Interior Door Buying Guide

Interior doors provide quieter spaces and privacy between living areas, as well as help discourage clutter in closets, pantries, and other storage areas. Replacing old, outdated doors can make a dramatic difference in the look of any room, as long as you know what types of doors are needed in each space. We’ve put together this guide to help you choose the right style and construction when updating the doors for your home.

Interior Doors vs Exterior Doors

It’s important to pay attention to the intended location of the new doors before you choose which to buy. Interior doors differ from exterior doors in that they are made from lighter materials and intended for privacy, rather than protection from the elements.

Interior doors serve as room dividers and access points to stairways and hallways. They provide varying levels of sound proofing and influence the temperature in the house or building. The standard interior door thickness is 1 3/8 inches and most door levers, knobs, and deadbolts are designed to be installed at that measurement, though you can find different sizes when needed for older doors.  

Interior doors can be found in multiple door styles to match your choice in design. Interior door locations are ideal for hollow core doors, with just paneling on a basic frame to keep the door lightweight and easier for everyone to use safely, or they can be solid core doors to add to the sound proofing.  

In contrast, exterior doors are made of heavier stuff, from solid wood to metal. They are meant to keep the interior of a building safe from the outside elements, including weather and intruders. Usually exterior doors are thicker and have extra weight, requiring heavy-duty hardware and locks to get a secure fit.

Exterior doors are often found at the front entry, side of the home, or leading to an exposed patio. Interior doors can include bedroom doors, hallway doors, pantry doors, closet doors, and even those doors that go out to a connected garage or basement. There are many door styles to fit every location’s unique purpose as well as match your interior design style and available space.

Pre-Hung vs. Slab Doors 

When it comes to ordering a new door, the type of installation you’re looking for should be among your first considerations. Interior doors can be bought as either a pre-hung door or a slab door, and the difference between those two types is key to finding a door that will actually fit where you intend to install it. Let’s take a quick look at the considerations before choosing a pre-hung vs. slab door. 

What Is a Slab Door?

For many interior update projects, you’ll likely be looking for a slab door. A slab door is the solid, often heavy door that arrives ready to be customized and installed in the passageway.  

What is most convenient with a slab door is their cost; because you do all the installation work yourself, the slab door option may be cheaper. Often, a slab door is shipped out to the store or contractor completely unfinished and will need to be customized with stain or a final matching coat of paint before installing. A slab door will arrive as one piece, and all additional hardware will have to be added at the installation point, from the hinges to the doorknob or kick plate. 

With a slab door vs. a pre-hung door, the mortis work will have to be done on-site to match the exact measurements of the doorway that the slab door will be installed into. That means that the door will have to be cut and trimmed on the edges in order to set the hinges and the strike-plate piece at the appropriate depth. The hole for the doorknob or lever will often be precut, particularly if you choose a recycled or antique slab door to repurpose. Check the measurements, from the door thickness to the backset measurement, to be certain that the swing and strike will fit in the new location.

What Is a Pre-Hung Door?

When deciding between a pre-hung vs. slab door, it’s good to keep in mind that pre-hung doors are often ordered for new buildings because they can be quickly installed with less preparation overall. A pre-hung door arrives already inside a three-sided frame and ready to be inserted into the wall with little extra building work required.   

When you buy a pre-hung door, look for the following features: 

• A door style to match your home 
• Door thickness 
• Pre-installed hinges 
• All or most of the mortis work for the other hardware 
• A door frame that fits into the wall  

It arrives ready to unpack and place into the passageway opening, leaving just the detail work of finishing or painting once it is installed. 

These interior doors with built-in frames are heavier than a slab door, which can make them harder to move around, but they are already equipped with some necessary hardware, and the installer doesn’t have to build the frame in the wall. Once the frame is mounted into the door opening within the wall, the unfinished door can be stained or painted, and the handle or doorknob can be installed.   

What is not a consideration when choosing between a pre-hung door vs. a slab door is the type of door. Whether solid core or hollow core doors, interior doors with frames can come with glass inserts or as solid wood doors, usually available in whatever door style you may be looking for. The most important part is to know the measurements, and to know if the door will need to be fit into an existing frame, or if the solution you’re looking for is an interior door with the frame already installed. 

Door Handing

While a door may seem easily reversible, the side that the hinges are installed on and the location of the door handle are both important considerations when choosing a door style, and for that you need to know the door handing. The door handing refers to the swing of the door and, when purchasing door hardware, is used to indicate the side of the door that the handle will be installed on.

The correct handing is especially important when buying door hardware, like door levers or door knobs, because the locking mechanism and strike plate will have to be placed in the right direction to fit the pre-cut holes in the door or door frame. It also comes into play when determining whether you’re looking for a pre-hung vs. a slab door, as the option you choose may be prepared ahead of time and must match the layout of your home when it arrives.

