Ordering a commercial door sounds simple until someone asks for the size and you realize a storefront entrance, a steel back door, and a washroom door are all measured differently. Get the number wrong and you are looking at a custom order, a longer lead time, and a frame that has to be rebuilt. This guide lays out the standard commercial door sizes used across Ontario, what the numbers actually mean, and how to measure so the door you order is the door that fits.
We install and repair doors for offices, retail units, restaurants, warehouses, and institutions across the Greater Toronto Area, so the sizing rules below reflect what actually gets specified and ordered here rather than a generic catalogue chart.
Standard commercial door sizes at a glance
The most common commercial door is 3 feet wide by 7 feet tall, at 1-3/4 inches thick. In imperial shorthand that is a 3’0″ x 7’0″ door, and in metric it works out to roughly 914 mm x 2134 mm. That single size covers a huge share of entrances, back doors, and interior openings in commercial buildings because it clears code for most accessible paths and suits standard hardware.
From there, widths and heights step up and down in predictable increments. Here is the short version before we get into the detail.
| Dimension | Standard commercial range | Most common |
|---|---|---|
| Width (single leaf) | 2’0″ to 4’0″ (610 to 1219 mm) | 3’0″ (914 mm) |
| Height | 6’8″ to 8’0″ (2032 to 2438 mm) | 7’0″ (2134 mm) |
| Thickness | 1-3/8″ or 1-3/4″ (35 or 44.5 mm) | 1-3/4″ (44.5 mm) |
| Double door (pair) width | 5’0″ to 8’0″ (1524 to 2438 mm) | 6’0″ (1829 mm) |
These are nominal sizes, which is the language manufacturers and installers use when they talk about doors. Before you order anything, it helps to understand the difference between a nominal size, the actual door slab, and the opening it sits in.
Nominal size, actual size, and rough opening: what the numbers mean
Three different measurements get thrown around when people discuss door sizes, and mixing them up is the fastest way to order the wrong product.
Nominal size is the label size, like 3’0″ x 7’0″. It is the number you give a supplier. It describes the opening the door is designed to serve, not a slab you can put a tape measure across and get an exact match.
Actual size is the real measured size of the door slab. A hollow metal or wood door is manufactured slightly under its nominal size to leave room for hinges, gaps, and clearances. A nominal 36 inch door slab typically measures a little less than 36 inches so it can swing without binding.
Rough opening (also called the masonry opening in block or brick walls) is the hole in the wall that the frame drops into. It is larger than the nominal door because it has to hold the frame plus the door plus the working clearances around them.
As a working rule of thumb for a standard hollow metal frame, the rough opening runs about 2 inches wider and 1 inch taller than the nominal door size, so a 3’0″ x 7’0″ door lands in roughly a 3’2″ x 7’1″ masonry opening. Frame profiles vary, so always confirm the exact rough opening against the frame manufacturer’s chart for the specific product before anyone cuts an opening. If you are planning a new build or a renovation, our guide on how to choose the right commercial door walks through how sizing fits into the wider specification.
Standard commercial door widths
Single commercial door leaves come in standard widths that step up in 2 inch increments. You can order sizes in between, but the widths below are what sit on shelves and ship fastest.
| Nominal width | Metric | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 2’0″ (24″) | 610 mm | Small closets, electrical and utility rooms |
| 2’6″ (30″) | 762 mm | Interior offices, secondary rooms |
| 2’8″ (32″) | 813 mm | Interior doors, tight service areas |
| 3’0″ (36″) | 914 mm | Main entrances, back doors, accessible openings |
| 3’6″ (42″) | 1067 mm | High-traffic entrances, equipment access |
| 4’0″ (48″) | 1219 mm | Wide equipment or cart access, single wide leaf |
The 3’0″ width is the default for a reason. It comfortably clears the space a person, a wheelchair, or a loaded cart needs to pass through, and it works with the widest range of off-the-shelf hardware. When a business needs more clearance than a single 3’0″ leaf, the usual answer is a pair of doors rather than one very wide leaf, because a single leaf wider than about 4 feet gets heavy and puts a lot of strain on the hinges and closer.
Standard commercial door heights
Height has fewer standard options than width. Three sizes cover most of what gets installed.
| Nominal height | Metric | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 6’8″ (80″) | 2032 mm | Older buildings, some interior openings |
| 7’0″ (84″) | 2134 mm | The commercial standard for most entrances and back doors |
| 8’0″ (96″) | 2438 mm | Modern storefronts, lobbies, and higher-end entrances |
Seven feet is the commercial workhorse. Eight foot doors have become common on newer storefronts and glass entrances because they suit taller ceilings and give a more open, modern look. Anything taller than 8 feet moves into custom territory and usually means a transom panel above the door rather than a single tall slab.
