Panel Doors: Varieties, Accessories, Installation And Operation Features

2025 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 12:41

Paneled doors: a popular classic

Interior doors are an important part of every space. They are found anywhere: in private apartments, offices, shops, government agencies. There is a huge selection of different variations of interior doors on the market. But for a long time, paneled doors have remained the most popular due to their affordability and variety of appearance.

Content

• 1 Features of paneled doors

  • 1.1 Door construction
  • 1.2 Types of panels
  • 1.3 Types of paneled doors
  • 1.4 Advantages and disadvantages
  • 1.5 Video: cut of a paneled door
  • 1.6 Photo gallery: panel door design options

• 2 Manufacturing of paneled doors

  • 2.1 Video: prefabricated panel doors

  • 2.2 Preparation for production

    • 2.2.1 We make measurements and prepare a drawing
    • 2.2.2 Materials Required
    • 2.2.3 Tools

  • 2.3 Manufacturing a paneled door

    1 Video: do-it-yourself paneled door

  • 2.4 Door installation
• 3 Use and care of paneled doors

• 4 Repair and restoration of paneled doors

  • 4.1 Table: The process of replacing panels depending on their fastening in the door
  • 4.2 Video: disassembling a paneled door
• 5 Feedback on the operation of paneled doors

Features of paneled doors

The paneled door leaf consists of a frame and inserts - panels, thanks to which the doors received such a name and resemblance to a chocolate bar.

Paneled doors are one of the most popular and are often used in various interior styles.

The variety of paneled doors is quite large. They differ in color, number of panels, shapes and patterns.

Door construction

The door frame - the strapping frame - is usually made of solid wood or laminated veneer lumber. The side and transverse parts of the frame are connected with wooden spikes. Panels that perform a decorative function are attached to the door in two ways:

• inserted into grooves pre-cut in frame parts;
• fixed to the frame with wooden glazing beads.

The second mounting option allows you to replace the panels in the future if they have received any damage.

The assembly of paneled doors is like a kind of constructor

Materials for making panels can be varied:

• wood;
• MDF or chipboard;
• glass (frosted, transparent, colored);
• plastic;
• sandwich panels.

For the kitchen and living room, paneled doors with frosted glass are often selected.

There are door options that combine panels from different materials. For example, at the top - glass, at the bottom - from MDF.

A real panel door is easy to recognize: the frame of the product and the individual inserts are clearly visible in it

Panel door leaf consists of several parts

Types of panels

Panels can have a variety of shapes:

1. Floating panel. It is made from blanks of the same thickness as the strapping frame.
2. Flat or smooth panel. Has the same thickness over the entire area.
3. Figurine panel. It has a convex middle part and tapered edges.

Since the interior doors do not need insulation, single panels are installed, but to ensure sound insulation, double inserts are used, between which an air gap is left or sound-insulating material is laid

Types of paneled doors

Panel doors at the place of use:

1. Input. As a rule, such doors are wider than interior doors. Both the frame and the panels are made only of solid wood, which affects the cost of the door. However, the high price is justified by a respectable appearance and a long service life, which often exceeds the period of human life.

   

   Entrance doors can be single or double

2. Interroom. They can be single-leaf and double-leaf. Made from solid wood and less durable wood materials.

   

   Interior paneled doors are in perfect harmony with any interior, no matter what architectural style it is designed in

According to the material from which the doors are made, they are distinguished:

1. Solid wood doors. Most often, the material for the manufacture is spruce, pine, cherry wood. More durable and expensive options are made from oak, beech and walnut. Elite-class doors are made of mahogany and ebony.

   

   Solid wood doors are of higher quality, more durable and more expensive

2. Combined type. Here, glued beams are used for the manufacture of the frame, and MDF, plywood, and chipboard are most often used for inserts. Combined doors can be covered with veneer, laminate or PVC.

   

   Deaf inserts can be covered with leather, and for more unusual variations they use glass: ordinary, matte, colored, decorated with stained-glass windows, with a relief, with photo printing or oracal (self-adhesive film), etc.

