How to Tell a Right Hand From Left Hand Door Swing

A common home-improvement conundrum involving door installation is figuring out the swing of the door. The swing of a door determines which side you place the door hinges and which side you place the doorknob. Before you purchase a door for installation, you must know how to tell a right-hand from a left-hand door swing to ensure that the door you select will swing the way you desire after you install it.

 

1) Stand facing away from the doorway in the opposite direction of the way the door opens (the door will open away from you). If there are existing door hinges, place your back at this spot. If there are no hinges yet (a new door installation) place your back at the side where you wish the hinges to be.

 

2) Reach your hand out toward the side of the door where the doorknob is (if there is an existing door) or will be (for a new door installation).

 

3) Note which hand you extend. This is the "handing" you need for your door. If you extended your left hand, you need a door with a left-hand swing. If you extended your right hand, you need a door with a right-hand swing.

 

Tips & Warnings:

Exterior doors commonly open into the dwelling. To determine the swing of an exterior door, simply note which side the doorknob is on when you are standing with the door swinging toward you. Doors with doorknobs on the left side are left-hand swing doors. Doors with doorknobs on the right side are right-hand swing doors.

 

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