Door Construction Types: Molded, Flush, and Stile and Rail
- info079834
- Apr 23
- 4 min read
Door Construction Types: Molded, Flush, and Stile and Rail
When it comes to picking an interior door style for your home, you have lots of options. Let’s talk about three main types of interior doors- what they’re made of, when to choose them, and what design options are available to you.
Molded
Molded doors are an economical choice for interior doors that still maintain a clean look. These doors are made with a machine press and have a slated or beveled transition from border to panel, to allow the machine ease in making the design.
Molded doors offer a frame with a door face that has been pressed into various styles. As you can see from the picture above, molded doors do have the top rail, bottom rail, and stiles of other doors, as well as the “lock block” that flush doors have as well. That frame is then filled with either a honeycomb-like structure for a hollow-core door, or a solid engineered material for solid-core. Lynden Door offers some very nice options we can help you order.
Style Options
Skins are attached to the frame and core using special adhesives. The unit is then placed into a machine that literally molds the door interior impressionable core into the selected style and shape.
Flush
Flush doors have very similar construction to molded, with the exception that they are not pressed but instead are a flat door. Also, similar to the molded door, the hollow core flush door has a honeycomb core with a frame and skins. The surface of a flush door can vary from different laminates, steel, fiberglass, and wood veneers for a plethora of looks and surfacing.
Style Options
The interior stile and rails can be MDF or wood. MDF is a good choice for hinged doors, and wood is more suitable for barn-style doors. The size of the rail can be changed to meet the requirements of the door. For example, a barn or pocket door should have a larger 6” rail to hold up the weight of the door, while for a hinged door the 2.5” standard is all that’s needed.
Veneer options is where flush doors set themselves apart. With no panels in the way, you can use the veneer to create the desired effect. Grain can run vertically, horizontally, or even diagonally. It can be randomly matched, or book-matched to achieve a mirror image look
There are 2 main options for how the edge of the door can appear. A separate hardwood edge, to match the veneer, or wrapping the veneer around the edge for a more seamless look.
Grooving is generally used in painted flush doors, but there are a variety of grooved designs that can be added to give the door a more unique look. Both Lynden Door and Trustile over a wide variety of options.
Stile and Rail
A popular interior door choice, stile and rail doors are identifiable by their pieced-together construction and classic paneled look. The stiles and rails themselves are generally constructed with finger-jointed pine as a base, layered over with a wood veneer of your choice, so these doors are durable and cost effective. Fitting together smaller pieces of pine wood allows for more stability for the life of your door as well as cutting down on cost.
Stile and rail doors are a good option if you want a very customized look, because you can specify panel style, rails, sticking, veneer, stain, size, and paint.
Style Options:
Panels come in raised and flat options. Raised panels are usually constructed from wood, and the detailing and thickness can be customized. Flat panels are generally made from a dense fiberboard, and the thickness varies by manufacturer. Some defaults for a few manufacturers:
· Simpson Door Company: 3/8” thick
· Codel Doors (Trimlite): 1/2" thick
· Rogue Valley Door: 3/4" thick
The thicker the panel, the more privacy the door provides. It also makes for a heavier door.
Panel configuration is where you get to have fun choosing a style! From 1 single panel all the way to 11 (or more!), choose a configuration that matches the feel of other elements in the home and compliments your design choices.
There are 2 primary options for sticking (the profile of the frame around each panel): shaker and ovolo. Shaker is a cleaner, more modern look, while ovolo is seen as more traditional.
The decorations for a stile and rail door have endless possibilities. From plain panels to raised, straight cross rails to archtops, square and rounded sticking, to all unique styles of glass, wood and finishes, the opportunities are dizzying. Stile and rail offer architects, designers and homeowners a plethora of avenues for customization. Stile and rail doors can be customized to fit style and showcase an era as well as sport a range of wood species, veneers, stains, and paint colors.
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If you are in the Greater Seattle area, we want to know how we can help you make the right decision when it comes to replacing your interior or exterior doors. We have been providing quality doors and millwork to the Greater Seattle area since 1990 and are ready to help you start your next project. Give us a call at Interbay Door today!
425-485-6404
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