Interior doors common construction terms 9

Common construction terms 9 Interior doors

Have you have ever been on a construction site talking to your contractor and been totally lost in the terms that they are using? Well I’m here to help; here are some common terms that contractor’s use that you might not understand.

Interior Doors

• Skin. This is the thin veneer that is installed around the door to create an inexpensive interior door.

• Hollow core doors. These are interior doors that have a void between the inside and outside skins of the door.

• Solid core doors. These are interior doors that have the interior between the skins filled to stop sound transferring from one room to another.

• Solid wood doors. These are doors that are made out of solid wood and so they have no void or skins.

• 6 panel door. This is a door that has 6 raised panels in it. They are placed in an even spacing, two across and three high.

• 4 panel door. This is a door that has 4 raised panels in it. They are placed in an even spacing, two on top of two.

• 2 panel door. This is a door that has 2 raised panels in it. They are placed one on top of the other.

• Single panel. This is a door that has one large panel that covers the door.

• 5 panel door. This is a door that has 5 panels; each panel takes up the width of the door and are stacked on top of each other at even spacing.

• Lock set. This is the handle; plunger and the guts of the door handle and lock.

• Lock jig. This is a jig that attaches to the door so that it can be used to drill the holes for the handle and lock set.

• Plunger. This is the piece of the lock set that inserts itself into the jamb of the door to stop the door when you close it and holds it closed.

• Striker plate. This is a metal plate that is installed on the door jamb and catches the plunger when the door is shut. The striker helps direct the plunger into the drilled hole saving the wood on the door jamb.

• Jamb. This is the frame that the door sits in.

• Hinges. This is what the door swings open and closed on, the hinges are attached to the jamb.

• Door stop. This is a small thin piece of wood that the door closes against; it stops the door from swinging too far.

• Pocket door. This is a door that is not hung from hinges but hung from a track that is installed above the door. This allows the door to slide back and forth into the door opening from a slot in the wall.

• Finger pull. This is a small metal lever that is installed on the front edge of a pocket door; it allows you the ability to pull the pocket door out of the slot in the wall when it is buried completely in the wall.

• Rollers. These are the wheels that ride in the track that allow the pocket door to slide smoothly in and out of the wall.

• Passage set. This refers to a door handle that does not have a lock on it.

• Privacy set. This refers to a door handle that has a simple lock on it, usually installed on bathrooms and bedrooms.

• Dummy. This refers to a handle that does not turn and is installed on the face of the door and is used as a pull to help open and close it. They are usually installed on closet doors.

• Ball catch. This is a device that uses friction and pressure to hold shut doors that have dummy handles on them. They are installed on the top of the door and when closed friction and pressure fit against the top of the door frame holding it place.

• Self closing hinges. These are hinges that are usually installed on the door that leads to the garage. They are made so that when you let go of the door it shuts by itself.

This should help you understand what your contractor is talking about the next time you have a meeting with them. Look for part 10 of common construction terms, coming soon.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.