The question of selecting interior doors should be addressed at the planning stage of the renovation. The owner should decide on the interior style and choose options that will best emphasize the “designer” concept. It’s important to know the color of the doors in advance, as the casings and baseboards are usually purchased in the same shade as the door panel.
Additionally, one must decide on the construction of interior doors, considering that some options may require special wall preparation, installation of drywall partitions, or specific niches.
How to Choose Interior Doors: Deciding on the Construction?
Considering the peculiarities of the structure of European interior doors, there are four types: veneered, panel, paneled, and modular. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages.
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Veneered
The middle layer of the construction is made of particleboard. Externally, it is complemented by sheets of artificial or natural veneer. Veneered doors look quite solid and durable. They harmonize well with glass and mirrored inserts. The drawbacks of the construction include their considerable weight and relatively low moisture resistance.
Panel
This type is often called framed. Its basis is a sturdy wooden frame. Since this is the internal part, it is mainly made from inexpensive but durable softwood. Externally, panel doors are clad with MDF panels. These products are easy to decorate using PVC film, laminated coating, or natural veneer, along with various glazing options. The void between the frame and MDF sheets is filled with lightweight insulation materials.
The key advantages of framed interior doors include:
- Low weight
- Affordable price
- Stability of the construction
- Variety of colors and decoration options
Paneled
The basis of paneled doors (another name for them) is also an assembled wooden construction. Its essential internal elements include fillets – small boards made of solid wood. To connect them into a unified structure, a tongue-and-groove joint system is used. The visible frame into which the fillets are placed is often made of glued timber, plywood, or plastic. The fillets themselves can also be made of different materials, but mostly it is pine.
Doors with fillets are characterized by special durability and a relatively affordable price. They can be complemented by various decorative inserts and effectively protect against noise.
Modular
Such doors are particularly widespread today because they do not require much time for manufacturing and installation. Essentially, they consist of a metal frame around the perimeter and internal filling made of MDF panels, glass, plastic, and the like. Since the material used for their manufacture can be very different, their prices and operational characteristics also vary. It is worth noting a significant drawback of such interior doors – their sound insulation is not the best.
Regardless of their construction, interior doors have a range of additional accessories that complete their appearance:
- Threshold – used to ensure maximum tightness between the door and the floor, more necessary in the kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and veranda.
- Ventilation opening – used in rooms with high humidity, especially in the bathroom and kitchen.
- Architrave – a finishing element used to decorate the door opening.
- Hardware – serves both a functional and aesthetic role. Cheap hardware quickly loses its attractive appearance and breaks easily, so it’s not worth saving on this element.
Types of Interior Doors by Opening Method
When choosing the best option for your home, it is essential to pay attention to the characteristic of interior doors – the opening method. It’s crucial to decide on this aspect before starting the renovation, as doors require sufficient space for their operation.
Swinging Doors
The most popular and arguably classic option for door opening. Consisting of two main parts – the frame and the door panel – they are connected using hinges. Opting for swinging doors requires planning enough space to comfortably open the door to its maximum width.
Sliding Doors
An excellent choice for rooms where space-saving is essential. Sliding constructions are often chosen to divide spaces in offices and cubicles, as well as to separate a wardrobe and similar areas. There are three main ways sliding doors can open:
- Into the wall.
- Along the exterior part of the walls.
- One part of the door slides behind the other.
Accordion Doors, or Folding
Used exclusively inside a room since they cannot provide maximum protection and sound insulation. Essentially, they consist of individual sections connected into a single structure. Closing is achieved by moving the panels along guides.
Barn Doors
Very similar to sliding doors, but the two parts are independent of each other, with separate curtains and locks. They are divided not into right and left but into upper and lower parts.
Revolving Doors
More commonly found in offices, shopping centers, stores, pharmacies, cafes, and hotels. Thanks to an automatic or mechanical mechanism, they rotate 180-360 degrees, providing a free passage.
Choosing the Best Material for Interior Doors
The quality and durability of interior doors largely depend on their material. Nowadays, manufacturers offer doors made of various materials, including solid wood, MDF, particleboard, eco-veneer, natural veneer, glass, and PVC. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
Solid Wood Doors
Although they can be expensive, they are considered the most natural and durable option. Wooden interior doors seamlessly fit into any interior and have an unparalleled appearance. However, they come with some drawbacks. These products are quite heavy, prone to splitting, and sensitive to moisture.
MDF Doors
Significantly cheaper than solid wood doors, MDF doors often match them in appearance. They are made from fiberboard, which includes natural resins. Generally lightweight, moisture-resistant, and sturdy, MDF doors come in various external decorative options. They are frequently used in areas with high humidity, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and toilets.
Particleboard (DSP)
Unlike MDF, particleboard is a product of synthetic resins. Its core can be solid (thick particleboard) or filled with wooden slats of inexpensive species, sometimes cardboard. Due to their weight, installation requires a reinforced frame and hinges. Another drawback is the release of harmful vapors under excessive heat.
Eco-Veneer
This board is made from natural wood fibers bonded with synthetic resins, making it not entirely natural. Visually, it imitates wood, making it easy to mistake for solid wood doors.
Natural Veneer
This is a completely natural and environmentally friendly material, consisting of thin slices of natural wood. Its thickness can vary from 0.1 to 10 mm. Doors made of natural veneer do not visually differ from solid wood doors. They can be painted, varnished, and are durable, resistant to mechanical damage, and maintain their color for a long time.
Glass
Increasingly, designers recommend choosing glass doors. According to reviews on interior doors, glass panels visually enlarge the space. Easy to install and considered durable, they can be installed in any room since they are not affected by moisture or sunlight. Tempered glass doors with a thin layer of transparent plastic can withstand even strong impacts. This material can be painted, tinted, turned into a mirror, complemented with various metal inserts, and decorated with decorative stickers. The only drawback of such doors is their poor sound insulation.
PVC
This entirely synthetic material is nevertheless safe and impact-resistant. Its lightweight and excellent noise and sound insulation characteristics are additional advantages. When exploring the cost of interior doors made of different materials, you’ll find that PVC has its advantages in this regard as well. Although there is a wide range of colors and textures for PVC doors on the market, they still slightly lag behind veneered, glass, and wooden doors in terms of appearance. They are ideal for bathrooms, balconies, loggias, attics, and basements.
