Building a functional, secure base is the first big milestone every Ark player hits after they get past the initial "run from every dino" phase of play. Whether you’re setting up a small PVE outpost on The Island or a heavily fortified PVP base on Aberration, small building tricks can save you hours of headache later. A lot of new players struggle to fit two entrance points without gaps, glitches, or overlapping doors, which is why learning how to place 2 door frames ark correctly is such a valuable skill to pick up early. I’ve tested these steps across hundreds of base builds on official and modded servers alike, so you don’t have to waste time troubleshooting bad snaps or raid-prone gaps.
Prep Steps Before You Learn How to Place 2 Door Frames Ark Correctly
You don’t need any special tools or admin permissions to pull this off, but a little prep work will make the process go 10x smoother. First, clear the entire area where you plan to build your entrance. Even small, hard-to-see rocks, bushes, or root clippings can mess with the snapping logic of building pieces, so pull out your pickaxe and clear everything within a 2x2 tile radius of your planned build spot. Always place your core foundation tiles first before adding any door frames to avoid alignment issues down the line.
Next, gather your materials. You’ll need two door frames of your chosen tier, one temporary wooden pillar (you can discard it after you’re done aligning), and at least one 1x1 foundation or ceiling tile to use as your base snapping point. If you’re working on an upper level of a base, make sure the ceiling tiles you’re using are fully supported and don’t have the red "unsupported" warning when you place them. Unsupported tiles will shift slightly over time, which can cause your door frames to glitch out even if you placed them perfectly at first.
If you’re building on slightly uneven ground, lay down a wooden ceiling tile over the area first instead of placing foundations directly on the dirt. Ceiling tiles automatically level themselves out when snapped to adjacent supported pieces, so they create a perfectly flat surface for your door frames to snap to. This trick alone fixes 80% of the snapping issues most players run into with side-by-side door frames.
Step-by-Step Process to Fit Two Door Frames Side by Side
Once you’ve prepped your space and gathered your materials, the actual placement process only takes a minute or two. Follow these steps exactly to avoid gaps or overlapping doors:
- First, place a single 1x1 foundation (or ceiling tile, if you’re building an upper level) where you want the center of your two door frames to sit
- Line your first door frame up with the left edge of the foundation tile, making sure it snaps to the outer lip of the tile without overhanging
- Place a temporary wooden pillar against the inner edge of the first door frame to act as an alignment guide
- Line the second door frame up with the right edge of the foundation tile, snapping it to the same lip as the first one, and make sure it sits flush against the temporary pillar
- Remove the temporary pillar, and test both door frames to make sure they open and close without hitting each other
That’s all there is to the basic process, but there are a few small tweaks you can make depending on your use case. If you’re building for PVP, you can rotate the inner edges of the door frames slightly inward to create a tighter choke point for raiders. If you’re building for PVE and want to let small tames through, you can leave a tiny 1/4 tile gap between the frames to let direwolves or raptors pass without making the entrance big enough for larger aggressive dinos to get in. Don't force a snap if the frame looks misaligned, it will leave a gap that raiders can exploit even if it looks like a small space. Raiders can use glitches or small creatures to get through even tiny gaps, so it’s not worth the risk.
This process works for every tier of door frame in the game, from thatch all the way up to tek. The snapping logic is identical across all tiers, so you can practice on cheap thatch frames first before you waste valuable metal or polymer on high-tier builds. I usually test every new entrance design on a small 1x1 thatch base first to work out kinks before I add it to my main base.
Fixes for Common Glitches When Placing Two Ark Door Frames
Even if you follow the steps perfectly, you might run into a few common glitches, especially if you’re playing on console or a modded server. The most common issue is frames refusing to snap to the edge of the foundation tile. That’s almost always caused by uneven ground or a hidden object under the tile. If this happens, pick up the foundation, clear the area again, and try placing a ceiling tile instead of a direct foundation on the ground. Use a wooden ceiling tile over slightly sloped ground to create a perfectly flat snapping surface even if the ground looks mostly level.
Another common glitch is frames overlapping so much that you can’t open both doors at the same time. That happens when you snap both frames to the center of the foundation tile instead of the outer edges. If this happens, pick up the second frame you placed, move your cursor to the far right edge of the foundation until you see the snap marker pop up on the outer lip, and place it there instead. You might have to zoom in close to the edge of the tile to get the right snap point, especially if you’re playing on a controller.
If you notice a tiny gap between the two frames after you place them, don’t ignore it. You can fix this by picking up both frames, placing a single wall tile in the center of the foundation temporarily, then snapping each door frame to either side of the wall. Remove the wall once both frames are placed, and the gap will be gone. This trick also works if you’re trying to place three or more door frames side by side for a larger entrance area.
Best Use Cases for Two Side-by-Side Door Frames in Your Base
Now that you know how to place two door frames correctly, you might be wondering where to use this trick in your base. The most popular use case is for small to mid-sized PVE bases where you want a separate entrance for yourself and your small tames. You can leave one door unlocked for your tames to wander in and out, and keep the other locked for your own access to storage and crafting areas. This keeps your tames from wandering into your crafting area and knocking over your stations, which is a common frustration for new players.
For PVP bases, this setup creates a perfect choke point for raiders. You can place a trap behind one of the doors, and lead raiders into it when they break through your outer walls. You can also place auto turrets in the gap between the two doors to take out raiders before they get further into your base. Pairing two door frames with auto-close settings adds an extra layer of defense against unwanted wild dino intrusions if you forget to close the door behind you when you run out to gather resources.
You can also use this setup for crafting and storage areas to separate different sections of your base. For example, you can have one door leading to your resource storage area, and another leading to your crafting station area, so you don’t have to walk through the entire base to get to either. I use this setup in all of my solo play bases, and it cuts down the time I spend running between storage and crafting stations by almost 60%.
Mastering how to place 2 door frames ark is a small, simple skill that makes a huge difference in the functionality and security of your base, no matter what type of server you play on. You don’t need any fancy mods or admin commands to pull it off, just a little prep work and attention to detail when aligning the frames. I remember struggling with this for my first 20 hours of play, leaving gaps that dilos and compys would wander through constantly, so I wish I had these steps back when I first started. Test the door open/close function before you finalize your surrounding walls to avoid rework later, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different alignments to fit your specific base needs.