Studio Matrx Monthly · Volume 1 · Issue 1 · June 2026
Amogh N P
 In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary 
Door Swing Planner

Door Swing Planner

Every door eats floor. Enter your room, the door width, hinge side and swing direction — the live top-down plan draws the swing arc, the dead floor it sweeps, and a clearance pass or fail against furniture. Indicative India 2026 (NBC 2016 sizes); always check on site.

dead floor

Your room & door

The dead floor a hinged door sweeps is a quarter-circle of radius equal to the leaf width — so a 3 ft door sweeps about 7.1 sq ft you can't furnish. The obstruction is placed near the latch side against the door wall for an illustrative clearance test. Outswing doors keep that floor free inside but need space outside.

Live top-down plan

obs10 ft x 12 fthinge7.1 sf
Clearance FAIL — swing hits the obstruction

Dead floor swept

0.0 sq ft

5.9% of the room

Clear walk-past

0.0 ft

depth left when open

Verdict

Fail

swing clashes

Floor swept: swing vs sliding vs pocket

Sliding and pocket doors sweep no floor — they buy back the dead arc in tight rooms.

Lay this door out in DesignAI

DesignAI plans door positions, swings and clearances against your furniture and circulation.

Why it matters

A door swing is dead floor

The area a hinged door sweeps open is floor you cannot furnish — a quarter-circle whose radius is the leaf width. A standard 3-ft (900 mm) internal door eats roughly 7 sq ft; a 3.5-ft main door nearly 10 sq ft. In small Indian rooms — a 2'6" bathroom, a tight kitchen, a child's bedroom — that arc routinely collides with the WC, the fridge, an open wardrobe shutter or a bedside table. Plan the swing on paper before the chowkat is fixed: change the hinge side, flip the swing, or move to a sliding or pocket door, and the conflict disappears. NBC 2016 also requires exit and main doors to open in the direction of escape (outward), which keeps the internal floor free.