homeowners more options when the original opening does not fall into a common size.<\/p>\n<h2>What Measurements Do You Need?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/Door-Project-Center.php#gsc.tab=0\">Accurate dimensions<\/a> are important, but you do not necessarily need to know every specification before reaching out.<\/p>\n<p>Nick\u2019s Doors recommends starting with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Photos of the existing doorway<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/Door-Project-Center.php#gsc.tab=0\">Approximate width and height<\/a><\/li>\n<li>An inspiration image or sketch<\/li>\n<li>Any features you want to preserve<\/li>\n<li>Preferred glass, panels, or wood species<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From there, the team can help determine additional details such as jamb depth, swing, threshold, door thickness, sidelights, and overall configuration.<\/p>\n<h2>Replace an Unusual Exterior Door With Nick\u2019s Doors<\/h2>\n<p>An old or unconventional doorway does not have to limit your options.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/custom_order_doors.php\">Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> builds exterior doors around actual openings, including historic entries, narrow or oversized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/Door-Project-Center.php#gsc.tab=0\">dimensions<\/a>, radius tops, sidelights, transoms, and other uncommon configurations.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you want to preserve an original entry or create something completely different while working within the existing space, a custom-built system can provide a cleaner solution than trying to make a standard product fit.<\/p>\n<p>Call <a href=\"tel:2196632279\">219-663-2279<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/Contactus.php\">contact Nick\u2019s Doors<\/a> to discuss your doorway, share photos and measurements, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/Contactus.php\">request a quote<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Older homes often come with plenty of character, but they can also come with door openings that do not match today&#8217;s standard sizes. Frames may be taller, narrower, wider, arched, or slightly out of square after decades of settling. Fortunately, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/blog\/can-a-custom-door-be-made-to-fit-an-old-or-unusual-door-opening\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can a Custom Door Fit an Old or Unusual Opening? | Nick\u2019s Doors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have an old, oversized, arched, or unusual doorway? Learn how Nick\u2019s Doors can build a custom exterior door to fit historic and nonstandard openings.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nicksbuilding.com\/blog\/can-a-custom-door-be-made-to-fit-an-old-or-unusual-door-opening\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can a Custom Door Fit an Old or Unusual Opening? | Nick\u2019s Doors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have an old, oversized, arched, or unusual doorway? 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