Standard commercial door thickness
Commercial doors are almost always 1-3/4 inches (44.5 mm) thick. That thickness is what most commercial hardware is built for, from mortise locks and panic devices to closers and continuous hinges. Lighter 1-3/8 inch (35 mm) doors show up in some interior, non-rated locations, but for any exterior door, fire-rated assembly, or high-traffic opening, 1-3/4 inches is the standard.
Thickness matters more than people expect. Hardware is machined to fit a specific door thickness, so a lock or exit device sized for a 1-3/4 inch door will not seat correctly in a thinner slab. If you are replacing a door and reusing existing hardware, matching the original thickness saves a lot of grief. When hardware is worn out along with the door, our team can advise on matched sets during a commercial door installation.
Rough opening and frame sizing: how to measure for a fit
Whether you are replacing a single door or planning openings for a new fit-out, the frame drives the numbers. The frame sits in the rough opening, and the door hangs in the frame. Measure in the wrong order and the whole thing fights you.
Frames are described by their throat opening (the wall thickness they wrap) and their face (the trim that shows on each side). A standard hollow metal frame has a 2 inch face. For a new opening, start from the door size you need, add the frame, then add clearances to get the rough opening. For a replacement in an existing frame, measure the frame’s inside dimensions and order a door to suit, allowing for hinge and strike gaps.
| What you are measuring | How to take it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Door slab width | Edge to edge across the face, at top, middle, and bottom | Old openings rack out of square; use the smallest reading |
| Door slab height | Top of slab to bottom, both edges | Floors settle; confirm the shorter side |
| Frame throat | Depth of the frame that wraps the wall | Sets the frame profile you order |
| Rough opening | Inside the framing, width and height | Confirms the frame will actually drop in |
| Hinge backset and locations | From the top of the door to each hinge | Lets a new slab reuse the existing frame preps |
If any of this feels like guesswork, that is the moment to have someone measure on site. A wrong rough opening on a masonry wall is an expensive fix. Our commercial door services team measures openings across the GTA and confirms sizing before anything is ordered.
Standard sizes by commercial door type
Door dimensions shift depending on what the door is made of and what it does. Here is how the standards play out across the types we install most.
Hollow metal (steel) doors
Hollow metal doors, the grey steel doors you see on back entrances, mechanical rooms, and stairwells, follow the nominal sizing above closely. They are typically 1-3/4 inches thick and hung in welded or knock-down steel frames. Standard widths run 2’0″ through 4’0″, with 3’0″ x 7’0″ being the everyday size. Steel doors are built to tight tolerances, which is exactly why matching the frame and hardware preps matters so much. For a deeper comparison of steel against aluminum for your building, see our breakdown of steel or aluminum doors. When a steel door or frame is damaged rather than worn out, metal and fire-rated door replacement restores the opening to its rated size.
Aluminum storefront and glass entrance doors
Aluminum storefront doors, the glass entrances on retail units and offices, share the same nominal footprint, usually 3’0″ x 7’0″, but they are described by their stile width, which is the aluminum framing on the sides of the glass. Stile width changes how the door looks and how much hardware it can carry.
| Stile type | Approx. stile width | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Narrow stile | About 2-1/2″ | More glass, lighter traffic, cleaner look |
| Medium stile | About 3-1/2″ | Balance of glass area and durability |
| Wide stile | About 5″ | Heavy traffic, panic hardware, maximum strength |
For a busy entrance that takes hundreds of cycles a day, wide stile holds up better and gives exit hardware more to bite into. When the glass or framing on one of these doors fails, you often do not need a whole new door. Our articles on aluminum storefront replacement and commercial glass door repair cover when to repair versus replace. Broken glass on its own is usually a commercial glass replacement rather than a full door swap.
Wood commercial doors
Solid core wood doors used in offices, hotels, and institutions follow the same nominal widths and heights as steel, and they are almost always 1-3/4 inches thick. The difference is weight and finish rather than size. Wood doors can also be ordered fire-rated, in which case the label limits the maximum size and any field modifications.
Fire-rated doors
Fire-rated doors are sized to their listing, not to a general size chart. Each rated assembly, meaning the door, frame, and hardware together, is tested and labelled for a maximum size and a specific fire rating such as 45, 60, 90, or 180 minutes. You cannot simply cut a rated door down or enlarge the opening without voiding the label. Because of that, sizing a fire door is really about matching the tested assembly. Our fire-rated door checklist explains what to look for, and whether your current doors meet Ontario Building Code requirements is worth confirming before you reorder.
