Doorway Widening in Paramus, Hallway and Door Together
We look at the whole route to each Paramus doorway, the hall, the turn and the opening, so the doors you widen are the ones that actually let a walker or wheelchair through.
Doorway Widening quote in Paramus
Tell us which part of the house has become hard and who it is for. That is usually enough for us to tell you which trade the job needs, whether the town has to see it first, and who, if anyone, might help pay.
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- Valid through December 31, 2026.
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The turn into a Paramus doorway
A wider door only helps if a wheelchair can turn into it. In Paramus, where 45.4 percent of homes predate 1960, the bedrooms and bathroom often open off a hallway, and a 90-degree turn from a tight hall into a doorway can defeat a wider opening. The Access Board's reference route is 36 inches wide, narrowing to 32 inches only at a doorway, which is a useful way to test the approach as well as the door.
What doorway widening involves in Paramus
Testing the route to each Paramus doorway
Replacing a door in the same opening is ordinary maintenance, and a lighter door or offset hinges can recover some width without changing the framing. Widening the opening alters the framing, and cutting into a loadbearing wall is structural, so both go through the borough construction office. Decide which doors are on the daily route and whether the hall allows the turn before paying for any of them.
The hall width before the door
Measure the corridor where the turn happens. A 32-inch door off a narrow hall may still be unusable.
Whether a hinge change is enough
Offset hinges, or a replacement door in the same opening, leave the framing untouched and need no permit.
Which walls carry load
Widening into a loadbearing wall is structural work. Ask before choosing which side of the opening to cut.
Paramus's older homes and the doorway rules
The ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates show 71.8% of Paramus's 8,813 housing units were built before 1980, 45.4% before 1960 and 5.5% in 1939 or earlier. The largest single building decade is 1950 to 1959, with 34.8% of units.
Source: United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, accessed 2026-09-22
The Access Board's guide to ADA accessible routes states that the minimum 36-inch continuous clear width of an accessible route can reduce to 32 inches at points such as doorways for a maximum distance of 24 inches. Door clear width is measured from the stop to the face of the door open 90 degrees.
Source: U.S. Access Board, Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, Chapter 4: Accessible Routes, accessed 2026-09-22
Under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7, ordinary maintenance needs no permit, inspection or notice to the construction official. The listed ordinary building maintenance includes the repair, replacement or installation of non-structural elements such as built-in or attached furnishings, equipment, or accessories, including cabinets, benches or seats, and bathroom accessories; the replacement of flooring with a new material; and the replacement of a door in the same opening without altering the dimensions or framing of the original opening.
Source: New Jersey Administrative Code as published by the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law, via New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, accessed 2026-09-22
N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(b) states that ordinary maintenance does not include cutting away any loadbearing wall or partition, removing or cutting any structural beam or bearing support, any work affecting structural or fire safety, or the addition, alteration, replacement or relocation of any water supply, sewer, drainage, gas, soil, waste, vent or similar piping, or of electrical wiring.
Source: New Jersey Administrative Code as published by the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law, via New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, accessed 2026-09-22
Tight turn into the bathroom?
Tell us which Paramus doorway is hardest to get through and how wide the hall is. We will say what is worth changing.
Other Paramus modifications we arrange
Paramus doorway and hallway questions
How do I measure whether a Paramus doorway is wide enough?
Open the door to 90 degrees and measure from the door stop to the face of the door. That clear width is what counts, and the Access Board's reference is 32 inches. Then check the approach: the hall needs room for the chair or walker to line up before it goes through.
Is replacing a door in my Paramus house a permit job?
Not if the new door goes in the same opening without changing its dimensions or framing, which is ordinary maintenance. Once the opening itself gets wider, the framing changes and the borough construction office needs to see it.
Measure the door and the hall
Two numbers are enough to start. We will connect you with a registered contractor for the Paramus job.