Recommendation points
- Door production
- About types of films
- Laminated doors have the following advantages
- Laminated doors have the following disadvantages
- Is it possible to use a laminated door as a sliding door leaf
Doors are called laminated if their door leaf is covered on top with a thin laminated film. Usually, this coating looks like wood, but the cost is much lower, and the technology used for application is more affordable and simpler.
For laminated doors, the door leaf is made from a wooden frame (most often, these are inexpensive wood species), with MDF cladding (otherwise, wood fiber plates). This means that the door leaf of these doors is initially hollow. To get rid of the inner emptiness of the canvas, it is filled with cardboard, something like a honeycomb. This filling of laminated doors improves their sound insulation properties..
Door production
Traditionally, laminated doors are, first of all, economy-class doors, because inexpensive materials are used for their manufacture and low-labor technologies are used. Some of the leading domestic manufacturers of laminated doors are the following companies: Rostra, Bekar, Good Doors, PO Odintsov, Sodruzhestvo, Principle, Optima and others. At various factories, the production of doors has certain features, however, for the production of laminated doors, in general, the following is characteristic.
Traditionally, a laminated door is based on a frame-panel construction: along the perimeter a wooden frame and panel-panels for cladding.
The technology for manufacturing a wooden frame is splicing on a microthorn. This technology makes it possible to make the frame much stronger. In order to reduce the cost of production of doors, MDF panels are used for cladding the frame, which are not inferior in strength to solid wood panels. Therefore, in everyday life, laminated doors are often called MDF doors..
Laminated doors are doors in which the internal space of the frame is filled with so-called honeycombs, or, in other words, doors with honeycomb filling – either pressed cardboard or MDF honeycombs. The filler prevents deformation of the door leaf. It is quite light, therefore laminated doors are lighter than, for example, solid wood doors.
Laminate is applied by high-temperature pressing, this technology guarantees that later the laminating film from wooden doors will not peel off.
About types of films
Different manufacturers use different films in the production of laminated doors. They can differ not only in appearance, but also in quality, otherwise, in their operational properties. Films are of the following types.
Paper backed film. On the one hand, this option is the cheapest, and on the other, the most unreliable, the film thickness in this case is only 0.2 mm. Doors, which are covered with paper film, are very sensitive to all kinds of mechanical damage: scratches and chips immediately appear, practically unrecoverable. In addition, it does not take much time for the paper film to burn out in the sun; it can also be warped by moisture, which is susceptible to exposure to chemicals. The process of applying paper film to MDF sheet is called lamination, hence doors with such a finish are called lamination doors..
A film that is impregnated with melamine resin (otherwise, melamine paper). In fact, this is the same paper film, although, due to its impregnation, it is significantly compacted, acquiring the properties of plastic. This film is not afraid of the sun or changes in humidity, it is resistant to temperature and chemical influences, it is poorly flammable, in other words, it is quite durable, and the laminated doors that are covered with this film retain an attractive appearance for a long time. However, it also has a drawback. Melamine is toxic; ingestion of food in which this substance has somehow got into can lead to death. Although, to be fair, it should be noted that at the moment there is no data that could confirm the danger of melamine compounds contained in industrial products, not excluding interior doors.
The thickness of the double-chromium laminate is 0.4 – 0.8 mm. This type of laminate used for door decoration is the thickest and most durable.
Fiberglass film. This is a rather expensive film, which means that the doors covered with it are more expensive than their counterparts. Therefore, fiberglass film is not popular with door manufacturers. They generally prefer to use melamine resin impregnated foil or dichromatic laminate.
The color of the film can be any, it can also imitate metal or stone, and not just wood, or be non-textured, that is, smooth, which makes it possible for all kinds of design solutions suggested by imagination in decorating rooms. A picture can be applied to the film, ranging from ordinary hand painting to silk-screen printing. Of course, this must be done before impregnation, that is, having previously agreed with the manufacturer.
Laminated doors have the following advantages
- Laminated doors are the most inexpensive ones on the market: a door can be bought for only 50 USD.
- Laminated doors are not whimsical to use and easy to handle, do not need special care.
- These are lightweight yet durable wooden doors.
- Possibility of choice: a variety of models, all kinds of color options, texture of your choice, glazing.
Laminated doors have the following disadvantages
- The lowest sound insulation among interior doors.
- The strength of laminated doors is lower than that of solid wood doors.
- If the laminated door is damaged, it cannot be restored.
Is it possible to use a laminated door as a sliding door leaf
A sliding door is a practical, yet stylish solution for an interior door. More often, a sliding door is remembered when space saving is needed, but this does not mean that a sliding door cannot be installed in a spacious room. The laminated door is distinguished by its lightness, so its use as a leaf of a sliding door is quite advisable.
However, we must not forget that some laminated doors, due to their design, have nowhere to embed the lower rollers, and therefore cannot be placed on the lower track. They can only be hung on the upper rollers, but this option is not practical and not reliable..
