A gray structure doesn’t look like a house. Sure, it has all the walls, floors, rooms etc; but it doesn’t feel livable. In our own experience, we have a gray structure with all the floor tiles, false ceilings installed but it is still feels like a cemented box. It started to feel like a house once we started to install windows and now, the doors.
We already discussed that the doors and windows are one of the key components of a house and they are the reason those walls start to feel like rooms. Doors give each room a sense of privacy and security and make them livable.
Doors have been a vital part of the house since the beginning of civilization. As shape and design of house changed overtime; types, designs and shapes of doors have also changed.
Types of Doors
In modern times, these types of doors are most commonly used:
- Single doors are most widely used type of door in a house. Doors for rooms, washroom, kitchens are mostly single doors.
- Double doors are equally popular but more fancy option. They are mostly used as entrance door of a house or floor.
- Slide to Open and Fold to Open doors are mostly partition doors rather then wall doors. They are used to divide a bigger room into two separate smaller rooms, i.e. Drawing room and Dining room etc.
Is wooden door the only option?
No! Although it is still the preferred option. Due to increasing demand for wood, its price has also been significantly increased. PVC doors provide a cheaper alternative to wooden doors, but they don’t look half as gorgeous as the wooden doors.
Which wood makes better doors?
That topic requires a whole blog post. Each type of wood has its own pros and cons and price is one of the major deciders. Let’s discuss that some other time.
There is no doubt that the doors are one of the major part of finishing works of the house, so you should have at-least some idea of which type of doors you want for your house. Thankfully, doors are now available according to your budget. Theoretically, you can get quite cheap doors for your house but its always better to spend as much money on doors as your budget allows. It’s not wise to get low quality doors, only to replace them after a few years.
You can get different kinds of wooden doors according to your budget. Let’s discuss them briefly.
Pressed/Panel Doors
As the name indicates, these are not solid doors but they are made up of pressed wooden sheets. Commonly know as Malaysian Pressed sheets, they come in different designs and color options. They might not be real wooden doors, but they look very shiny and beautiful.
Making of these Panel doors is quite simple. Two sheets act as front and back of the doors and small wooden planks in between fill the sides and give thickness to the door. As these doors use minimal quantity of wood, so they are one of the cheapest option right now, which also means that they are not very strong and reliable doors. The press sheets are available in standard sizes, i.e. 3.5 x 7 ft; which means only standard sized doors can be made using press sheets.
Let’s discuss the price. In 2019, Malaysian press sheets cost about Rs. 1000 -1300. Making a door using those sheets costs around Rs. 5000 – 7500, including all the materials and labor.
Plywood sheet Doors
Almost same as Malaysian press sheets, these are plywood press sheets and they are available in a variety of veneers. Their color and design range is far bigger then the Malaysian press.
They are much stronger and reliable as the quantity of wood is significantly more then the Malaysian wood, and also slightly expensive. Plywood sheet costs around Rs. 1200 – 1500. Two sheets and small wooden planks make a door that costs around Rs. 7000 – 9000, including all the materials and labor.
Semi-solid Doors
These are probably the most widely used doors right now. As the name indicates, these doors have a solid wooden frame, while the internal area is not solid wood but MDF or plywood sheets.
This type of door provides a wide range of design and color options because you can use any type of wood for the frame, fill it with plywood sheet and voila! This also means the price of such door is difficult to determine, it all depends upon the size of the door, wood used for the frame, cost of plywood sheets and veneer.
Let’s take an example of a door with Ash wood frame. Ash wood is currently available for Rs. 5200 per cubic ft. Adding the cost of plywood, ash wood veneer, other materials and labor, a standard 3.5 x 7 ft ash wood door will cost around Rs. 20,000 – 22,000.
Solid Wooden Doors
Saved the best for the last didn’t we! These are the most expensive type of doors, made completely with wood. Completely wooden doors can be designed into any shape and size, and they are also durable and strong. There are no press sheet involved so you can it in any size.
Different wood types have different prices so the price of wooden door mostly depends upon the type of wood used. Let’s take an example of ash wood. Solid ash wood costs about Rs. 5200 per cubic ft. For a solid 3.5 x 7 ft door, we need 5 cubic ft of wood. Adding the price of labor and materials, the door will cost around Rs. 33,000 – 34,000.
What did we chose?
Let’s discuss that in the next blog post. Let us know what you think. If you have any suggestions/questions, feel free to comment below.
