Glossary Of Terms For Doors
Common Door Term Glossary
You might find reference to various names, products. processes or organisations when reading about replacement doors & windows. So we have collected some together in a short glossary and given a brief explanation of what they mean in order to “de-mystify” them.
ARCHITRAVE: These are moulded or decorative strips that are fitted to the door frames to “finish off “and cover any gaps between the frame edges and the wall that surrounds the frame.
APERTURE: This would be any type of opening in the door where glass would be fitted.
BEADING: These are the thin strips fitted to all the edges of a pane of glass (or panel) – the modern day equivalent of putty which was historically used to hold in the glass.
BESPOKE: Otherwise known as tailor made. Something which is built to meet individual or specific requirements – a “one-off”
BI-FOLD (BIFOLD): These are doors that fold together (like an accordion) when they open on tracks. They can be top-hung or bottom hung.
BIFOLD DOORS – TOP HUNG: The weight of the door is borne by an overhead track and the bottom track is just a guide.
BIFOLD DOORS – BOTTOM HUNG: The weight of the door is borne by a floor level track and the top track is just a guide.
BIFOLD LEAF: Another name for a bifold door panel (as in the door leaves fold to the left or to the right)
BIFOLD STACKING: When the doors are totally open and slid to the side they form a “stack”
COMPOSITE DOOR: Entrance doors made from GRP (glass reinforced plastic – like a car bumper) wood & insulating polyurethane foam core.
(solid) CORE CONSTRUCTION: Refers to the material used in the internal construction of the door.
CERTIFIRE: BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and Doorset Scheme re Fire Doors are built and assessed to independent standards. http://www.bwfcertifire.org.uk/
- FD60 fire doors will resist fire for no less than 60 minutes.
- FD30 fire doors will resist fire for no less than 30 minutes.
DOOR PAIRS: A matched pair of doors used in larger openings, fitted adjacent to each other.
ENGINEERED WOOD: Synthetic wood made from a mixture of other woods. Long lasting & has fewer shrink, crack or warping issues than a lot of natural timbers.
FRAME: The timber components (e.g. linings & casings) that are fitted within a wall opening to which a door is fixed.
FRENCH DOORS: A pair of matched doors fitted side by side (adjacent)
FURNITURE: Things like letter boxes, door knockers, handles, weather strips, locks etc.
HARDWOOD DOORS: Typically made from Oak, Teak, Mahogany or even African Hardwoods such as Idigbo.
HANDING: Predominantly referring to door pairs, it describes which door in the pair opens first. E.g. RHA (right hand away) or LHA (left hand away).
INTERNAL DOOR: One that is built to be used inside the property.
JAMB (Door Jamb): Or “doorjambs” are commonly understood to be the vertical sides of a door aperture. The door frame is usually screwed to the door jamb. In a window they would be called “reveals”.
LHA / RHA: Refers to the way a door opens, otherwise known as “handing”. LHA or left hand away doors are hinged on the right, RHA or right hand away are hinged on the right.
LIGHT or LITE: Commonly used to describe glazed parts of a door. Top lites, side lites are glazed panels over or to the side of the door respectively.
LININGS: A different way to refer to the frame that is used for interior doors.
MASTIC (sealant): Frames are sealed to the sides of the aperture (opening) normally using a silicone based sealant. If this silicone mastic becomes dry, hard or perishes over time it can cause ingress of damp or draughts.
MULTI-POINT LOCKS: Pre-installed or factory fitted locking system that simultaneously engages between 3 to 5 lock mechanisms around the door when operated.
PRE-FINISHED / primed: This type of door will have a “factory-fitted” surface finish. This could be some kind of veneer, paint or stain. Primed doors will just have undercoat pre-applied and all they need it the final finishing coat of paint.
POCKET DOOR: A variation on the design of sliding doors where the adjoining wall has a “slot” built into it so that the door slides into this slot and “disappears”.
SAFETY GLASS: Door glazing that is designed to be less dangerous when it breaks. Tempered glass is heat treated and breaks into tiny pieces like a car windscreen. Laminated glazing is a sandwich made from glass & plastic – the glass is the “bread” the plastic is the “filling”.
SOLID CORE: The internal centre of the door would be built from wood or engineered wood – Standard core doors don’t use timber internally and are usually best suited to be used inside the property.
SOTFWOOD: Pine is very often used to make softwood doors, but Cedar & Larch are also softwoods. Softwood doors have a reputation to need a lot of looking after to keep then in shape.
THRESHOLD: Sometimes referred to as “saddle” or bottom plate. This is the “bit you step over” to enter through a door.
UNFINISHED: This is a product that has no pre-applied finish. Bare pine softwood doors would be a good example of this. You will need to prime, undercoat & top coat the door yourself.
UPVC: Stands for Un-plasticised Polyvinyl Chloride. Also known as PVCu or PVC. Used in the making of modern doors & windows due to its’ long life span and versatility.
VENEER: This refers to a surface finish. Veneer doors have a very thin surface layer of some kind of timber (maybe hardwood) on both sides of the door.
WOOD GRAIN FINISH: Normally mentioned in relation to the surface finish of a uPVC product. The door will have the appearance of real wood due to a manufacturing process that bonds a wood grain like texture to the surface.
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