Door Basics

Doors, like windows, serve various purposes. On the functional side, they provide a way into and out of the house, give us privacy when we want it, and keep out unwanterd noise, bugs, cold drafts, and people who bug us.

The front door is an important architectural focal point, and interior doors help express the style of the house or complement a room's decor. A new front door with sidelights can make your entry hall seem brighter and more inviting, while switching from a painted to a wood finish door adds a touch of elegance.

You can improve traffic flow between parts of the house by installing a new door or two, but it comes at a cost. Installing more doors has its draw backs. It seems like the more doors you install in a room the smaller the room seems. Every new door needs enough space to swing open and closed.

Don't count on only adding or moving a door in just one afternoon, because there is a lot to the task. You have to locate and cut a hole through an existing wall, remove and old wall framing, frame the rough opening, and install the door itself. If you do not have good carpentry skills this is not a project for a novice. You will also need building permits.

Buying Doors

The wood doors you will find at your local Home Depot or Lowes are either panel doors, which have anywhere from one to ten panels set in a solid wood frame, or flush doors, formed by covering a solid wood core or a lightweight hollow core with thin sheets of wood veneer. While pannel doors come in a wide range of wood types, flush doors usually are faced with lauan mahogany or birch, and they are usually less expensive.

Doors are also sold prehung ( where the door is mounted in a frame, some times with holes for the lockset already predrilled) or as individual components. Unless you have hung a door before, you should spend the extra money for a prehung unit. It's not that skills required to assemble a frame and hinge a door are all that difficult, its the time factor. You will save lots of time. On an exterior door, you will also be assured of a tight weather seal. This is critical to keep the weather and the bugs out. If you want to replace and upgrade an old door, just buy the door alone and use the original as a template for mounting hinges and the lockset.