Glossary – Doors

APERTURE

An area in a door where glass would be fitted.

ARCHITRAVE

A moulded or decorated band framing the door.

ASSESSMENT

A technical evaluation of the expected performance of a door assembly in lieu of testing.

BEADING

The mouldings that surround a panel in a solid door, or a pane of glass in a door.

BESPOKE

Can also be known as tailor-made. An item that is designed specifically with the requirements in mind. A “one-off”.

BEVELLED GLASS

A piece of glass that has a consistent tapered edge cut all around its border. Acts to provide a better fit.

BI-FOLD (BIFOLD)

A door that has two or more sections and opens by folding each section flat against the next. Bifold doors follow a concertina movement, folding back to one side of the doorway and opening up a wall for a large uninterrupted doorway.

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 STACKING

When the doors are totally open and slide to the side where they form a “stack”.

CASING

The trim found around a door opening.

COMPOSITE DOOR

A composite door is made from a combination of materials. Longden Doors do not create composite doors. We only produce full timber doors.

CORNER BLOCKS

A square, relatively flat block of wood, often decoratively carved, placed at the upper corners on each side of the wood framing around a door.

DENSITY

The mass per unit volume of a substance, usually expressed in kilograms per cubic metre.

DOOR ASSEMBLY

The complete assembly as specified and installed, including door frame and one or more leaves, together with door hardware, glazing, seals and other components, supplied from more than one source.

DOOR LINING

This surrounds a door and often provides a matching finish with a complimentary style.

DOOR SILL

A horizontal piece of wood or stone that forms the bottom of a doorway and offers support when passing through a doorway.

DOOR THICKNESS

The actual measurement of the physical thickness of your door.

DOORSET

A doorset is a whole door system. It includes the door leaf, door frame, glazing, seals and intumescent, hinges, door furniture, finish, signage and door closer mechanism. It is defined by BS EN 12519 as “supplied complete with all essential parts from a single source”.

DOOR PAIRS

Two symmetrical matching doors installed adjacent to each other and modelled to form a pair of doors, creating double the size of opening of an individual door.

END GRAIN

End grain is the grain of wood seen when it is cut across the growth rings. Rather than cutting a plank of wood the length of the trunk, end grain wood is actually cut at a 90-degree angle to the grain. This type of cut exposes the character of the wood rings and graining.

FANLIGHTS

Traditionally, fanlights are small windows above doors, usually semi-circular, elliptical or rectangular. They were originally an architectural device to bring natural light into an entrance hall. They are sometimes called transom windows after the horizontal beam or bar separating the door from the window above it.

FD30 FIRE DOORS

The door has been tested for a maximum time of 30 minutes. The same goes for FD60. This is different to FD30S, where the ‘S’ denotes smoke protection too. Doors test with smoke protection have a special seal to stop the spread of smoke too.

FINGER JOINTED

Where short pieces of wood are joined to create a longer piece of wood. The joint looks like interlaced fingers.

FINISH

The finish is the final coat or layer of the product which provides it protective properties and, in some cases, visual changes. This includes paint, varnish, wax or whatever your desired finish is.

FLAT PANEL

This is a panel on a door that is not raised, bevelled or profiled.

FLUSH DOOR

A doorset where the door face sits in-line with the door frame. This differs to a more standard design where the door is set slightly back in the frame (or “recessed”).

FRAME

The rectangular frame that surrounds an opening into which a door fits.

FROSTED GLASS

A transparent sheet of glass that is turned opaque through sandblasting or acid etching. Because of light scattering during transmission, the glass comes out as translucent, obscuring visibility even as it transmits light.

FULLY FINISHED DOORS

These doors have been finished to a factory standard, ensuring that they are finished professionally before arrival so they can be installed without hassle.

GLASS/GLAZING BEAD

The moulding used to fix pieces of glass in position within a door.

GLAZING BAR or ASTRAGAL

A convex moulding fixed against the edge of a pane of glass to hold it in place.

GROOVES

These are lines cut into the face of the door that create a pattern or design.

HANDING

Door Handing is determined by the hinge position when viewed from the pull side of the door.

If the hinges are on the right, it is a right-handed door. If the hinges are on the left, it is a left-handed door.

