Common Definition:  The way a door opens and closes.

Unauthorized Definition: Doors operate in a variety of ways. But architects and builders prefer some types over others.  Pros can be quite opinionated about door types. Disdain is universal for doors that are hard to install or need constant maintenance. Topping the evil door list is the pocket door!

Sound Like a Pro: Below is a list of door operation types. Also included is a short description and industry perception.

Accordion
These doors have several small panels attached by a piano hinge or fabric. Sometimes they act as a room divider. They’ve fallen from favor in recent years because they suck, plain and simple. These doors  can’t be secured at the bottom and swing around. Builders don’t like these doors almost as much as pocket doors. Architects & designers often shun these doors because they’ve become a symbol of cheapness.

Auto Closing (fire)
A standard swing door with hinges that automatically close when open. Doors between a house and attached garage are mandated to have auto closing hinges and 20 minute fire rated construction. You can’t use a sliding or pocket door in a garage to house application.

Barn
Door panels hanging from a sliding track, mounted above the opening to the wall face. Often used on barns since they can cover large openings. The tracks are cheap and the panels can be made of anything including inexpensive boards. In the home-building industry these doors are a current fad. But the trend won’t last because they don’t keep out noise or weather or anything else. For a Buildwise ranting on these doors see Review: Barn Doors for Homes.

Bifold
Two panels hinged together create a bifold door. These doors are often used in closets. But you’re an idiot to use them as a bedroom door. They don’t seal well and can’t be locked securely. However, they’re better than barn doors or pocket doors. That’s for the wood closet door variety. Modern technology has given us the bifold glass wall (as in Nanawall). These dramatic door systems allow a large wall area to be opened up to the outside. Not long ago, these systems only met the energy code for mild climates. Today, they can be installed in many cold climates too.

Bipass
Two or more panels attached to a track (or tracks) that open past one another. Many closets have bipass doors. In recent years track technology has advanced dramatically. New exterior glass door systems (like the bifold glass wall) that open large sections of wall are sometimes operated on a track and called bipass doors. Sliding panels are sometimes retracted into a wall pocket like the dreaded pocket door.

Double Action
A door that appears standard but actually pivots at the bottom and top. This hardware allows the door to open in both directions. It’s often used in dining rooms where people pass in either direction with hands full.

Dutch
No idea why the Dutch always get dissed. Going Dutch, Dutch outfit, Dutch uncle . . .  A dutch door however is a useful door where the top and bottom operate independently. Door panels are hinged on the same side to avoid frustration. And you can’t have a dutch pocket or sliding door – think about it. But you can have fun asking your builder for one.

French
These doors don’t drink wine or smoke unfiltered cigarettes. But they’re still called French doors in North America. In France they’re called “porte-fenetre”, which means “window-door”. Hinged glass door panels opening in the center like a swinging door. The glass is framed in wood or metal. Only one problem, these window-doors have never been exclusive to France. They’re also common in Spain and Italy. Typically French doors come in pairs.

Hidden
If a door, no matter how it operates is discrete and hard to see, then it’s called a hidden door. Often hidden doors aren’t really hidden very well like in the Oval Office. However, a truly hidden door is possible. When designing truly hidden doors use wall paneling, trim or cabinetry to hide seams and hinges. Magnetic locks or push latches hide the hardware.

Overhead
Most automatic garage doors open via an overhead track. They work great for garages but don’t seal well enough for habitable space except in mild climates. Yes, they’re used sometimes in restaurants and bars. If you spend all day dancing and drinking to stay warm, go ahead and install one in your living room. That is, if you can get it past the inspector.

Patio
Dictionaries and suppliers sometimes call large sliding glass doors that open to the exterior, patio doors. However, the center hinged patio door may be a more accurate use of the word. It looks like a French door but one side is fixed and the other hinged in the center.

Pocket
The scourge of many a builder, the pocket door opens into a recess or pocket in the wall. They often jump the track or bind up and cause a nightmare. Fixing a door stuck inside a wall is difficult. If you insist on using a pocket door, install 2×6 (instead of 2×4) wall framing and use only the highest quality track.

Saloon
Ever watch an old Western movie where the gunman enters a saloon via swinging doors? Yes these contraptions, that smack you in the back after entering, are called saloon doors. What’s the purpose, since they’re open on top and bottom? Our guess is they keep stray horses from strutting to the bar and ordering a whiskey. Other than that, they sometimes find favor with interior designers and urban cowpokes. But if you don’t have a horse or great dane, why bother? They provide the same privacy as a curtain of hippy beads.

Sliding
A large glass French door, except with panels sliding past each other on tracks above and below, is called a slider or sliding door. These doors became prominent after World War II with modernism, because the evoke a machine aesthetic. Early examples leaked like a sieve and jammed regularly. Technological advancements have largely solved these practical problems. However, some people still feel these doors are too modern and machine like. And they aren’t quite as energy-efficient because weather stripping is more difficult.

Swing (hinged)
When you think of a door, it’s typically the standard swinging or hinged door. Why are they so popular? Possibly because these doors are relatively inexpensive, dependable and seal well. Other door types have benefited greatly from modern technology. Yet, nothing beats the good old-fashioned hinged door. They’re still the most energy-efficient and least finicky operation. To understand door swing terminology see Door Handing is Confusing, Even for Pros.

Fun Trivia: The first permanent structures didn’t have doors or windows. They relied on a hole in the roof and a ladder. The earliest record of a door comes from paintings in ancient Egypt. Where wood was scarce ancient doors were sometimes made from stone.

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