If you choose a door to a room with high humidity, then opt for a combined PVC-coated panel door. It will protect the wood from moisture and help to withstand sudden changes in temperature. It is better to refuse to install solid wood doors, since wood is very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity levels.

The PVC-coated door can be installed in any room - it is not afraid of moisture, high temperatures

Paneled doors also differ in finish:

• with a solid finish, in which all parts are the same color;

  

  The wooden surfaces of the canvases are treated with antiseptics (to protect against moisture and fungal infections) and fire retardants (to ensure fire resistance), they are tinted, primed and painted

• with contrasting, implying the deliberate selection of panels.

  

  Panels can be distinguished by color, texture or material

The variety of paneled doors is so high that everyone will definitely find a door that meets his style and functional preferences.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of paneled doors:

• aesthetic appearance;
• lightness of construction due to lightweight inserts;
• the possibility of restoration, and, if necessary, even replacement of structural parts;
• relative cheapness;
• durability and strength;
• wide choose;
• good sound insulation;
• ease of care.

There were no obvious disadvantages in the use of paneled doors. If the manufacturers use high-quality material and the correct production scheme, then the door can serve for a long time and please its owner.

Video: paneled door cut

Photo gallery: panel door design options

Modern technologies make it possible to produce paneled doors in any style

The color palette of paneled doors is not limited

Mahogany doors are the most expensive and respectable

Stained-glass windows look exquisitely as a paneled insert

A wide selection of materials and the possibility of making panels of various shapes will allow you to decorate your house with a presentable and exclusive door

The presence of panels on the door makes it respectable and elegant, despite the apparent massiveness

Volumetric and curly inserts can be additionally decorated with patterns

To order, you can make a door with inserts from any material

Thanks to modern technology, even inexpensive doors can look decent.

The design of the doors can also be sliding

A door with a glass insert will add uniqueness to the room

The number of panels from which the door is assembled is not limited

Inserts can be straight and curly, decorated with carvings, have an intricate relief, contain decorative overlays

An alternative to an expensive stained-glass window and its imitation can be decorative painting applied to both glass surfaces

Manufacturing of paneled doors

Paneled doors are quite simple to manufacture, so you can make them yourself.

If you do not have experience in making doors, then it is better to choose a simple design - this will make it easier to cut the details.

The manufacturing process can be divided into four main stages:

1. Preparatory. Apertures are measured, materials and necessary tools are selected.
2. Direct manufacturing of door structural elements.
3. Joining the parts into the door leaf and installing it in the opening.
4. Checking the functioning of the installed door.

Video: prefabricated panel doors

Preparation for manufacturing

First you need to make accurate measurements of the doorway. Even small errors in measurements can become fatal and lead to the fact that the manufactured door cannot be installed and used.

We make measurements and prepare a drawing

Before the measurement process, remove the old door leaf, frame and trim, clean the opening from debris and dust. Then measure:

1. The height of the opening from floor to ceiling.
2. The width of the opening from wall to wall.
3. Opening depth (wall thickness).

To measure the parameters of the doorway, you can use a regular tape measure

Transfer your measurements to a clean sheet of paper. Based on the dimensions obtained, design the appearance of the door. You can use ready-made templates that are posted on the Internet.

You can use a ready-made drawing or come up with your own

The drawing must contain all the necessary dimensions so that it is convenient to use it later.

Specify measurements in millimeters, thus increasing the accuracy of the drawing

It should be borne in mind that the door leaf should be 3–6 millimeters smaller than the door frame. This will eliminate noise when opening the door.