Right- and Left-Hand Doors

An easy way to consider it is to realize that the handing indicates which way a doorknob latch or lever will point in relation to the rest of the door. So, for a left handed door, the lock mechanism will have to be installed to utilize a strike plate installed to the left of the keyed side of the lock.  

To determine the door handing, the first thing you’ll have to decide is which side of the door will be the secure side, or the keyed side. The keyed side is the side that will require using a key to enter when the door is locked. For an interior garage door, for instance, the secure side of the door would likely be the side of the door that faces out into the garage area, so that the deadbolt can be placed inside the home to prevent anyone entering from the garage.  

Let’s use the garage door as an example for determining door handing. Stand in the garage facing the keyed side. Note which side the door hinges are on and which way the door swings when open, either by pushing the door open or pulling it.  

• If the hinges are on the right side and the door can be pushed open from the keyed side, the door is a Right Hand (RH) door swing. 
• If the hinges are on the left side of the door and the door pushes open from the keyed side, the door is a Left Hand (LH) door swing.

Right- and Left-Hand Reverse Doors 

If an interior or exterior door swings inward when unlocked, then it has a standard swing, or standard bevel. Those doors are noted as having either a Right Hand door swing or Left Hand swing. For doors that must be pulled open from the keyed side, this is known as a reverse swing, or reverse bevel. 

• If the hinges are on the right and the door swings in toward you, then the door handing is a Right Hand Reverse (RHR) door swing. 
• If the hinges are on the left and the door swings in, then the door is a Left Hand Reverse (LHR) door swing.

Double Door Handing

With double doors, the handing is still determined by the side of the door that the key would be used on for entry, but there’s an added consideration: which of the two doors is the one that actually gets opened? For most double door arrangements, there will be one door that is often fixed in place and bolted closed to most traffic, and the door that is regularly opened.  

• The active leaf door is the door panel that is used most often and will usually be the door with the locking entry hardware.  
• The inactive leaf will house the strike plate and will have to be secure when locked, so it will usually have flush bolts installed on the lock stile to provide the option to bolt the door into the floor or door frame to keep both doors from moving when the doors are locked. 

As with a single passage door, the handing is determined by the location of the hinges and whether the door opens inward or out, but for double doors the handing is determined only from the hinges and swing of the active leaf. This means that if the hinges are located on the inside of the doorway, meaning that the door swings inside, and the door on the right is the active door, then the door swings in a Right Hand Active (RHA) door handing.   

The most common handing for double doors is the Right Hand Reverse Active, or RHRA, which means that the active leaf door swings outward from hinges that are mounted on the right of the door, and toward the person unlocking the door.

Interior Door Openings

An opening door is a little more involved than just knowing the direction of the swing. You have a variety of choices when it comes to how to open and close the interior doors around the house, from a quick push through a swinging door, a wide handle to guide a heavier barn door, the easy in-and-out with an interior bifold door, to the finger-pull pockets of sliding closet doors.   

How and where you will be using a door will determine which method of operation you should choose. Even the type of door plays a factor because a solid core interior door can handle a sturdier entry hardware kit than a hollow core door can provide, which may help narrow down the options that suit your home’s installations.   

So, to make sure you have all the information you need before you buy, here are some of the common types of interior door operation options.

Barn Doors

Interior barn doors use special hardware to slide along a rail mounted to the wall above the doors. The hardware extends well beyond the width of the door, so the wall it is attached to must accommodate for the rail and the full width of the door, even though the door does not swing out into the room.   

Often used as a design element, barn doors also have the advantage of operating parallel to the wall, so they don’t take up floor space swinging in or out from the doorway. Barn doors are popular door styles for dining rooms, living rooms, or office entry passageways. They can also be used for kitchen cupboards or to cover closet spaces. 

Bifold Doors

Interior bifold doors are hinged in the middle and fold onto themselves while sliding along an upper or lower track. They are usually narrower width than most interior doors. Interior bifold doors require less space to open than a traditional hinged door and are a popular choice for closets, utility areas, and laundry spaces.

Bypass Doors

Bypass doors include two or more offset panels. The panels slide along a track and stack up in front of (or behind) one another when opened. They do not swing into the room and are most often used on bedroom or hallway sliding closet doors

Passage Doors

Passage doors are the most common type. One edge of the door is attached to the door jamb with hinges which are positioned so the door swings into or out of a room. Double hinged passage doors can swing in both directions. These can be found for bedroom and bathroom doors or even as a farmhouse pantry door for a customized style to a traditional door location. 

Pocket Doors

Pocket doors slide along a track using special hardware and disappear within the wall. These doors can only operate if there are no obstacles — such as framing studs — in their path, so installing pocket doors in an existing wall may require some demolition unless it is a replacement pocket door. Pocket doors require low-profile pulls and latches in order to safely and effectively operate, so make sure you look for closet and pocket door hardware that fits within the space around the door and the width of the pocket door frame itself.