HARDWOOD

Hardwood is a type of wood that is derived from deciduous trees. These trees typically have broad leaves, which they shed seasonally. Hardwood is a dense and heavy wood that is known for its strength and durability.

HINGE STILE

Also known as a Hanging Stile; this is part of the door frame and used for fixing the door hinges to.

INLAY

A decorative strip, design or pattern which is embedded into the front of the door. These lines and inlay options allow you to add some character and a different medium to your door to create a truly astonishing design.

INTUMESCENT STRIP

An intumescent strip is a piece of fire-resistant material, which is fitted around the frame of a door. In the event of a fire, the strip will expand, preventing the fire from spreading. Depending on the product, an intumescent strip will be fire resistant for up to 30 or 60 minutes.

JAMB

A vertical part of the door frame that hinges are mounted onto.

KNOT

The remains of a branch in timber. They are circular or patchy darker spots that interrupt the surface of the wood.

LACQUERED DOOR

A protective sealing layer that also provide visual benefits by reducing any natural decay in the timber. The finished lacquer often produces a hard and durable coating that will help protect against small damages.

LAMINATED WOOD

Laminating refers to the method of gluing strips of thin, clear wood to the core. Longden Doors are solid timber, not laminated.

LAMBS TONGUE

is a particular shaped profile that resembles a lambs tongue.

LEAF

A door leaf is the large, swinging panel affixed to the doorframe ‒ what most people think of when they picture a door. Door leaves are the most critical part of the door assembly, which also includes the frame, hinges, latch, and handle.

LIGHT

This refers to an individual pane of glass within a door e.g. a ‘2 light’ door has two panes of glass.

LIGHT REFLECTANCE VALUE (LRV)

This is a measure as a percentage of visible and useable light that is reflected from a surface when illuminated by a light source. The scale measures from zero (absolute black, absorbing all light & heat) to 100 percent (pure white, reflecting all light).

The LRV should be at least 30 points between door face and the adjacent frame/wall. This standards also requires the door face and its fitted ironmongery to be at least 15 points.

LININGS/CASINGS

Another name for an internal door frame.

LINTEL

a long piece of stone or wood at the top of a door or window frame that supports the wall above. Can be a load-bearing structural component, a decorative element, or both.

LIPPING

A layer of timber that can be reduced slightly without affecting the inner core by exposing it. This is often the part of the door that will be used for rebating or resizing a door slightly.

LOCK STILE

Part of the door frame, this vertical piece is often used for installing any locking mechanisms.

LOUVRE DOORS

A door with flat sloping pieces of wood, metal, or glass across it to allow light and air to come in.

MEETING STILES

The edges of two doors where they meet as a pair. May be described as square meeting stiles – This is when the doors are fitted side by side with their vertical edges, or ‘stiles’, coming together squarely down the middle. Or Rebated meeting stiles – This is when a section along the vertical edge of each door is removed, allowing them to fit snugly together.

MICROPOROUS

Used to describe a type of finish that allows timber to dry out while protecting it from rainwater.

MITRE

Joining two pieces of material together at a 45-degree angle to form a seamless corner joint.

MORTISE

A mortise lock is a lock that requires a pocket—the mortise—to be cut into the edge of the door into which the lock is to be fitted.

MORTISE & TENON DOOR

A means of joining two pieces of wood at an angle (usually 90°) to each other.

MOVEMENT

The dimensional change in lumber caused by changes in the surrounding environment’s relative humidity and temperature. The degree of movement varies between species.

MUNTIN

A muntin is the strip of wood or metal that offers support to panes of glass.

OVOLO

Is a rounded convex moulding.

PANES

Usually refers to pieces of glass.

PAINTED FINISH

The door has been painted to achieve a high-quality finish.

PAIR MAKER

A timber moulding that is fixed to the edge of one door, eliminating the gap that is present with square meeting stiles.

PANEL

Every door will be made up of panels that will either be wood, or glass.

PENCIL ROUND

A finish on the edges to subtly round off the corners.

POCKET DOOR SYSTEM

A pocket door is a sliding door that, when fully open, disappears into a compartment in the adjacent wall.. A popular, contemporary door solution that is ideal for properties with limited space.

PRE-FINISHED

A door that has been fully prepared for installation.

PREHUNG

A pre-hung door comes with the door and hinges already installed in a frame.

