Left-hand Door and Right-hand Door
We hardly think about whether the door is right or left handed. After all, a door handing or the direction in which a door swings is just something we intuitively adapt to. For many owners, most doors may look somewhat similar until a door needs to be purchased.
Fortunately, it's easy to determine the direction you need the door to swing or the door handle. If you need to change the way the door swings, there are also solutions.
How to Determine Outside or Inside
1. Stand outside the door when it’s closed.
The outside of the door is the side facing you when you enter the door. For the exterior door, the outside is the side facing the street. For interior doors, think about which room you would say you are entering.
• If you are standing at at the door to your home and want to go in, you are outside the door.
• If you are in the hallway and looking at your bedroom door, you are outside the door.
• If you are standing in a bedroom with a bathroom, you are standing outside the bathroom door.
• If you are in your garage and going home, you are just outside that door.
How to Determine Left Handed or Right Handed
To determine the handing of your door, stand outside the door and face the door:
• If the hinges are on the left side of the door frame, you need a left hand door kit.
• If the hinges are located on the right side of the door frame, you will need a right hand door kit.
How to Determine Inswing or Outswing
Open the door from the outside and notice that it swings outward. If you have to push the door open to get in, it's an inswing door (it swings inward). If you have to pull the door towards you, it is an outswing door (it swings outward).
• For inswing doors, if the hinges are on the left hand side, your door is Left-Handed. If the hinges are on the right hand side, your door is Right-Handed.
• For outswing doors, if the hinges are on the left hand side, your door is Left Hand Reverse. If the hinges are on the right hand side, your door is Right Hand Reverse.