How can I find the standard measurements of windows and doors?

Question

I am a intern for an interior designer. I would like to know the standared mesurments for doors and windows because I do not know. I have done reaserch on google and found nothing! Please help me so I do not get fired!

Answer 1

I am a general contractor and I have never seen a "standard".

Most doors are 3'-0'' x 6'-8" or 7'-00". But you can get any size from 2' wide to 4' wide. when looking at manufacturer web sites the door number is usually the size- width first for example 2668 would be 2'-6" wide by 6'-8" tall

Windows are even more variable. The only thing that is a firm no-no is when you get to block or brick work. Its best to make the windows in widths of multiples of 16" and the heights in multiples of 8". This makes the block work come out nicely.

Also, remember the building codes. For example, bedrooms with only one door (most of them) require a minimum square footage of open area when the window is opened to be used as an emergency exit in the event of a fire.

Why would they fire you for not knowing this? Nobody knows it all so maybe you need to be working for somebody else.

Answer 2

The standard height for a door in the United States is 80". There is no standard width, but the widths you'll encounter most often are 30" and 36". If handicap access is a concern, you should have at least a 36" wide door. I have personally bought a door that is 48" wide, but that was for a special situation. There are other widths and heights available, some of which may have to be specially ordered.

There is really no standard size for windows. Some windows are high but narrow, other windows are not as high but are wider. About the only thing standard about windows is that the top of the window is usually about the same distance from the floor as the top of the doors.

Building codes, however, impose minimum size requirements for the window area in a room. To provide adequate light from the outside, the window area must be at least 20% of the room's floor area. In large rooms with more than one window, the total area of all the windows must meet this requirement.

Building codes also require that the minimum ventilation area for windows (when they are open) be at least 10% of the room's floor area. For most windows, this requirement is automatically satisfied when the first requirement is satisfied.

There is a third requirement, that at least one window in all living spaces (which excludes bathrooms) be openable to at least 20 inch width by 24 inch height to provide egress in case of fire.

Although it may seem that the larger the window, the better, heat loss calculations and structural considerations would have the windows as small as possible. So, you will probably find that the total window area will be close to the 20% / 10% ratio.

I'd like to add that architects and builders refer to door and window sizes in feet and inches. In this system, a 3068 door is one that measures 3 feet 0 inches (i.e. 36") wide by 6 feet 8 inches high (i.e. 80"). Similarly, a 2042 double hung window measures 2 feet 0 inches wide by 4 feet 2 inches high.

Answer 3

Door Measurements

Answer 4

Well, there really aren't any standards for windows. You can pretty much have anything built that you can imagine. Many of the pre-fab window manufacturers, like Pella, Milgard, and Andersen, do have windows in what they consider to be standard sizes and you can get them straight off their website. Some even have AutoCAD drawings.

Doors are a bit different. Interior doors are fairly standard as they tend to be controlled by building codes. You can find those on the same sites as windows.

Answer 5

RE:
How can I find the standard measurements of windows and doors?
I am a intern for an interior designer. I would like to know the standared mesurments for doors and windows because I do not know. I have done reaserch on google and found nothing! Please help me so I do not get fired!