For the functional use of the door, it is necessary to correctly calculate the clearances

Necessary materials

To make a simple interior door, we need:

1. For the construction of racks and a crossbeam, take two or three beams or boards 5 cm thick, without knots and cracks.
2. Door frame boards.
3. Plywood sheet or chipboard (chipboard) for the manufacture of panels.
4. Glass, if provided by the project.
5. Self-tapping screws are needed for fastening.
6. Colorless wood glue will help to firmly connect the parts.
7. Fittings: a lock, a pair of door handles, two or three hinges.
8. Special wood coating agents (chemical compounds that prevent wood decay and corrosion and varnish).
9. Polyurethane foam.

Tools

In the process of work, you cannot do without the following accessories:

• yardstick;

  

  A tape measure is needed to take measurements.

• pencil or marker;

• building level;

  

  Level check how smoothly the door frame is installed

• hacksaw;

  

  Using a hacksaw, cut the beams

• chisel;

  

  A chisel is needed to cut the grooves for the hinges

• screwdriver or screwdriver;

  

  Using a screwdriver, screw the screws

• drill;

  

  Using a drill, holes of various diameters are made

• sandpaper.

  

  Sandpaper is required for finishing sanding of the door leaf

Paneled door manufacturing

If you follow the order of the stages, then in the process of self-production, many difficulties will be avoided.

1. We make a door frame: we assemble a structure resembling the letter "P", and connect the parts using self-tapping screws.

   

   The door frame can be assembled by sawing grooves or fastened with self-tapping screws

2. We start making the door leaf. We cut the timber with a hacksaw, as a result of which two vertical posts and three horizontal crossbars should be obtained (the number of crossbars depends on the selected door pattern).

   

   The number of horizontal bars depends on the selected pattern

3. We make fastening spikes from the boards and cut out grooves for them in the transverse beams and vertical posts.

4. According to the size, we cut out panels from chipboard or plywood.

   

   The size and number of panels depend on the selected door scheme

5. If glass inserts are required, we cut out glass panels according to the dimensions provided in the drawing.

6. We begin assembling the door structure: attach the crossbeams and panels to one of the vertical posts, and then install the second post.

   

   One of the posts is attached last

7. We check the structure for gaps and backlash. If not, we disassemble the door leaf back into parts.

8. We assemble the structure again, but already adding a small amount of glue to the grooves.

   

   Final assembly is done using glue

9. We grind the door leaf with sandpaper, achieving a flat surface.

   

   You can achieve a flat surface of the door leaf using a grinder

10. We cover the door with varnish and chemical compounds.

    

    On a horizontally laid door with a spray gun or brush, varnish is applied

If glass inserts are selected, they are attached last. To do this, use special glazing beads, carved from wood and varnished.

First, nail the glazing beads on one side, insert the glass and secure it with the glazing beads on the other side

When the structure is assembled and the varnish is dry, we install the necessary fittings. The lock is inserted into the cavity cut out in advance, the hole for the handle is drilled with a drill and the fittings are fixed using self-tapping screws.

Self-tapping screws must match the color of the hardware

Video: do-it-yourself paneled door

youtube.com/watch?v=gQ0-QGPkbcM

Door installation

Installation of the door in the opening is the last step. If you have ever installed doors, then this process will not take you much time and effort. Otherwise, to make the task easier, follow the instructions below:

1. We install the finished door frame in the opening.

2. We fix the structure with special wedges.

   

   Wooden wedges can be made by yourself from unnecessary wood blocks

3. We check the evenness of the installation using a building level.

   

   If the structure is installed unevenly, it is necessary to correct it with wedges.

4. After making sure that the installation of the structure is even, we fix it in the opening with self-tapping screws.

   

   There can be 6-8 fasteners on each side

5. We install the hinges using self-tapping screws.

   

   Using a chisel, cut out the hinge openings at the end of the door and fix them with self-tapping screws

6. We hang the door leaf on the hinges.

   

   Hinges can be of different types, but the most common and easiest to install are card hinges.

7. We put spacers in the box to avoid deformation.

8. We fix the box with foam from the inside. It should be borne in mind that the polyurethane foam increases during the setting process, so do not fill the space completely.