Double doors and pairs
When one leaf is not wide enough, commercial openings use a pair of doors. A common pair is two 3’0″ leaves for a 6’0″ opening, and pairs of 2’6″, 2’8″, and 3’0″ leaves are all standard. Pairs can run active and inactive, where one leaf stays bolted shut until you need the full width for deliveries or moving equipment. The overall opening is the sum of both leaves plus the meeting stiles and clearances.
Overhead, roll-up, and specialty doors
Overhead sectional and roll-up doors, dock doors, and specialty industrial doors do not follow the leaf sizing above. They are quoted by the clear opening width and height of the actual bay, and they are almost always made to order. If your facility mixes a personnel door beside a loading bay, each gets sized on its own terms. The same is true for automatic door operators, where the operator has to be matched to the door size and weight.
Accessibility: clear width is not the same as door width
This is where a lot of sizing decisions go sideways. The number that matters for accessibility is the clear opening width, meaning the actual gap a person passes through when the door is open 90 degrees, not the nominal size of the door. The door slab, the stops, and the hardware all eat into that gap.
Under the Ontario Building Code, barrier-free doorways have to provide a minimum clear opening, and because the slab and hardware reduce it, a 3’0″ (914 mm) leaf is the practical minimum for an accessible entrance. Ordering a narrower door to save money on an accessible route is a common and costly mistake, because it can fail inspection even when the door itself is brand new. We cover the specifics in how wide a handicap accessible door needs to be and in our overview of accessibility requirements for storefront doors. Always confirm the current clear-opening figure for your project against the Ontario Building Code, since barrier-free provisions are updated over time.
When you need a custom size
Standard sizes ship faster and cost less, so it is worth trying to design around them. That said, older GTA buildings are full of openings that were never standard to begin with. You will need a custom door when the opening is an odd width or height, when a heritage facade dictates the proportions, when a rated assembly has to fit a non-standard hole, or when you want a taller glass entrance than 8 feet.
Custom work affects more than the invoice. It usually means a longer lead time too, since the door and frame are built to order rather than pulled from stock. If downtime is a concern, that lead time is worth planning around. Our look at the replacement timeline and the guide to commercial door installation cost in Toronto both help set expectations before you commit.
| Sizing route | Lead time | Cost impact | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard stock size | Shortest | Lowest | Opening matches a standard nominal size |
| Standard size, made to order | Moderate | Moderate | Standard size but specific finish or rating |
| Fully custom size | Longest | Highest | Odd opening, heritage facade, oversized glass |
How to measure an existing opening, step by step
If you are replacing a door and want a size to hand your installer or supplier, here is the order that avoids surprises.
First, measure the door slab width edge to edge at the top, middle, and bottom, and write down the smallest number. Second, measure the slab height on both edges and use the shorter reading. Third, measure the frame throat, which is the depth of the frame wrapping the wall. Fourth, note the door thickness. Fifth, record the hinge locations from the top of the door and the height of the lock or exit device. Those last two let a new slab reuse the existing frame and keep the job to a straight swap.
If the door is damaged, sagging, or dragging, measure a matching undamaged opening if one exists, because a warped door gives false readings. When a hinge has torn out or a door has dropped, that is often a repair rather than a resize, and our note on commercial door hinge replacement covers when a sagging door just needs new hinges. If you are weighing a fix against a full swap, the repair versus replacement guide is a good next read.
Common commercial door sizing mistakes
A few errors come up again and again, and each one costs time or money.
Measuring the old door instead of the opening is the classic one, because a worn slab has usually shrunk, swelled, or been trimmed. Confusing nominal size with the rough opening is another, and it leads to frames that will not drop in. Forgetting that hardware reduces the clear opening trips up accessible entrances. Ordering a non-standard size out of habit, when a standard size would have fit with a minor frame adjustment, adds needless cost and lead time. And reusing hardware on a door of a different thickness leaves you with a lock that will not seat. A quick site measure by someone who does this daily removes almost all of these.
Metric and imperial quick reference
Ontario suppliers quote both systems, and permit drawings often use metric while stock lists use imperial. Here are the conversions that come up most.
| Imperial | Metric |
|---|---|
| 2’0″ (24″) | 610 mm |
| 2’6″ (30″) | 762 mm |
| 2’8″ (32″) | 813 mm |
| 3’0″ (36″) | 914 mm |
| 3’6″ (42″) | 1067 mm |
| 4’0″ (48″) | 1219 mm |
| 6’8″ (80″) | 2032 mm |
| 7’0″ (84″) | 2134 mm |
| 8’0″ (96″) | 2438 mm |
| 1-3/4″ thickness | 44.5 mm |
Frequently asked questions about commercial door sizes
What is the standard commercial door size?
