Have you ever taken a really good look at a door hinge? Next time you pass through a threshold, study the hinges. Which way does the door open? Left-hand, out? Right-hand in? Or vice-versa? Do you notice that the door panel is not a right angle on the hinge side? It’s beveled so it’s about 88 degrees. That’s so it doesn’t get hinge-bound, or stuck.

What if you want to change the direction the door opens? Can you just flip the door? 

No. 

You’ll probably have to re-bevel the other side of the door with a circular saw and remortise the hinges. It will take hours. You will screw it up. You’ll put the hinges on upside-down and backwards. On the wrong edge. Of the wrong side, which, by then, you will have incorrectly beveled.

You will end up staring at the door on the door jack until the optics of upside-down hinges and 88-degree angles make about as much sense as a stairway in an Escher drawing.

You will probably end up calling someone to finish the job, and they will charge you, like, $350.

It will probably be worth it. It will probably save your sanity, if not ultimately your marriage and your door.