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Door Dictionary

Aperture: An opening can often be referred to as an aperture. This opening could be the actual structural opening in which the door frame is fixed into, or an opening within the door leaf itself which could be to accept glazing, lock case, etc.
Architrave: Decorative trim used to cloak the door frame and wall, hiding the fire stopping, or lack of, behind.
Back Check: Stops the door from being opened too quickly and slamming against objects, persons or even a wall. Back Check is a function found on most hydraulic door closers.
Binding: Is a term used to describe a door leaf jamming or coming into contact with points around the door frame, where there is insufficient margin, causing it to jam or not close.
Casing: Another word sometimes used for the door frame.
Closer: An ironmongery item that will close the door leaf into the door frame fully, engaging a latched position (where a latch is present), ensuring the door and frame provide a complete seal. A closer should close the door fully from any open position/angle.
Closer Closing Force: An adjustable amount of force that a closer has when somebody opens a door, due to the fact the closer is always trying to close the door. Set too high, can make opening a door more difficult.
Cylinder: Can often be referred to as a lock barrel, a cylinder can be suited to a buildings key system to control access to different rooms and areas within a building. The cylinder fits into a lock case and the more common profile used within the UK is a euro cylinder (although oval and other profiles are available). You put your key in the cylinder to unlock/lock the door and the cylinder can be changed relatively easily should you need to.
Détente: An electromagnetic device, often wall mounted, that is provided to hold doors in the open position. Upon a command signal, often from a fire alarm, it will then disengage and release the magnetic hold open, allowing the door closer device to close the doors fully.
Door Leaf: The opening element of a doorset, allowing access from one room to another.
Door Stop: An item of ironmongery that is often floor mounted, which will stop a door leaf from opening too far, which could cause damage to the door, hinges or wall as a result.
Doorset: A complete doorset comprises; door frame, door leaf(s), glazing, ironmongery and architrave as one complete machined and preprepared product.
Double Swing: A term used to describe a door leaf which can be opened in either direction.
Easy Clean Sockets: An item of ironmongery which is floor fixed to accept the locking peg from a flush bolt.
Equal Pair: A pair of door leafs of equal size, in both height and width.
Fanlight: A glazed aperture above the door leaf, generally part of the doorset itself, allowing light to be shared between two rooms/areas.
Field of Application document: Known previously as a Global Assessment document, this provides an in-depth understanding of the applications and limitations available in relation to the production of doorsets and products from that given door core type.
Fire Stopping: The filling of joints between the back of the door frame and the supporting construction or structure, to be made up of materials that will prevent the passage of fire and smoke between the joints. Fire Stopping material performance and properties are often detailed within a Field of Application document.
Fire Door Signage: Generally, a blue circle with white text, a fire door sign could be in sticky label or metal form, detailing the action required to each fire door to which it is attached. i.e. Fire Door Keep Shut, Fire Door Keep Locked or Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear.
Flush Bolts: Like a traditional Slide Bolt, a Flush Bolt is housed into the leading edge of a slave leaf, generally one at the top and one at the bottom, to provide a concealed means of holding the door in a closed position to allow the pair of door leafs to be locked secure.
Frame: Generally, a door frame will consist of two frame legs and one frame head, jointed in a number of ways to create a three-sided product in which a door leaf can be housed within.
Glass: Used to provide a vision panel/glazed aperture within a door leaf, fanlight or side screen.
Glazing Bead: Predominantly a timber item which is fixed to both sides of a vision panel aperture to securely hold in place a piece of glass. Timber glazing bead can be both flush and protruding to the door face, depending on design and requirements. Steel Glazing Bead is often used within more challenging environments which are bolt through design so no visible fixings are present to one side.
Glazing System: This term refers to the complete means of glazing a door leaf. It details what bead and intumescent components can be used with each glass type, along with fixing details.
Handle: There are numerous types of handles that can be used on a door, including lever handles, pull handles and recessed handles. Ultimately the primary purpose of a handle is to allow you to pull a door open or in the case of a lever handle, disengage the latch to allow the door to open out of its frame.
Hinge: Usually there will be three hinges per door leaf, which allows the door leaf to hang within the door frame. A common hinge used within construction is a 4” ball bearing butt hinge. On Fire Doors it is critical that fire rated hinges are used. You can also get different types of hinges including full-length single swing and full-length double swing, these are often seen in more challenging environments or on doors with much higher traffic volume.
HTM disc: This is a circular disc which can be found in the top corner of a door leaf. The discs are coloured, brown and blue being common ones and the text is in white. These discs are usually approx. 47mm in diameter. HTM stands for Healthcare Technical Memorandum and the use of HTM discs is adopted by the NHS, along with other sectors, as a means of easily identifying the performance level of that particular doorset. The discs show the performance level in the format ‘FD30S’, with the S indicating a smoke controlled doorset as well as the 30-minute Fire Rating for example.
Ironmongery: Is a term commonly used for a collection of hardware items/furniture, that can be fitted to a door and/or frame. They include items such as; hinges, handles, closers, etc.
Intumescent: Is a product that is available in numerous versions and collectively used on and within a doorset to provide further protection from flames and heat. You generally find intumescent strips around the door frame or around the perimeter of a door leaf, these are generally purchased in 2100mm lengths and then cut to suit frame height, hinge positions, etc. You also find intumescent jackets which provide protection around items such as lockcases, flush bolts, integral closers, etc, as well as finding intumescent pads used behind the blades of hinges. Not every item of ironmongery on every Fire Door requires intumescent protection, this is detailed within the Field of Application document based on the testing that the door core manufacturer has carried out.