The standard commercial door is 3’0″ wide by 7’0″ tall and 1-3/4 inches thick, which is about 914 mm by 2134 mm. That size fits most entrances, back doors, and accessible openings, and it works with the widest range of commercial hardware.
What is the most common commercial door width?
3 feet (36 inches, or 914 mm) is the most common single-leaf width. It clears the space a person, wheelchair, or cart needs and suits standard locks, closers, and exit devices.
How tall is a standard commercial door?
Seven feet (84 inches, or 2134 mm) is the commercial standard. Older buildings sometimes use 6’8″, and modern storefronts and lobbies often use 8’0″ doors for a taller, more open entrance.
How thick is a commercial door?
Most commercial doors are 1-3/4 inches (44.5 mm) thick. That thickness suits commercial hardware and holds up to heavy use. Lighter 1-3/8 inch doors appear in some interior, non-rated openings.
What is the difference between nominal and actual door size?
Nominal size is the label size you order by, such as 3’0″ x 7’0″. Actual size is the real measured slab, which is manufactured slightly smaller so the door can swing with proper clearances. Order by nominal size and let the manufacturer handle the clearances.
What is a rough opening for a commercial door?
The rough opening, or masonry opening in block and brick walls, is the hole in the wall that holds the frame. It is larger than the door, commonly about 2 inches wider and 1 inch taller than the nominal door for a standard hollow metal frame. Confirm the exact figure with the frame manufacturer’s chart.
What size is a standard double commercial door?
A common pair is two 3’0″ leaves for a 6’0″ opening. Pairs of 2’6″, 2’8″, and 3’0″ leaves are all standard, and one leaf can be set as inactive until you need the full width.
What is the minimum door width for wheelchair access in Ontario?
Accessibility is measured by clear opening width, not the nominal door size, because the slab and hardware reduce the gap. A 3’0″ (914 mm) leaf is the practical minimum for a barrier-free entrance. Confirm the current clear-opening requirement in the Ontario Building Code for your project.
Can a commercial door be cut down to fit?
Non-rated wood and some steel doors can be trimmed slightly within the manufacturer’s allowance, but fire-rated doors cannot be cut beyond their label limits without voiding the rating. When in doubt, order the correct size rather than modifying a door in the field.
What are standard aluminum storefront door sizes?
Aluminum storefront doors are usually 3’0″ x 7’0″ and are described by stile width. Narrow stile is about 2-1/2 inches, medium stile about 3-1/2 inches, and wide stile about 5 inches. Wide stile is best for heavy traffic and panic hardware.
How do I measure a commercial door for replacement?
Measure the slab width at top, middle, and bottom and use the smallest reading, measure the height on both edges and use the shorter one, note the thickness and frame throat, and record the hinge and lock locations. Those readings let a new slab match the existing frame.
Are commercial doors bigger than residential doors?
Usually taller and thicker. Homes often use 6’8″ doors at 1-3/8 inches thick, while commercial standard is 7’0″ at 1-3/4 inches. Commercial doors are built for higher cycle counts and heavier hardware.
What size door do I need for a fire exit?
A fire exit door is sized to its tested and labelled assembly and to the egress requirements for the space. The door, frame, and hardware are rated together, so the size is set by the listing rather than a general chart. Have the assembly confirmed against code before ordering.
How long does a custom-size commercial door take to get?
Custom doors are built to order, so they take longer than stock sizes. Lead time depends on the material, finish, and rating. If downtime matters, plan the order early and ask about interim security for the opening.
Do I need a permit to change a commercial door size?
Enlarging or altering a structural opening often triggers a permit, especially on load-bearing or rated walls. A straight like-for-like replacement usually does not. Our guide on when Toronto businesses need permits covers the details.
Get the size right the first time
Standard sizing gets you most of the way, but the opening in your wall is the final authority. If you are specifying doors for a new fit-out, replacing a worn entrance, or trying to figure out whether an odd opening needs a custom order, a quick on-site measurement removes the guesswork and protects your lead time. Reach out through our contact page to book a measurement or ask about a commercial door installation anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area, and we will confirm the right size before anything is ordered.
Sizing conventions in this guide reflect standard North American commercial door practice. For steel door and frame nomenclature and standard size tables, see the Steel Door Institute. Barrier-free and fire-separation requirements are governed by the Ontario Building Code and should be verified for your specific project.
