Characteristics of MDF doors. MDF interior doors

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One of the most common materials for the manufacture of interior doors is MDF. The popularity of products based on it lies in the combination of practicality and low price. Interior MDF doors are currently the best alternative to solid wood structures.

Material manufacturing technology

MDF canvas is a medium-density sheet made from fine dispersion wood shavings. During the manufacturing process, the chips are compressed by a press to form sheets of the required density. For high-quality joining of chips, adhesives in the form of urea resins are used. To reduce the release of harmful substances when heated during the manufacturing process of sheets, melamine is added to the composition. Thus, finished product is environmentally friendly and safe.

The use of other adhesives is undesirable, since it negatively affects not only the quality of the product, but also the degree of its safety.

MDF door designs

The principle of pricing for MDF products directly depends on its design features. So interior doors, based on the type of door leaf, can be:

• Panel;
• Paneled.

Panel doors

The canvas can be either solid or with various decorative inserts (mostly glass). Designs of this type are very popular due to the variety of appearance and technological features. Panel interior doors consist of 3 main parts: frame, filler and external decorative cladding.

The manufacture of the frame, in most cases, occurs from solid timber pine trees This frame can be equipped with additional inserts for mounting fittings. MDF sheets are secured to the top of the frame. The voids are filled with filler in the form of cardboard or hardboard. Thanks to the cellular texture of the filler, lightness of the structure is ensured combined with high insulating properties and good strength. Such structures are called masonite. There are also denser and more expensive models similar type. The filling in them is made exclusively from MDF sheets. Such doors therefore have more weight.

Paneled

The frame of paneled interior doors is located along the perimeter of the door leaf. It is possible to use horizontal or vertical solid wood inserts in the middle of the structure. These elements significantly increase the strength of the product. The frames are installed on top to ensure evenness of the canvas. MDF boards. Internal voids are closed using panels made of glass or MDF.

This type of canvas has a very original appearance and is a completely collapsible structure.

Types of decorative coatings

In addition to the design type door leaf, the cost of the product is significantly influenced by the type of external coating used. The decorative material that covers MDF interior doors serves not only as a beautiful decor in photos and in reality, but is also an important protective element. Thanks to decorative coating you can easily increase the fabric's resistance to increased levels of humidity and changes temperature regime. In addition, the coating effectively protects the structure from various mechanical damages.

The most commonly used finishing materials in MDF doors are:

• Natural veneer. This coating is the most expensive because it is a thin section natural wood, completely preserving the texture of the material;
• Eco-veneer It is a material made by gluing thin layers cuts of natural wood;
• PVC film. Allows you to evenly cover the entire surface of the door. Material provides high-quality protection the canvas is resistant to moisture and has a wide range of colors;
• Laminate. The coating consists of several layers in the form of paper with decorative elements And protective film. Provides a high degree of wear resistance;
• Enamel. The fabric is coated in several layers, which provides a high degree of protection from moisture and temperature changes. Color palette is not limited by anything.

Coating MDF doors with varnish is mandatory procedure, since it is this that allows you to achieve a high degree of protection of the product from various external negative factors. In addition, interior doors made of MDF, after varnishing, take on the appearance of an expensive product and, based on customer reviews, have a complete and laconic appearance.

Advantages of MDF doors

The popularity of interior doors made of MDF is based on large quantities advantages of this option. The main advantages include the lightness of the resulting products combined with strength. Prices for MDF doors are much lower than the cost of products made from solid wood.

Thanks to special technological processes, doors made of MDF perfectly resist the influence of moisture, temperature changes and are largely protected from various mechanical damage.

Flaws

As with any product, interior MDF doors have a number of disadvantages. The disadvantages of structures of this type include high degree flammability. Also, in the absence of proper external protection or high level Humidity may cause the fabric to swell.

Thin doors are easy to break, and reliable and dense MDF structures are comparable in cost to doors made from natural solid wood.

Choice

Doors made from MDF, due to their cost, are available to virtually any buyer. However, it is worth understanding that the price directly depends on the quality of the product. To select a high-quality door, you should first of all pay attention to the surface design of the door leaf. It is important that there are no defects in the form of swelling or chips.

The best option in terms of price and quality ratio are masonite door structures. Products made from solid MDF panels are superior to them in this indicator, however, due to their rather large weight, they are permissible for installation in openings of strong and thick walls. For thin plasterboard partitions they are no good.

Choosing MDF interior doors Special attention It is worth paying attention to the presence of a manufacturer’s warranty both for the decorative part of the canvas and for the entire structure as a whole.

We often hear the question from customers: “Are these doors veneered or MDF?” or “How do interior doors made of MDF differ from doors made of eco-veneer?” The problem is that the characteristics of doors from completely different categories of product properties are compared. Buyers often confuse the name of the door covering with the name of the material from which these doors are made. Let's look at what MDF is, its pros and cons in relation to interior doors.