PRIMED

A primed door has already been coated with a specific coat of paint, called primer, which seals the wood and improves adhesion. Because it’s primed but not painted, a primed door is essentially a halfway house between a fully finished and an unfinished door.

RAILS or STILES

The components forming the horizontal framework of a panelled door, e.g. Top rail, Mid rail, Bottom rail.

REBATING

Simply a groove that is cut into the edge of a door frame that allows for a tighter fit

REVEAL

The vertical side of an opening in a wall.

SAFETY GLASS

Safety glass is glass with additional safety features that make it less likely to break, or less likely to pose a threat when broken.

SANDED

To smooth the door surface. Sanding is carried out before finishing to remove defects from the wood surface that will affect the appearance and performance of finishes that are subsequently applied to the wood.

SAP

Liquid – mostly water – contained within cells in a tree or timber.

SAPWOOD

The softer part of the wood between the inner bark and the heartwood.

SHORT GRAIN

When the general direction of wood fibres lies across a narrow section of timber.

SIDELIGHT

A window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door.

SKIRTING

This is a decorative wooden board running along the bottom of an interior wall, to finish the join between the wall and the floor.

SLAVE DOOR

The door or doors that follows the lead door. Although the same height as main doors, slave doors are, by definition, not as wide.

SLIDING DOOR

A door that opens and closes by sliding sideways instead of by swinging on hinges.

SMOKE SEAL

A barrier that goes around a door or door frame to prevent smoke from passing through the gaps.

SOFTWOOD

This wood is derived from conifer trees such as pine trees and is generally more aesthetically pleasing than hardwood, but less durable. As such, you’ll generally only find softwood door indoors.

SOLID TIMBER CORE

A term used to describe timber sourced from coniferous or needle-leaved trees. Hardwood is sourced from deciduous and evergreen broad-leaved trees. As a general rule, hardwoods tend to be denser than softwoods, making them sturdier and more weather resistant.

STABLE DOOR

A door with an upper and lower leaf that may be opened separately.

STAINED DOOR

Stains allow a door’s natural grain to be complimented in a variety of ways whether it be by adding a distinctive colour or affecting the lightness of the wood’s shade. These often provide a door with additional protective properties too such as UV protection.

STOP

Part of a door’s frame that prevents it from swinging outwards completely.

STILE

Stiles are those vertical components on the outside of the door – on both sides. It’s where you will find the lock, latches, and whatever hinges your project requires. Rails are the horizontal sections of the door panel at the top and bottom of the door.

SUSTAINABLE SOURCES

Sustainable resources are classified as natural resources that are renewable and can be replenished at the same rate, or faster than they are being consumed.

THRESHOLD

Door thresholds are located at the bottom of a doorway and are the transition fitting between the two spaces either side of the door.

TIMBER GRAINING

The longitudinal arrangement of wood fibres or the pattern resulting from such an arrangement.

TONGUE & GROOVED

One of the most common methods of joining two boards together. Tongue and groove provides a strong joint as each piece has a slot (groove) cut all the way along one side and a thin, deep ridge (tongue) running along the opposite edge.

TOP RAIL

The horizontal piece that sits across the very top of the door.

TOUGHENED SAFETY GLASS

Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal

U-VALUE RATING

U values measure the rate at which heat is transferred through a material. The lower the U value, the better the material is at preventing heat loss.

UNFINISHED DOORS

An unfinished door is not waxed, varnished or painted when supplied.

VENEER

An outer layer that gives an engineered piece of wood the appearance of a hardwood. Longden doors do not use veneers and are solid timber.

VENTS

Added to certain doors to allow for controlled ventilation.

V- JOINTED

Usually tongued and grooved wood with a V-shaped channel in the centre of the board.

WANEY EDGE

Also known as a natural edge, a raw edge or a live edge – the result is a gentle and unique, unmanufactured curving finish.

WARP

A distortion in wood caused when the fibres change unequally. For example, if a part or side of the wood dries more quickly than another, it can shrink in contrast. Ultimately, this will lead to distortions in the shape of the wood and even cause splitting and cracking in extreme cases.

WEATHER BARS

To be used with External Doors. Weather bars are bars, cover the lower gap between the door and the frame.

WEATHERBOARD

A sloping timber board fixed at the bottom of a door to deflect rain.