Guide to Interior Doors: These are The Facts You Should Know

Interior doors connect or separate rooms in houses and apartments. Because they usually separate two rooms from each other, we call them room doors. First and foremost, interior doors had and still have a functional purpose. They can not only create a certain place of retreat. They also ensure, for example, that noise from the neighboring room is blocked out or that heat stays in a room. This plays an important role, especially in buildings that are not yet insulated.

The design depends on how the function of a door is defined. Sliding doors, for example, ensure particularly flowing room connections. When opened, they are completely hidden in or on a wall and do not restrict the appearance, especially in large contemporary living spaces. Bedrooms or bathrooms, on the other hand, often need more privacy so the interior doors here are usually classic room doors that can be closed and locked tightly. Doors with glass panes are ultimately there to give darker rooms the opportunity to benefit from daylight.

Before we take a closer look at the inner workings of the doors, let's take a look at what types there are. This is where two door systems differ significantly from each other.

The hinged door

It is probably the most well-known of all interior doors and can be found in every house. The hinged door consists of a frame, the so-called casing, which is anchored in the wall, and a door leaf. This is usually attached to one side of the frame with two hinges in the upper and lower parts of the door. The door then swings open to the left or right by turning the hinges. Door hinges also ensure that the door opens at the right angle.

The sliding door

Sliding doors are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary buildings. The reason for this is their mostly minimalist form. Depending on the design, the door moves to the side on a rail attached at the top or bottom and can be opened or closed in this way. Cheap sliding doors are only pushed against one side of the wall, and they can no longer be used when open. In higher-quality installations, the door slides into a specially made wall and is practically invisible when open.

Interior doors can be completely different in terms of their internal structure. And that's a good thing because depending on the function it is supposed to have in a room, it has to do different things. Generally, interior doors are constructed in such a way that in addition to the two outer surfaces, the top layers, they have an interior, which is called the middle layer.

Interior door with honeycomb core

Between the two cover layers of a door, which are usually made of veneered wood, there is a hollow space that is filled with a honeycomb filling made of cardboard or paperboard. Such doors are light, stable and, above all, inexpensive. But be careful: Due to the delicate inner core, such a door can break and you can easily find yourself with furniture, hands or feet inside the door.

Interior door with tubular chipboard

Doors with tubular chipboard bars inside are also popular models. They are suitable if you are looking for a more stable interior door that also offers sound insulation. They have evenly distributed bars made of tubular chipboard inside.

Interior door with tubular chipboard

In comparison to an interior door that is filled with tubular chipboard, a solid chipboard with tubular holes is used in this middle layer. It is more stable than the previous door and therefore also a little more expensive.

Solid chipboard interior door

Inside this door shape, there is a solid chipboard. Due to its stability, it hardly warps and is also very robust. The middle layer also provides additional sound insulation.

Solid wood door

The term already says what the doors are made of. These are doors made from 100 percent real wood. MDF boards or similar materials are taboo here. The open-pored wood creates a cozy atmosphere in the house, is extremely robust in daily use and has good sound insulation. Classic softwoods are spruce and pine. Maple, beech or oak are used if you want to use high-quality hardwood.

Laminated or laminated wood interior doors

Laminated doors have an inner layer that is characterized by glued layers of solid wood. Various types of cover layers can be attached to this. Small doors with windows are also possible. Laminated wooden interior doors use real wood in the middle layer, which is glued together in strips—but without an additional cover layer.

Wooden doors

Wooden doors are without a doubt one of the most popular interior doors in contemporary architecture today. They are versatile and a cosy and natural raw material at the same time. They also have excellent insulating properties and are incredibly flexible. If you leave a wooden door in its original colour and just varnish it, the individual grain contributes to an individual look in the living room. Doors with frames or window elements that are reminiscent of the country house style are popular here. If you prefer something colourful, you can go wild with different varnishes. White wooden doors, however, are still the classic.

All-glass doors

This type of interior door consists of a door-sized pane that must be made of single-pane safety glass in accordance with DIN standard 12150. Such doors can separate both sound and heat and are approved for frequent use. Visually, such a door can be integrated into the living space either with clear glass so that you can see through it. If you want more privacy, it is better to choose a satin pane that is frosted but lets light through, or a combination of clear and matte surfaces—the so-called screen printing.

Advantages:

• Let a lot of light through
• Are ideal for small rooms
• Appear airy

Disadvantage:

• Needs to be cleaned frequently.
• Offer only limited privacy

Lattice door

A lattice door is an interior door in which vertical and horizontal struts are integrated into the door leaf. These are connected to one another by glass panes, creating a closed door leaf. The material the doors are made of does not matter. It can be aluminum, plastic or wood. However, depending on the material, a certain look can be created. Wooden lattice doors go well with the country house style. Lattice doors with aluminum create a modern, industrial flair in the living room.

Advantage:

• Good for dark rooms
• High-quality door for country house style designs
• Various glass inserts possible (frosted glass, ornamental glass, etc.)

Disadvantage:

• Offer only limited privacy
• Unsuitable for bedrooms where it should be dark at night

CPL doors

They are a modern door variant and a good alternative to real wood doors. They have a laminate coating on the surface and can therefore be used in many different ways in the home. CPL stands for Continuous Pressure Laminate—a process in which several layers of melamine resin are pressed with printed decorative paper under very high pressure. This gives the surface a hardness that can withstand daily use for many years and is easy to care for. Their core usually consists of a tubular chipboard insert.

Advantage:

• Cheaper than real wood doors
• Long durability
• Very robust in daily use
• Scratch-resistant

Disadvantage:

• No contribution to climate-friendly living as with the building material wood
• No original wood

Doors with lacquered surface

Whether white or colored: lacquered doors are a robust solution for living spaces. The interior door is characterized by a multi-layer lacquer that is applied smooth, matt, glossy or even in a 3D look to two MDF boards that form the top layers. There is often a tubular chipboard inside.

Advantage:

• Suitable for many interior designs
• Timeless
• Easy cleaning possible

Disadvantage:

• Not easy to care for in everyday family life with children
• Not scratch or shock resistant under heavy use
• Not suitable for damp rooms or saunas

Interior door with glass

A nice alternative for darker rooms or bathrooms are doors with glass inserts. They require a high-quality and stable internal structure that can hold the glass pane. Most often, doors made of solid chipboard or real wood are used here.

Advantage:

• Airy appearance
• Flexible design possible
• Suitable for dark rooms or hallways
• Various glass inserts possible (satin, frosted glass, ornamental glass)

Disadvantage:

• Not suitable for bedrooms
• Intensive care

You can find lots of inspiration for doors in our picture gallery. Are you looking for new doors and need a professional to advise you? Then take a look at our list of experts.

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