The door leaf of an interior door consists of four elements

door frame,

Coating,

Overlays.

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The door frame and its covering are the basis of the door, and the glass and trim are an addition that may be missing. Previously, we wrote about door coverings, and also described in detail what types of glass are available for interior doors and options for linings.

IN this material we will talk about the frame of the doors, or rather, not about the structure of the door leaf, but let’s dig even deeper and look into the issue of materials from which the frame of the interior door leaf is made.

Interior doors can be made of glass, plastic, iron, or anything. But typical interior doors in residential and public interiors, which look like wood, always consist of MDF and wood (glued together pine bars). The top of the door can be covered with veneer, laminate, PVC films or eco-veneer, but the inner frame of the door will always be MDF and glued pine bars.

MDF is the initial letters English expression Medium Density Fiberboard medium density) In Russian it can be deciphered as Finely Dispersed Fraction. This wood board different thicknesses, made from very fine powdered sawdust by pressing. Sawdust is glued together with paraffin or lignin under the influence of high temperature and pressure.

In general, MDF is the most popular material, which is very widely used in the manufacture of building materials. finishing materials and furniture. This is due to its excellent properties, which make it easy to process products and provide excellent performance during operation. But, of course, there is another side to the coin.

Let's look at all the pros and cons of MDF as a material used in the manufacture of interior doors.

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Advantages of MDF

1. Does not deform under the influence of temperature. This condition is very important especially for our climate. Sometimes it happens that in the spring, after the heating is turned off, the dried wooden blocks in the doors pick up moisture again, and the doors stop closing. This problem is especially relevant for wooden doors from the array. This does not happen with MDF doors, because... MDF does not respond to temperature.

2 Eco-friendly. Since MDF contains only wood chips and paraffin, this material can be called environmentally friendly because it does not emit anything harmful.

Disadvantages of MDF

1. Absorbs moisture and swells. It is because of this problem that buyers pay attention to the moisture resistance of doors when purchasing them for the bathroom. All well-made interior doors must have a moisture resistance of up to 60%. This means that high-quality doors have no access to the MDF either by coating the doors, or by wax or paraffin.

2. Relatively brittle material. MDF frame doors, which are hollow inside, can easily be broken with a couple of kicks. Felled and tsar interior doors are a one-piece structure. The drawers and panels of these doors are wrapped in MDF, and inside there is pine timber, which ensures the strength of the door.

The plates are different high strength, excellent soundproofing characteristics, resistant to temperature changes. Due to the introduction of special components, the material does not deform and is durable in use. MDF panels are environmentally friendly, do not contain or emit harmful substances. The main advantages of interior doors made of this material:

• light weight. The products are lightweight and do not sag under their own weight;
• biological resistance. Models are resistant to damage by microorganisms and fungi;
• maintaining shape. Interior doors made of MDF do not crack or deform due to temperature and humidity fluctuations;
• durability. Depending on manufacturing technology average term operation is at least 10 years.

Types of interior doors made of MDF

There are panel and panel door designs. In the first case, the frame is made on the basis of pine timber, and finishing slabs, the hollow parts are filled with cardboard or hardboard. Paneled interior doors are made on the basis of a frame made of vertical racks and horizontal drawers, and the filling is done with MDF panels or glass parts. The external coating of swing or sliding models varies: natural veneer, PVC film, laminate, enamel, eco-veneer, etc. Check out the options for colors, textures, product characteristics to inexpensively buy your favorite option with delivery in Moscow. Place an order for white and other types of interior doors made of MDF through the online shopping cart.

One of the most popular types doors today are products made from MDF. What is it and what are the features of the material? This question becomes key when choosing a quality product, since among a wide range of models you can choose both truly worthwhile samples and those that are completely short-lived.

MDF is one of the most popular materials for making interior doors

Features of the material

First of all, let's look at what it is MDF material. The name stands for finely dispersed fraction. In other words, it is a medium-density fiberboard, which consists of fine wood chips. Due to the effects of high temperature and strong pressure from the press, the raw material is compressed to form a dense and sufficiently strong material.

Today MDF is great alternative natural solid wood.

In order for the shavings to be tightly combined into the MDF layer, urea resins with the addition of melamine are additionally used as glue. Thanks to this, it is possible to reduce the amount of harmful emissions during heat treatment. Thus, the material is completely natural and safe. But unfortunately, some unscrupulous manufacturers, in their desire to save money, may use cheaper adhesives, which negatively affects safety. Nevertheless, such products are quite rare among MDF doors; this mainly concerns laminated chipboards.

Advantages and disadvantages

Today MDF is actively used in the production of furniture, finishing materials, etc. door designs. Its widespread use can be explained by a whole list of advantages.