Door Styles

The look of the door is just as important as the basic functionality, especially when it comes to interior doors. The door styles should be consistent throughout the levels of your home to help the design look cohesive and well-planned. It is also important that the door you choose be capable of handling the daily traffic and wear and tear of the location that it will be installed in. Because of these factors, knowing what the different door styles are and where they best suit a home will help you narrow down your search.

Arch Top Doors

Arch Top doors can either have an arch design within a standard rectangular door, or the top of the door itself can be curved. These are often used between common rooms, such as the dining room or living room.

Barn Doors

Barn Door can refer to both the style of the door or the type of hardware used to operate it. In terms of style, barn doors are usually made up of vertical boards with horizontal bracer boards and one or more diagonal braces (also known as batten and ledger designs.) Barn doors are also referred to as z-brace Doors.

This style of door can be used with hanging barn door hardware as a full-size door between rooms, where they have the space along the wall, or even as cupboard doors in the kitchen or laundry room. The barn door style can also be chosen for a regular hinged door, if it suits your style, or to complement a z-brace style room divider or hanging door.

French Doors

French doors have glass panes from top to bottom within a frame. There are typically three or more rows of panes arranged in two or three columns. Clear-glass versions are a good choice for adding style and mitigating noise for home offices, sunrooms, and other areas where visual privacy isn’t a concern. The glass panels can be frosted or mirrored for use in bedroom or bathroom doorways.

 Louvered Doors

A louvered, or louvred door, describes a door that has slatted, angled cross pieces to create a shutter in the center that allows easy light and airflow through the door. The louvered slats may be adjustable to choose the angle of the airflow or light between the pieces. The louvers add interest to the design and allow for some airflow through the door, making them a good choice as interior bifold doors for closets, laundry rooms, and utility rooms.  

A Louver/Louver door has louvered shutters on both the upper and lower sections of the door.  

A Louver/Panel door describes a door that has a louvered panel on the upper section and a solid panel on the lower section. 

Pane Glass Doors

A pane glass door is an interior door with glass inserts within the wood frame, allowing light between rooms and making a small space seem more open. This could mean a single pane of glass or multiple panes within individual grid framework. Interior doors with glass panes are often found in the kitchen or dining areas, such as a farmhouse pantry door, or professional, modern-style doors to office spaces. 

The number of panes within the door is described as a lite insert. “#-Lite” in a description indicates the number of individual panes that make up the glass in a door. For example, in interior door with glass panes described as a 1-Lite means a single pane of glass with no divisions.

Panel Doors

The design pieces of interior panel doors can be configured in a number of different ways within the frame and are named accordingly.   

A Mirror/Panel or Glass/Panel door has mirrors or glass on the upper section and panels on the lower section.  

If the word “panel” is preceded by a single number (1-panel, 2-panel, 3-panel, etc.) then all door panels — from top to bottom — are the same width.   

If the word “panel” is preceded by a set of numbers (1 + 2 panels) it indicates that the top section of the door has a different number of divisions than the bottom section. For example, a 1 + 2 panel door will have one panel at the top of the door and two panels at the bottom. 

Pantry Doors

Pantry doors are specifically designed for food pantries. Often, this means they are narrower than a standard door, and they include a frosted glass panel with the word “Pantry” or other decorative elements on glass. The popular farmhouse trend in kitchens can be brought in with the look of a farmhouse pantry door, which is a rustic-styled pantry door that includes unique traditional hardware and incorporates the weathered colors of the wood features in the kitchen.

Shaker Doors

Shaker doors are made up of flat panels surrounded by square sticking profiles. (Learn more about door sticking profile types below.) These doors are assembled to provide the lines of individual pieces without any raised or recessed edges into the design. This door style creates very decorative, sturdy doors and works well in any interior door installation, providing it matches the design of the room.

Z-Brace Doors

Z-Brace doors are batten & ledger doors with diagonal braces that create a ‘Z’ pattern. These are often used for barn door style installations, but also work well as a swing-style passage door.

Door Components

The traditional look of most interior wood door styles doesn’t happen by accident. The batten and ledger doors, in particular, are created by individual pieces that together form the characteristic paneled look. The pieces can be notched together from solid wood to create a heavy, solid door, or they can be replicated with paneling over a lighter weight frame.   

That design is created with a composition of pieces to look like an assembled whole, so let’s take a look at what those components are, so that you can better customize the door styles in your home.

1. Top Rail
2. Cross Rail
3. Lock Rail
4. Bottom Rail
5. Style
6. Mullion
7. Raised Panel

Door Mullion 

Mullions are heavy vertical pieces that run between sections, or panels, of the door. The mullion may also separate glass panels in a French door style, or the mullion may be a fixed part of the doorframe that connects between the doors themselves if the passageway is two complete doors. They may be wide, substantial pieces or they may be thinner and more ornate, depending on the door style.

