Your Complete Commercial Door Buying Guide
​Commercial doors come in a wide range of variations, making it vital to find the right door for the specific building you are working on. When buying interior commercial doors, we recommend considering several factors, including the material, type, core, hardware and size. In this interior door buying guide, we will go through various components of commercial doors to help you select an option that meets all your requirements.
What is the Best Material for Interior Doors?
The door material you choose depends on the industry of your project, and each material for interior doors serves a different purpose. You can explore the benefits of each one to decide which door would be right for your client's project.
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When choosing the door material, think about the use of the door. You can also design a custom door out of any material you choose. A professional door distributor can help you find the right custom door material.
1. Versatile: Wood Door
Wood doors offer natural beauty that enhances the aesthetic of any office space. Wood is a reliable material for interior doors because of its resistance to wear and tear. You can also stain or paint wood doors any color.
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Consider choosing flush wood veneer doors for a versatile option that can fit your budget. Manufacturers create flush wood doors with thin layers of wood over a core. These types of doors are cost-effective, customizable and easy to maintain.
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At DoorStop, we offer flush wood doors that feature a variety of stylish species and these two unique types of finishes:
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Standard wood veneers: We offer some veneer doors in some popular materials like walnut, birch and oak. You can choose an unfinished or pre-finished wood veneer door, depending on your inventory needs.
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Special wood veneers: We can also create custom doors made from special wood materials, including eucalyptus and fir.
Our wood veneer doors are custom-made to accommodate your clients' design requests. Craft your perfect interior wood veneer door with your choice of veneer, cut and match. Wood veneer doors are popular in apartment buildings and hotels. Both hotel and apartment staff enjoy their ease of maintenance and variety of design options. Solid wood doors also provide noise reduction for additional privacy in a room.
2. Industrial: Metal Door
Hollow metal material provides a durable, easy-to-maintain door for a commercial building. We have a collection of metal doors to choose from and offer customization options. Our customers enjoy our hollow metal doors for the following benefits:
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Durability: Metal doors can withstand wear and tear, harsh weather and impact damage, making them an excellent choice for busy environments like hospitals.
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Safety: Metal doors can protect your clients and their employees from fires and break-ins.
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Ease of maintenance: Metal doors are damage-resistant, so they can last a long time with minimal repairs.
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Versatility: Metal doors are lightweight but sturdy. Companies use them both inside and outside of their buildings.
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Insulation: Hollow metal doors insulate against both hot and cold temperatures. They keep your clients' office space comfortable at all times.
Clients install metal doors in high-traffic areas like corporate buildings, offices and hospitals. Companies enjoy lightweight hollow metal doors to provide ease of entry. Areas with high traffic also use metal doors to protect people inside from harm.
3. Traditional: Stile and Rail Door
A stile and rail door employs vertical and horizontal pieces of wood to create a classic look. These highly adaptable commercial doors are typically used in the interior of a building. Customers like our stile and rail doors because of their:
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Versatility: Stile and rail doors can be constructed to accommodate any design theme, and you can choose window and wood placement to create your clients' desired looks.
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Sturdiness: These doors feature durable solid wood panels.
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Elegance: The classic look of a stile and rail door will add natural elegance to any commercial space.
Industries that desire to have a historic, classic aesthetic choose this type of door to embellish their interior commercial space. Apartments use stile and rail doors to make their space feel like home with their unique design. This commercial door type is also common in hotels, libraries and historical societies because it adds a touch of elegance and a welcoming feel to the space.
4. Professional and Clean: Plastic Laminate Door
Plastic laminate doors are useful for high-traffic areas like hospitals and schools. Laminate doors are easy to clean and are resistant to stains and moisture. High-traffic areas that are prone to germs could benefit from these stain-resistant doors.
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Plastic laminate doors are both high-quality and affordable. Manufacturers create them by mixing paper and resin into a sturdy sheet that can accommodate any style. Each plastic laminate door's core contains fire-retardant material. Plastic laminate swing doors are popular in hospitals because they allow for more space for patients and equipment.
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Our team at DoorStop has a variety of plastic laminate door design options:
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Linear Graphite: A textured, linear stone pattern with hints of red.
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Chocolate Ash: A rich, mid-tone wood pattern textured with a charred look.
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Lost Pine: A knotty wood texture highlighted by gray and taupe.
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Shadow Ash: A woodgrain pattern adorned with warm gray ash partial cathedrals.
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Stone Alona: Plain-sliced grain with strong cathedrals in dark gray oak.
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Planked Texas Walnut: Wood paneling with full cathedrals and light to dark variations.