Advantages of products made from MDF:

• Ease. Thanks to the material, it is possible to significantly lighten the door structure, which makes it possible to install such products even in the openings of thin partitions.
• Strength. Despite the fact that MDF is essentially compressed chips, it is very durable and can withstand even targeted impacts. The thicker the sheet, the more pronounced this quality is.
• Price. Compared to natural solid wood, the price of such products is much lower. In addition, in most cases the ratio of cost and quality is optimal. The specific price is set taking into account the external cladding.
• Moisture resistance. Thanks to special additives, it is possible to achieve surface resistance to moisture in moderate quantities. The main role in this matter is played by surface treatment with decorative cladding.
• Durability. The board does not rot and does not lose its properties over time. for long years. It is more difficult to restore than wood, but it is quite possible to disguise minor defects.
• Wear resistance. Excellent resistance to external factors, including mechanical ones, such as scratches and rubbing.
• Insulation. It has fairly good sound insulation performance even with a small thickness. MDF is also capable of retaining heat in a room.
• Heat resistance. Some types of material are not afraid even of high temperatures. Thermal changes are also not terrible, up to severe frosts.

The main advantage of MDF doors is lightness

Despite all these positive characteristics, not all doors made from MDF can boast of such properties. It is worth noting that mainly the disadvantages regarding technical properties refer to cheap door models made of thin, low-quality material.

Disadvantages of MDF products:

• may ignite upon contact with sparks and fire;
• at high humidity and direct contact with water can swell and deteriorate;
• thin slabs are easy to break;
• thick doors with good coverage They are very expensive, comparable to natural wood.

Fabric structure

The cost of a door largely depends on its type and design. If we talk specifically about products made from MDF, it is worth distinguishing between panel and panel panels. It is necessary to disassemble the structure of each of them separately.

Shield

Very popular in panel doors. They look like a smooth, solid fabric. Of course, they can also have various decorative inserts, mainly made of glass. However, they have distinctive feature, associated primarily with internal filling. Such models consist of three main parts: frame frame, internal space filler and external cladding.

The frame is often made from solid pine timber. It is located around the perimeter and may have additional inserts for installing fittings. Two sheets of MDF are attached on top of this frame. To fill the hollow space of a door, two types of material are most often used: cardboard or hardboard. The filler has many cells, similar to a honeycomb, it allows you to maintain the lightness of the structure, but at the same time improves its strength and insulation properties. Such doors have a special name - masonite. In more expensive and quality models inner part presented exclusively by MDF. At the same time, the weight of the canvas increases significantly.

Modern design panel doors frame type with MDF panels

Paneled

The second type of interior doors is paneled. In this case, the array frames the perimeter of the canvas, and can also be located in the middle in the form of vertical and horizontal inserts. This increases the strength of the door. MDF is also often glued on top of such a frame to make the coating uniform. The internal free cells are closed with panels. They can be made of glass or MDF. This design is completely collapsible and looks more interesting. Paneled MDF doors fit perfectly into a classic interior.

Structure of panel doors with veneered MDF

Types of coatings

The cost and quality indicators of a door made of MDF are also largely influenced by its outer covering. It not only plays decorative role. Its functions include resistance to moisture, thermal factors, sunlight, mechanical stress, abrasion and other external influences.

There are several categories of materials that are most often used for cladding MDF doors:

• Natural veneer. This is perhaps the most expensive type of cladding. It is a direct replacement for solid wood, as it is completely natural. To produce it, a thin section of wood is removed while preserving the texture. Subsequently, the coating is applied to the door under pressure using an adhesive base.
• Eco-veneer It's more cheap analogue. It is also called artificial veneer, although in fact it is also made from natural wood. In this case, a thin longitudinal section is removed from the rock and the layers are pressed with the addition of adhesives and resins. Then a cross section is made and the material becomes ready for use for finishing.
• PVC film. Using polyvinyl chloride, you can give an MDF door almost any color, including applying a pattern. The film is applied by exposing it to high temperature under pressure in a special chamber. This way you can evenly cover canvases even with the most complex terrain. The cost of the material is relatively low, and PVC has the highest moisture resistance among all the samples described above.
• Laminate. This is a kind of derivative material, similar to PVC film. Moreover, it consists of several layers: paper with decorative application pattern and top film protecting the base. The film can be made from different materials. The basis of the highest quality and most expensive is melamine. It gives the finish strength and wear resistance.
• Enamel. For modern interiors doors coated with paint, or rather high enamel, become simply irreplaceable. Here the palette is practically unlimited; shades can be mixed and form new tones. The application is carried out in several layers and then secured with a protective layer.

In addition, the doors must be varnished. He is the one who plays higher value with surface resistance external factors and protects the internal filling from destruction. The varnish also gives the product a more expensive look and completes the decorative composition.

