We have not focused much on this blog on the doors business in the southern hemisphere, so if you are on the lookout for Aussie doors, you could do worse than check out Install-a-Door, and their range of internal doors.
These are moulded, panelled classic doors, and importantly, Australian-made, too.
The humble door – it is likely that most of us pay it scant heed as we walk through it but at times it can take on greater significance for us.
For example, a door is to be knocked on when closed and when the occupant of the space it guards has clearly done so for reasons of privacy. Even if unlocked and even if glass permits what or who is within the room to be seen, knocking on a door expresses respect for privacy, for the authority of the occupant and acknowledges the unwritten role of the door, internal or otherwise, in serving as a barrier to the unbidden.
Don’t know if you caught this article about double-glazed doors – the whole subject of double-glazing is probably not the most exciting, but this article is written in a somewhat more tongue-in-cheek style and is worth a read. I particularly like the whole premise that British houses are, or were, fundamentally cold places, and the British never really thought there was anything odd about that.
With the rise of double-glazing (are there any homes left without it?) the situation now is somewhat different to say the least.
When considering the purpose and function of internal doors we look at the design of the door and its appearance.
How does it fit into the decoration of the room or building? Should the opening or entrance require a double door, single door, a formal door, plain door, solid wood door, or lightweight hollow door. French doors have glass window panes inserted into the door for a formal look. These types of internal doors separate a dining area from the rest of the home.
Internal doors
Ideally are used to separate rooms to create living space and in most instances give a level of privacy to the occupants. There are many choices of doors with locks that are good for keeping curious children out and for private talks. Sliding doors are great for closet space and small doorways. Swing bar-style doors can be used for pantry spaces and kitchen spaces. Screen doors are great for air flow and to keep bugs from coming into the home. Solid wooden doors add a touch of warmth to an office or den with the addition of sound proofing.
Hollow, lightweight doors are for week-end or mobile homes where inexpensive materials are used.
These doors provide the same appeal as expensive doors at less cost and function quite well.
Let’s take a look at the functionality of the sliding door – in the nineteen-thirties and forties these sliding doors were built into the doorway and served to separate rooms and create living space. For example when couples wished to be alone to talk these doors created privacy keeping noise out.
Glass doors create the feeling of added space and light but leave little privacy. The swinging bar style doors give an all-west appeal and are great for entertaining spaces and pantries. These doors give ease of movement from one area to another as long as no-one is coming in the same way another person is going out. Interior doors can be used to display art work – teenagers hang posters, notes, stickers and signs on them informing others to stay out.
Large double doors mark grand entryways in palaces. Throughout time interior doors have served mankind in many interesting ways. People need them for privacy, living space, separation, and relaxation. As a point of interest, the very first interior doors were panel doors first used in the 1600′s. The oldest door can be found in Westminster Abbey,London,England, dating back to 1050. Interior doors have stood the test of time and have evolved into the modern day doors that are in our homes today. A home would surely be different without these interior doors we use each day.
Just came across a new article on the Concertina Doors site which we’ve mentioned here before – this one is about double-glazed exterior doors. Even if you don’t find the subject of doors all that stimulating, the article is quite amusing, conjuring up images of “icy caves of doom” (freezing cold British homes) and the way that double-glazing has come of age in the last 20 years and is no longer something just “for the Joneses” but a standard fixture in any modern home.
There is a bit there about safety too – you can find out about some of the standards that apply to glazed doors of any kind. Have a read, there’s just about everything there except stainless steel sinks.
If you prefer video to wading through long articles, here’s one that has just recently appeared on Youtube that kind of breaks down the different types of internal door. Breaks down in the sense of “divides into categories” rather than, er, well we think you got it!
Hope you found it useful and it made the whole interior door thing a bit clearer for you!
When you start really looking into interior doors, there is a huge variety of different types, each having their own range of uses. In this report we will try to make sense of some of the different kinds of internal door that you may be offered as you consider the image you are aiming at in your home interior.
Interior doors can for the most part be sorted into three simple types – ‘regular’ hinged doors, sliding doors and folding doors, though it should be noted that there is some overlap between them. We will list them in brief here, and try to get more specific in some future articles.
These are familiar to us all – the majority of interior doors most likely still figure in this category. This is the classic door which swings into the jamb and typically only opens one way. Of course, there are many types under this category – full-wood doors, doors with glass inset, PVC-coated doors and internal French or double doors. For sheer versatility, ease of installation and simplicity you will still in most cases opt for a hinged door. However, they have at least one significant downside which other kinds of internal door attempt to address – the door always has to swing outwards, and when they do can hog valuable space and be more of a hindrance for very small spaces like storage rooms.
One kind of hinged door should get special mention at this point, that being interior French doors, by which we normally use to signify internal double doors that hinge out, meeting in the middle, which are often lockable such that just one ‘wing’ remains in use if so desired.
Interior folding doors aim to address the space problem mentioned earlier, by folding the door in on itself by some mechanism, rather than it swinging out into the room. On the down side, this most commonly means that a certain amount of space in the actual doorway will be taken up by the folded door, so you have to think about whether this will be acceptable. Because they usually travel along a groove they might also be called ‘sliding doors’, although see the main sliding door section later in the article for an overview of the differences. These are some common types of interior folding door:
Interior concertina doors, sometimes referred to as ‘sliding folding doors’, are divided into panels which ‘concertina up’ when open and are usually of light plastic. Also referred to as ‘accordion doors’, especially in the US. A particular use of such folding doors is as room dividers wherever there is a wider doorway or natural division in a home or commercial setting.
These are available in a variety of types, their main characteristic being that they fold only along a single join in the middle but are held in a channel like a concertinadoor. They are a sort of compromise between the concertina door and a common-or-garden hinged door, since they still extend to a certain extent into the room when stacked, but take up proportionately less of the doorway in doing so. Interior bi-folding doors are commonly used as wardrobe and closet doors, as well as bathroom shower cabinet doors, but maybe are not so often used as divisions between rooms in the home or place of work. When they are, they are often installed in pairs, to shut up a large aperture, or where it is necessary to have just one half of the doorway open most of the time, while the other segment of the door remains locked until the whole doorway is put into use.
It should be noted that UPVC and aluminium bi-folding doors are primarily used as external doors, leading onto a yard or patio – a subject for another article.
Although various types of internal folding doors could be referred to as sliding doors, this term typically is used to describe a sliding door with one or more overlapping panels in grooves next to one another which can slide along to open most of the door aperture. There are even systems that have a groove running completely clear of the door aperture along which a single-wing or even multi-panel door can be slid completely out of the doorway. Although the downside of this is that it requires space either side of the doorway, it can provide a very striking look.
That was just a brief run-down of the various types of internal door that you might consider if you are working on your home interior at the moment. Hopefully it has made sense of some of the terminology used and will assist you in making an informed choice about the ideal of door to choose for your home.