Manufacturers create laminate by mixing paper and resin into a sturdy sheet. You can have the natural beauty of wood and the affordability of plastic in a plastic laminate door. Each plastic laminate door's core contains fire-retardant material.
Which Interior Commercial Door Types to Use
After choosing the commercial interior door material, think about your client's door type. With custom options available, you can choose any type of door to make from your door material. Here are the most popular types of interior doors for your clients' commercial space.
1. Bypass Door
Bypass doors feature two or more offset panels that slide along a track. They stack up behind one another when the door opens. Bypass doors are most often used for bedroom closets. Apartments and hotels would most enjoy this type of door because of its ability to save space.
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​Bypass doors work like sliding doors. While a sliding door glides along a track on the bottom of the door, a bypass door glides on a track above the door. Since the doors overlap when one door opens, there is no need for the door to swing open. A bypass door is ideal for small spaces in apartments and hotels since the panels overlap instead of swinging open, allowing for better use of space.
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Use bypass doors in small spaces that don't have a lot of room. A bypass door is useful for storage because it is lightweight, and it reduces space. You can design a bypass door with mirrors to make a room look bigger.
2. Folding Door
A folding door features panels that are hinged together in sections, enabling the door to fold up against the wall when opened. You can use this type of door for a closet or an area with limited space. Folding doors are practical for small areas. They allow more access to your closet than bypass doors.
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Folding doors are like a combination of swing doors and bypass doors. They use both hinges and an overhead track to move. Folding doors save space and allow for easy access. These doors only take up about half the space of a standard swinging door. You can use a folding door for a closet, a laundry nook or a pantry. Design your folding doors with wood or metal.
3. Hinged Door
Hinged doors, or passage doors, are the most common in commercial and residential buildings. You can install hinged doors either on the left side or the right side of the door frame. Designing a hinged door left-handed or right-handed allows easy access into a room. Hinged doors provide a smooth transition from one room to the other. They offer a wider range of motion than other doors.
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​You can buy most hinged doors pre-hung and leveled within a frame. Pre-hung hinged doors are easier to install and allow you to add the frame right to the hallway or room entrance.
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​You could use a standard hinged door to give privacy to a meeting room. Alternatively, you could also install double-hinged doors to create the feeling of a grand entrance and allow for more space to move large items, like furniture, in and out.
4. Pocket Doors
Pocket doors slide along a track under the door and disappear within the wall. Installing them in an existing wall may need some demolition work. They make a great door for privacy in larger spaces like conference rooms. Pocket doors also work great in areas with limited space. Since they are versatile in design, you can use pocket doors in any location and for any purpose. You can install either single or double pocket doors for a commercial building.
What Door Core Should I Choose?
A door core is essential for the overall performance of the door, and the various types offer several benefits. You can choose from the following door cores we provide for your client's interior commercial door:
1. Diet Core
Diet core is a solid core with lightweight materials. Our lightweight core provides the advantages of both solid and hollow cores. It has a lighter average square foot to pounds ratio.
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Diet core is easier to use and install than a standard solid core door. Solid wood core doors provide noise reduction and durability at a low price. You can use diet core doors for your corporate office project that needs a lightweight door for daily use.
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2. Particleboard
Another option for a commercial door with a solid core is particleboard. Made of fibers of recycled wood, our particleboard core is ecological and cost-effective. Particleboard accommodates a wide variety of construction standards for doors.
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​Both hotels and apartments require a comfortable living environment as well as safety, and particleboard is fire-rated for up to 20 minutes. Since particleboard is affordable and accessible, it is a great choice for your hotel or apartment door.
3. Structural Composite Lumber (SCL)
SCL core contains a combination of wood and laminate. This core, made of both plastic and wood, is stronger than particleboard. Solid wood core doors are effective at reducing noise and providing privacy at an affordable price. SCL is fire-rated at 20 minutes. You could use SCL doors in hospitals that require strong doors for protection and damage-resistance.
4. Fire-Rated
A fire-rated core allows any of the doors in our collection to be resistant to fire. We have fire-rated cores rated for 90, 60, 45 and 20 minutes. The mineral core is a non-combustible material we use for our fire-rated doors.
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For a material to be fire-rated, it must pass harsh smoke, pressure and flame tests. Each of these fire-rated core doors contains material that has been rated to accommodate your fire-resistance needs. Fire-rated doors are useful for solid wood core doors.
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Hospitals and apartment buildings need to meet certain fire requirements for their interior doors. Our fire-rated doors are sure to comply with your project's construction standards.
5. Honeycomb
Standard hollow doors contain corrugated material in 4-inch by 4-inch hexagonal cells. This pattern resembles a honeycomb and provides a lightweight door while maintaining structure. Hollow core doors are only used for interior doors.
