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ontariomom

Please help me choose interior doors: some solid/some hollow?

ontariomom
10 years ago

Hi everyone,

We are trying to work on our door order. We are building an addition and we gutted out current house. We have lying around the house many removed hollow core 6 panel raised panel doors (you know the typical builder special doors). DH was keen to reuse them on our closets where they will fit. However, we no longer have the frames for install (destroyed in demo), and it seems doubtful they can be ordered separately (unless you know of a source). Therefore, it looks like we can start over with a different style door.

The problem is we want solid core doors for the bedrooms, baths and study. We would prefer the cost savings of hollow core doors for the closets (closets are swing doors) and I think I have read that pocket doors are best hollow due to weight. Therefore, for harmony, we need to find a door designs for both hollow and solid that look good together. I prefer the shaker style doors with flat, not raised panels. Are all hollow doors raised panels (in other words do hollow doors come in shaker style)? Our decorating style is transitional leaning a bit towards traditional. All doors will be painted white, not stained.

Any thought on how we can find hollow and solid core doors that look good together in a shaker style?

One kind of shaker style door I like (I like all shaker style doors) is linked below. The linked image is a 6 panel shaker, so maybe that would blend with a hollow core raised 6 panel??? What do you think?

Thanks!

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: 6 panel shaker

Comments (13)

  • rebel222
    10 years ago

    I have a similar door in my house under construction. Closets are hollow and the rest are solid. You need to ask the door vendor.

  • ontariomom
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks rebel222. Are your hollow doors flat panel style or raised panel style?

    Carol

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    Where are you door shopping?

  • palimpsest
    10 years ago

    I don't know that you can get a real looking Shaker hollow door because the flat recessed panel area would have to be very thin in cross section. In my experience the raised panel portion of a hollow door is much thicker than the raised panel on a solid wood door, almost as thick as the stiles and rails themselves in cross section.

    Stylistically I don't think a 6 raised panel will work well on closets with the Shaker on the room doors. In a hierarchical sense, the Room door is the Primary door and should be fancier or more detailed than closet doors if they are not all going to match.

    I see nothing wrong, if you are not matching doors, with using a Shaker door on the room door and using plain slab doors in a paint grade with a good paint job on them for the closets, so that the closets take a stylistic back seat to the room doors.

    As for hollow vs. solid. I am strongly biased toward solid even for pocket doors. It is the hanging hardware and the workmanship of the hang that dictates their proper function, not the weight of the doors. The houses in my neighborhood have pocket doors that are 10 feet tall and four feet wide that are Very heavy. But you have to get good hardware, have a good carpenter do the install, and *make *sure * the *finish *carpenters *don't *nail *the *baseboards* and *door *casings *through the *drywall *and *into *the *pocket *doors *themselves*. It Happens. A Lot.

  • ontariomom
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Millworkman,

    I am not sure where I will purchase the doors. I see from reading past threads on interior doors that Trustile is often recommended. From a quick visit to their site I like their selection, and they do have a Canadian distributor about 45 mins drive away from me. I also have read their prices are high, but doors are quality.

    We were in HD today and were told they don't sell frames for doors separately, but that a trim carpenter can easily make a frame for the old hollow doors we have if we want to use them for the closets . Do you think that would be worth the labour to reuse builder special doors for the closets?

    Thanks.

    Palimpsest,

    Thanks for all that useful information! I did not realize the shaker doors were not available in solid core. Your reasoning for why makes perfect sense. That does change things as I really wanted some solid core doors, so will have to find a raised panel door I like. Too bad! I will double check the Trustile website to be sure no shaker like doors are available in solid core.

    Rebel222,

    Can you please let me know what make of doors you have and if your solid core ones are flat panel shaker ones like you indicated? Perhaps your doors are all raised panel?

    Carol

  • bridget helm
    10 years ago

    we are going with Jeldwen ProCore doors. They are hollow but I think they have paper or something inside. We used them in the house we built 7 years ago and I love them, so I will be using them again in the house we are building now. They look really nice and are pretty good at sound reduction. I think they have coordinating solid doors too.

    The style we chose is called Rockport, but the panel is raised rather than recessed. However, I found this one for you that is recessed. It's called craftsman III.

    http://www.jeld-wen.com/catalog/interior-doors/molded/wood-composite/all-panel

    I am certain that their molded wood composites come in both hollow (the one that is called ProCore) as well as solid

  • virgilcarter
    10 years ago

    If it were me, I'd match all doors and make all solid core. The feeling of quality and durability is so much better with solid core doors.

    Good luck with your project.

  • palimpsest
    10 years ago

    Trustile doors are all solid, no hollow core that I am aware of

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    correct all TS doors are solid

  • ontariomom
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Virgilcarter,

    Thanks for your input. I am looking forward to at least some of the doors being solid. Not sure I can afford all of them at this point in the build (overspent in other areas). I might add pocket doors to my list of solid core doors as per palimpsest's advice.

    Palimpsest and millworkman,

    Thanks for your help. I hope to go and see the Trustile doors this week. They sound wonderful. Maybe I can find a cheap imitation for the closets elsewhere? I will also check out the Jeldwen doors this week.

    Thanks and let me know if you think of any other door tips or brands I should scope out.

    Carol

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    Trustile MDF doors are a true stile and rail door and as such are more expensive. Bolection, and several others that the name escapes me on at the moment will be cheaper as the are not true stile and rail doors. They are drop routed out of one piece of MDF and technically not as stable as a true stile and rail door.

  • ontariomom
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the info on the Trustile doors vs most other doors. That is helpful.

    Carol