   

   Using polyurethane foam, it should be remembered that when it dries, it triples, which means that you do not need to fill the space completely

9. We again check the evenness of the structure and leave it for two to three hours.
10. After the foam has dried, remove the spacers.
11. We check the ease of opening and closing the door.

12. We fasten the platbands with invisible nails.

    

    It is important that the nail goes into the timber of the block to be faced with minimal damage.

If the door opens and closes easily, silently, then you did everything right - the installation and manufacture of the door can be considered successful

If the door is installed correctly, there will be no difficulties in opening and closing it

As you can see, making and installing a paneled door is a fairly simple task, the main thing is to draw up a competent drawing, not to get confused with measurements and follow the sequence of stages.

Operation and maintenance of paneled doors

Any door requires careful and correct attitude. Paneled doors are no exception. In order for the door to retain its presentable appearance and functionality for a long time, it needs proper care.

Paneled doors should be installed in rooms with a temperature range of 18-24 ° C. Air humidity is also an important factor affecting the safety of the door. For paneled doors, the optimum relative humidity is 55%.

Glass door inserts can be cleaned with special glass detergents

To avoid delamination of the door leaf, in rooms with high humidity and temperature (bathroom, kitchen), the door should be kept open. Of course, you can close it while taking a shower, but after water procedures, it is worth ensuring the flow of air into the room.

An open door will help reduce indoor humidity

To clean the paneled door from contamination, use an alcohol solution consisting of 90% water and 10% alcohol. The use of cleaning agents and abrasive powders is not allowed - they scratch the door leaf and thereby spoil the appearance of the door.

The paneled door is highly susceptible to chemicals. Therefore, when you have planned repairs, it is better to remove the doors and put them in a safe place, but if this is not possible, you can cover them with plastic wrap.

In order for the door to serve for a long time, it should be periodically varnished or painted. Before this, the surface of the door should be sanded with fine sandpaper and a thin layer of plaster or water-based paint should be applied. After the bottom layer has dried, the top, final layer is applied.

Today, acrylic paints and water-based varnishes are especially popular: they are odorless and safe for humans and the environment.

You need to take care not only for the door, but also for the fittings. Use special products to protect metal parts from corrosion, and lubricate them twice a year to avoid unpleasant squeaks.

You can lubricate the door hinges with ordinary vegetable oil.

Repair and restoration of paneled doors

Even the strongest and most reliable door may sooner or later require repair or restoration. Every owner can face wear of the hinges, skewing of the canvas, loosening or cracking of the panels.

Loose panels can be fixed with glazing beads or glue, and the presence of small cracks and cracks can be hidden using putty and paint. Just putty the crack, sand and varnish or paint to match the door.

Currently, there are many special markers and pencils for removing scratches from the surface of the door leaf.

If the damage to the panels is serious, you cannot do without replacing them. The complexity of this process depends on how the panels are attached to your door.

Table: the process of replacing panels depending on their fastening in the door

Mount type	Replacement process
Fastening with spikes and grooves	Remove the door from the hinges. We carefully disassemble the door into parts, excluding breakage of spikes and grooves. We replace the damaged part with a new one. Putting the door back together using glue.
Fastening with glazing beads	We remove the glazing beads from one side of the door. We take out the spoiled panel. Installing a new one. We glue or nail the glazing beads back.

As you can see, if the panels are attached with glazing beads, then the replacement process is the least time consuming and quick. In this case, there will be no need to remove the door from the hinges.

If you change all the panels in the door, then they may differ in color and shape from the previous ones. Thus, you will not only restore the door, but also update its boring appearance.

Video: disassembling a paneled door

Reviews about the operation of paneled doors

Paneled doors, due to their attractive appearance and numerous advantages, rightfully occupy one of the leading positions among the variety of doors. Buyers are provided with a huge selection of designs, different in color, type and shape. But if you want to make a paneled door with your own hands, then it will not be difficult. A door made independently, like a factory door, will serve its owner for a long time and with high quality, if it receives proper care and timely restoration.