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​Hollow cores use fewer materials, so a honeycomb door core is more cost-effective than other types of core. Hollow door cores are also lighter and more attractive than solid wood doors. Since they are lightweight, they are easier to install and transport. ​A hollow core door is a great option for interior doors or areas with low traffic because of their ease of use.
What Door Hardware Do I Need?
Hardware is what makes your door open and close, and it should make your door of choice look and function better. Our commercial door hardware guide details the options we offer at DoorStop.
1. Hinges and Pivots
Pivots and hinges move the door along the frame. Hinges are the most common way that manufacturers hang a commercial interior door. Manufacturers use five- or three-knuckle hinges for heavy-traffic commercial door applications. Pivots work best for mounting heavier doors and have better visual appeal when compared to hinges.
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Hinges are effective for bypass doors and folding doors. As you consider whether to use hinges or pivots, remember to choose a handling side. Put the hinges on whichever side you are going to use to open the door. For example, if you want to open the door with your left hand, put the hinges on the left side of the door.
2. Locks
An effective, secure lock will complete the functionality of your door. We offer a wide supply of commercial locks at DoorStop. Whether you need a simple mechanic lock or a high-tech electrified lock, we have what you need!
Our most popular commercial lock products are:
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Deadbolt: A deadbolt lock is the most common type of commercial lock. You use a key to lock from the outside and a thumb turn-in to lock from the inside.
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Tubular: A tubular lock involves a latch that locks into the door. For commercial doors, you use a key to lock from the outside and a knob to lock from the inside.
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Interconnected: An interconnected lock includes two key-activated locks — one on top of the other. You use a key to lock both locks from the outside and a thumb turn-in to lock both locks from the inside.
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Mortise: Designers cut a mortise lock into a hinged door. To make a mortise lock, designers insert the latch of the lock inside the edge of the door.
3. Door Closers
If you have a manual door, you can use door closers to help the door come to a complete close. Consider the following qualities to help you choose a door closer:
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Durability
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Rate of closing
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Aesthetics
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Safety
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Tamper-proof capabilities
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Resistance to opening forces
We offer a variety of door closers, including:
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Surface-mounted closers
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Concealed closers
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Floor closers
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Electric closers
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High-security closers
Each type of door closer we offer provides different benefits and features. Contact our team to find a door closer for your client's door.
4. Door Protection
Interior commercial doors offer safety, security, privacy, functionality and accessibility for your company. As such a valuable investment for your client, you want to protect your door and prolong its lifespan. We offer several types of protection for your door to guard against wear and tear.
Our door protection inventory includes:
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Protective plates: Kickplates guard your door against scuffs and dents. You can design your door's kickplate to complement your existing hardware.
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Edge guards: Like kickplates, edge guards protect your door from dents. They can also cover up existing dents. Edge guards can fit any door size.
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Gasketing: Door gaskets seal the perimeter of your door jamb. Gasketing helps with sound control, smoke and fire control and light infiltration.
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Push plates: Push plates protect doors — especially wooden doors — from wear and tear due to excessive use. They are usually installed on the push side of the door.
What Size Interior Door Will You Need?
Your interior door should be the right size for your commercial space. Interior doors often come in standard sizes. Each size accommodates a different function for your client's commercial space.
If you need a door for a frame with a unique shape, we can create custom doors for you and your clients. Here are the standard sizes for most doors:
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Height of 8 feet and 8 inches: The standard height for a passage door is 8 feet and 8 inches. A passage door is an interior door that leads from one room to the other. You could use a standard passage door in an apartment room or an office.
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Height of 8 feet and 6 inches: These shorter doors are useful for closet and utility doors. You could also use them for bathroom doors in any commercial building.
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Width of 2 feet 8 inches: The standard width for a passage door is 2 feet 8 inches.
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Width of 2 feet 4 inches or 2 feet 6 inches: For a bathroom door, a closet or a utility door, some manufacturers offer more narrow doors.
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Width of 3 feet: Doors that are 3 feet wide are for wheelchair-accessible commercial spaces.
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Measuring the Door Frame
To decide what type of door you need, measure the door frame first. Here are the steps to obtain the proper measurements:
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With the door opened, measure from the inside of one door jamb to the inside of the other door jamb. For measuring a slab door, measure the length, width and height of the door itself, not the door jamb.
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Measure from the inside top of the jamb to the floor. Subtract 3/4 inch from this measurement for floor allowance.
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Measure the thickness of the door frame.
Find the Doors You Need at DoorStop
Are you ready to buy a door for your next project? Our team at DoorStop would be glad to help you design a custom-made door for whatever industry you serve. For more information, fill out a contact form online or call (888) 366-7624.