Glossary

Whether you’re a seasoned carpenter or a first-time wooden door buyer, you may come across a word or term you are unfamiliar with. Below is a list of commonly-used words in the wooden door manufacturing industry to guide you.

Base molding refers to the pieces at the base of a door that conceal the joint between the floor and an interior wall.

Case molding forms the trim along the outer edges of a door.

Cores are the inner part of a wooden door to provide additional strength or fire resistance. The standard core in our stile and rails is particle board. However, medium density fiber board (MDF), which is made of wood fibers, wax and a resin bind; is the standard core in raised panel options. Another core option is solid pine and for panels we offer solid wood and engineered panels with a wooden edge band and wooden-veneered MDF center.

Door frames are the parts of a wall between rooms where doors are meant to fit.

Edge bands are long, narrow strips that run along the outside edges of each side as well as the top and/or bottom of a wooden door. Our edge bands are wider than most manufacturers, which will allow the ability to cut your new wooden door to fit any custom profile. 

Hardwood refers to lumber products made from temperate deciduous or tropical broad-leaved trees.

Headers are the horizontal wooden pieces across the top of a door frame.

Hips refer to how a wooden panel profile is cut. 

• Single hip doors have one curve or arch.
• Double hip doors have two curves or arches.

Jambs are the vertical portions of the door frame. The wooden door attaches to the door jamb with hinges.

Mullions are vertical pieces that form a divide between units of a window, door, or screen.

Ovolo is a kind of door mold. It is notable because of its curved outward profile, usually in the shape of a quarter or semi-circle.

Panels are flat, usually rectangular pieces forming a raised, recessed, or framed part of the wooden doors surface.

• Flat panels are concave or inward-facing.
• Raised panels are convex or outward-facing.

Pre-hung doors are already pre-cut and assembled. Equipped with lock hardware, hinges and a wooden frame, pre-hung doors are the fastest and easiest doors to install. 

Rails are the horizontal pieces of a wooden door. Rails are often found in different places.

• Bottom rails are the lowest horizontal structures of a door and it usually joins the vertical pieces.
• Top rails are the highest horizontal structures of a door.
• Cross rails are horizontal structures in the center of the door.
• Lock rails are the horizontal structures of the door between the vertical pieces.

Sidelights are narrow glass windows next to one or both sides of a wooden door.

Softwood refers to lumber products from trees which are usually needle-bearing or coniferous.

Species is the kind of tree (Ex: Birch, Cherry or Hickory) used to manufacture a wooden door.

Stiles are the outside vertical pieces on the (left and right) rim of a door.

Stops hold a door open or closed, or prevent a door from opening too widely. Stops are mounted to the floor or wall. 

Thresholds are the spaces doors fits into, dividing two rooms or separating interior from exterior.

Transom is a horizontal molding or window (similar to a sidelight) over the top of the door. 

Uprights are the vertical pieces of a wooden French door, also called Muntins.

Veneers are thin slices, typically no more than 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick and usually glued onto core panels to create flat panels.

If you have any questions about door parts, products or phrases, give us a call. We’ll walk you through it.