How Modern Interior Doors Are Made

By Author: Leon Best
Total Articles: 1
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In the manufacture of interior doors in particular, solid door cores are often made using dense chipboard, particleboard or MDF within their structure.

The term 'engineered' has become commonly used when talking about interior doors. Usually this will refer to the fact that the completed door has been fabricated using components that are made of wood, but which have been reconstituted in some way. In the manufacture of interior doors in particular, solid door cores are often made using dense chipboard, particleboard or MDF within their structure. Each of these products is manufactured from reconstituted wood where the original wood is minced up and reformed with the inclusion of an appropriate glue or resin agent and pressed into flat boards. The major difference between them is the size of the particles of the original wood that is then reformed. Chipboards and particle boards are formed using relatively coarse particles. These work well as substrates over which a plywood skin or veneer may be laid but are not ideal for use where ambient moisture might be present in use as they are susceptible to swelling.

MDF, ...
... or medium density fibreboard, involves smaller particles of wood which, when pressed, results in a smoother surface which accepts paint well. The different densities of material however can have detrimental effects upon the finished product. A door made entirely using MDF components might be extremely stable and durable but would be extremely heavy and may require the use of very heavy duty hinges and prove difficult to install. Assessments towards how the finished product might be used in a practical sense will often have some bearing on what raw materials are used within the manufacture of a particular door. It might be a combination of several of these within a single door. Originally formed using scrap wood, sawdust and wood shavings alone, chipboards, particle boards and MDF are now typically manufactured using softwood conifer type trees which are often plantation grown specifically for this purpose. These are species that are fast growing and easily sustainable.

Other wooden components used within the manufacture of a modern engineered timber interior door include perimeter framing which might once have been made from solid lengths of wood and is now often made using laminated or finger jointed material. These two processes involve the bonding together of small pieces of timber that in turn produce long running lengths. Within the manufacturing process this resulting material reduces overall waste and actually improves the stability of the wood in use when compared to regular solid timber. Many timbers can be reworked into finger jointed form, but common species involved once again are likely to be fast growing pines or spruces, or other fast growing plantation timbers such as Falcata Albasia or Eucalyptus.

Another form of engineered timber might be achieved by bonding small pieces, or lamels, together to form much wider boards. These might be used as alternatives to chipboard or MDF in geographic areas of the world where fast growing plantation timber crop are plentiful. The resulting boards can then be recut to form cores or rails or stiles on interior doors. Like their chipboard and MDF cousins, these components are incredibly stable and utilise the raw material in such a way that waste is virtually eliminated.
Resource: http://www.jbkind.com/cat_name/internal-doors.aspx