Keep: Can also be referred to as strike plate and is the plate that is installed on the door frame to provide an opening that a lock bolt or latch can enter to keep the door shut/locked.
Kick Plates: Found installed to the bottom area of the push face of door leafs, allowing a form of protection to the door finish when the door leaf is being ‘kicked’ open using feet. Kick Plates commonly were either Steel or Aluminium, but it is becoming more common to see these in PVC also.
Leading Edge: A process that may be applied to the meeting style of a door leaf to aid the door to close into its frame fully. You provide an angled vertical cut up the length/height of the door leaf, often applied by a planer or router. This is often required where a thicker door leaf is perhaps quite narrow and therefore the angle of approach the door leaf closes with can sometimes come into contact with the face of the frame or face of the other door leaf within a pair. This process can also be referred to as an eased edge.
Left Hand Hung: Refers to the handing of a single doorset, whereby when looking at the pull side (hinge knuckles visible) the hinges are on the left-hand side of the door leaf.
Left Hand Master: Refers to the handing of a pair of doors (equal or unequal), whereby when looking at the pull side (hinge knuckles visible) the master leaf is on the left-hand side.
Lining: The term used to a timber section that will be used to cloak the remainder of a door reveal when for example the reveal/wall thickness is say 150mm, but the door frame has been made at 100mm.
Lipping: A hardwood timber that is applied to the edge of a door core. These are fixed using an adhesive permitted within the Field of Application document and must not be pinned/screwed. More commonly lippings are concealed by the face finish of the door (i.e. laminate or veneer runs over the edge of the lipping), but lippings can also be exposed, meaning the face finish stops short to allow the edge of the lipping timber to be viewed around all 4 edges of the door faces. Timber species are used generally to suit the door finish, i.e. an oak veneer door face would generally have oak lippings for example, however, lippings can be used as a contrast to the face finish as a decorative feature.
Lock/Latch: Generally morticed into the edge of a door leaf to provide a means of holding a door leaf within its frame. A latch can be opened simply by depressing a lever handle, whereby a lock generally needs a cylinder and key to unlock it to allow the door to open.
Master Leaf: The term used when there are 2 door leafs making up a doorset. The master leaf will generally always be the larger of the two leafs and it will be used most commonly. If both leafs are the same size (Equal Pair doorset), the master leaf would be the leaf containing the lock or latch.
Meeting Style: On a single doorset, the meeting style would refer to the door edge and frame leg that contains/houses the handle. On a pair of doors, the meeting style would refer to the middle of the 2 door leafs when they are closed.
Mortice: An aperture cut into a door leaf or frame to house an item such as a lock case, keep, flush bolt etc.
Mullion: One piece of timber forming part of a door frame with a side panel or side screen.
Over Panel: A solid infilled aperture above the door leaf, generally part of the doorset itself.
Panic Bars: Found generally on fire escape doorsets, allowing individuals to unlock and open a door(s) to escape from a building.
Particleboard Core: A door core that is manufactured using compressed particles, almost a chipboard type consistency.
Perimeter Gaps: Refers to the area between the door leaf and frame when the door is closed.
Push Plates: An item of ironmongery generally used to indicate an area of the door to be pushed open. Commonly push plates are steel or aluminium, however, it is becoming more common to see these in PVC also.
Rebated Frame: Where the door frame is manufactured with an integral rebate for the door leafs to close into.
Rebated Meeting Style: Where the meeting style of a pair of doors is rebated to allow one door to comfortably close into the other, each door equally overlapping the other when closed.
Right Hand Hung: Refers to the handing of a single doorset, whereby when looking at the pull side (hinge knuckles visible) the hinges are on the right-hand side of the door leaf.
Right Hand Master: Refers to the handing of a pair of doors (equal or unequal), whereby when looking at the pull side (hinge knuckles visible) the master leaf is on the right-hand side.
Side Panel: A solid infilled aperture to the side the door leaf, generally part of the doorset itself.
Side Screen: A glazed aperture to the side the door leaf, generally part of the doorset itself, allowing light to be shared between two rooms/areas.
Single Door: A doorset which contains only one door leaf.
Single Swing: A doorset which is manufactured to allow the door leaf to swing open in one direction only.
Slave Leaf: The leaf which is less likely to be used within an equal or unequal pair. When the doorset is locking, the slave leaf will generally contain the flush bolt and keep.
Slide Bolt: A surface fixed bolt that can be used to fix generally a slave leaf to the frame, perhaps to allow locking to be installed to the doorset.
Solid Cross Laminated Timber Core: A door core that is manufactured using cross laminated layers of solid timber pieces, the door core is then generally faced to both sides with MDF or Ply.
Stop Laths: Are a loose part of a frame which will be fixed in position during the installation to form an area for the door leaf to close into .
Structural Opening: The aperture within the wall in which the doorset will be housed.
Threshold Gaps: The gap between the bottom of the door leaf and the top of the finished floor (i.e. carpet). For a Fire Controlled Fire Door a gap of up to 10mm is generally permitted, where a Fire Door is also Smoke Control a gap of up to 3mm is generally permitted.
Transom: One piece of timber forming part of a door frame with an over panel or fanlight.
Undercut: A term used to indicate a measurement of allowance given to a manufactured doorset, allowing the door frame legs to be cut to length to suit floor levels on site during installation.
Unequal Pair: A doorset which contains two door leafs but of unequal width.
Vision Panel: A glazed aperture within a door leaf.