Door Muntin 

Muntins are thin strips of material — usually metal or wood — that divide panels of glass or wood panels. The muntin is the vertical piece that helps frame in a glass panel. Muntin bars help secure the individual glass or wood panel pieces into the door frame. Often, a solid, single-pane glass door will have wood or metal gridlines applied as a framework on either side of the door to make it look like paneled glass, imitating the look of the muntin grid. This door style can be found on everything from interior doors to kitchen cabinets and even exterior and garage doors.

Door Panels 

Panels are sections of the door set within the rails and stiles and may be further divided by grids of mullions. They can be larger panels, dividing the door into quarters, or smaller sized panels that visually divide a door into 8 or 12 or more panels, depending on the door style. The panel can be glass or the same material as the rest of the door, and it can be divided with a simple flat frame created by the mullion and muntins, or there may be a decorative edge to help define the space between the panel and the door frame components.

Door Rails 

Rails are the horizontal pieces that make up a door and include the top rail, cross rail, lock rail (where the locking mechanism is located), and the bottom rail. The rails are used to support the frame of the door and help keep it structurally secure, strengthening it against the swings and slams of daily use.

Door Stiles 

Stiles are the vertical pieces of a door and include the hinge stile (or hanging stile) and the latch stile. These are the exterior framework of the interior door and help keep the components snug, especially for interior doors with glass panels.

 Door Profile Types 

The door profile refers to the three-dimensional, raised designs that are incorporated into the front and back of the door. They are used to add a visual, dynamic look to the otherwise flat surface. The profile is an etched, decorative groove that is applied to either the panel sections of the door or to the edges of the stiles, rails, and other framing.

Hollow core doors may have the grooved look of the door profiles because the designs can be machined in. This allows a hollow core door to have the same paneled, raised appearance of mullion, stiles, bars, and rails as the batten and ledger doors.

Panel Profiles

The panel profile is the design that is machined into the door panels, along the flat, interior area. It is used to add depth and visual interest to the wider area of the door panel. 

1. Flat 
2. Rebated 
3. Double Rebated 
4. V-groove 
5. Single Hip 
6. Double Hip 
7. Beaded Edge 
8. Ogee

Sticking Profiles

The sticking profile is the design that is machined into the edge of the door stiles, rails, mullions, muntins, or bars. These added lines are used to help visually transition from the frame created by the door rail into the paneled area of the door. 

1. Square 
2. Beveled  
3. Quarter Round 
4. Ovolo 
5. Ogee

Door Construction 

While they may not be exposed to the elements like an exterior door, interior doors are still subject to a lot of daily use and should be sturdy and dependable enough to do the job. Learn how doors are put together to make the best choice for your home. 

Batten & Ledger Doors

Batten and ledger doors are made up of individual boards, including vertical boards (the battens) and horizontal cross boards (the ledgers.) These often include diagonal bracer boards between or mounted over the ledgers to create a Z-pattern. 

Hollow Core Doors 

Hollow Core doors have a solid outer shell over a framework. They are lighter than solid core doors, making them easy to transport and install. Hollow core doors are often included as a pre-hung door option that is shipped already installed in the door frame due to their lighter weight.

Louvered Doors 

Louvered doors have horizontal slats arranged at an angle within a frame. Some are mounted and notched into the frame to be permanently placed, while others are on a subtle pivot track that allows the space between the slats to be adjusted as needed. The louvers can be on both the top and bottom panel (known as louver/louver doors), or only on the top panel (known as louver/panel doors).

Single Glass Pane Doors

Single glass pane doors have one continuous pane of glass and may include faux dividers to give the appearance of a divided-lite door. The grid of trim used to create the look of a divided-lite door will be set into the door frame on one side of the glass, or on both depending on the look you choose.

Solid Doors

Solid doors are made up entirely of solid material, usually wood, rather than a shell over a solid or hollow core interior door.

Solid Core Doors 

Solid core doors have an outer shell over a solid interior, as opposed to hollow core doors, which have an outer shell over a mostly open interior framework.

True Divided Lite doors 

True Divided Lite doors have a number of individual panes of glass. Rather than a grid frame over the front or back sides of a single piece of glass to achieve the look, each individual piece of glass is set within its own frame, so if one lite is broken it can be easily replaced.

Finding the Right Interior Door 

When shopping for an interior door, it’s important to have the exact measurements of the passageway and know the precise size of door to buy, but don’t overlook the style and function as well. Choose the elements that create the best look within your home, whether for the hallways or the kitchen. That could be French doors out to the sunroom, or bifold doors to keep the laundry room tucked away out of sight. Keep all of these options in mind when you are selecting the best interior door for your home.