Types of interior doors depending on the coating material

How to choose a quality MDF door

MDF doors are good because they are available in almost any price category. Moreover, their cost is often directly related to quality. This is due to the fact that this indicator is influenced by the thickness of the material, the filling of the canvas, its configuration and external finishing.

To choose good door, you should pay attention to several main groups of characteristics; they play a key role in this issue:

1. First of all, you need to pay attention to the cladding material. This same factor is most often the basis when selecting a product design. Of course, veneer has the best appearance, but a high-quality substitute will look no worse. Even the film can have a normal appearance, provided that it is made from high-quality raw materials, and its gluing was carried out in strict compliance with the technology. In any case, the surface should not show any signs of poorly done work: bubbles, delamination, chips, etc.
2. It is also very important that the edge at the end of the product fits firmly to it and completely covers the base material. It is better to give preference to a thick plastic edge than ordinary paper with glue, since some compounds, when heated, emit formaldehyde vapors, which have a detrimental effect on human health.
3. The door lining must not only have good view, but also to resist external influences. Buy only those doors for which the manufacturer provides a guarantee. They must meet the declared properties of moisture resistance, wear resistance, etc.
4. The next nuance is the insulating properties. When it comes to interior doors, the question of the ability to retain heat is not so important; sound insulation is much more important here. Pay attention to the elements included in the kit along with the canvas. For achievement maximum effect there must be sealing rubber bands for the box and thresholds.
5. Sound insulation is also affected by the thickness of the canvas and filling. This point must be clarified in each case separately. For installation in load-bearing walls, and to achieve maximum insulating effect, solid MDF canvas. But for flimsy partitions it is not recommended to use too heavy a cloth. Opt for masonite doors. Plus they are much cheaper.

In any case, MDF doors are the best choice for any home. Due to its diversity in terms of models and price categories everyone will be able to choose the most suitable option for themselves.

Using pressed cardboard to make interior doors is, in general, not a bad idea, but given the passion of our manufacturers to save on everything, it’s probably not a very good idea. Interior MDF doors can be either good, high quality, or not very good and even, to put it mildly, bad. This is the whole problem, since the filling is not visible under the decorative layer. In this article, together with the website, we will analyze MDF doors, as they say, plank by plank - we will study their design, varieties, features and talk about the intricacies of installation. In general, we will try to put together a complete picture of this creation of human hands.

MDF interior doors photo

Interior MDF doors: how they are designed

The production of MDF doors is a simple matter, and if desired, it can be established even in a homemade way at home. If, of course, there was not one “but” - the most difficult thing in this whole matter is the process of decorating them. In factory conditions, this is carried out using sophisticated modern equipment, since laminating or covering such door structures with veneer is quite problematic. Therefore, at home there is only one thing left to do - paint. But you won’t be able to achieve the same effects that are achieved in the field of decorating doors in production.

In general, if we talk about the design of MDF doors, then it can be briefly described as follows - in fact, it is a frame made of wooden beam, sometimes not even of very high quality, which is upholstered on both sides with MDF sheets. Hence the name of such products. What MDF is and what properties it has is another question; I’ll briefly add that this material itself has high specifications, and such doors should ideally last a long time.

But let’s return to the structure of our doors and talk about the linings on the frame - they can be different, in particular, they can differ in thickness. Both the quality of the product and its appearance fully depend on this indicator - the thicker MDF sheet was used in production, the deeper the surface structure it allows to make. In most cases, for the manufacture of such doors, MDF with a thickness of 3 to 5 mm is used - if we talk about those products to which MDF doors are grateful for their not very good reputation, then sheets with a thickness of 2.5 mm, or even less, are used for their production. In fact, this is nothing more than thin fiberboard, familiar to all - in principle, the difference between these two materials is not very big, since both are made from small wood fibers.

MDF door design photo

MDF doors: varieties and how to choose

When approaching the issue of studying interior MDF doors, I would immediately like to note that in many respects these designs are not much different from all others. These can be either hinged or even, they can be covered with almost any modern decorative material and have both smooth and paneled surface types. In general, everything is the same as with all other doors - in this regard, they can even be equipped with glass decorative inserts. They can differ, as mentioned above, solely in their outer lining. Therefore, we won’t talk much about the types of interior MDF doors - they are not difficult to understand, especially since they are completely identical to the varieties of any interior doors. Better move on to more important points and compare their characteristics with those of other types of doors.

What makes MDF doors stand out among the mass of their relatives? As many as seven positive characteristics and a couple of negative ones. Let's start with the good.

This concerns the qualities that make MDF doors attractive. But what repels some people from purchasing such products? In most cases, these are three main factors.

1. Impossibility of restoration - it is almost impossible to restore MDF doors after serious damage. The doors will have to be sent to a landfill.
2. An established reputation that does not speak in favor of these doors. It should immediately be noted the fact due to which such an opinion was formed. Two factors played a role here - the initial spread of cheap doors, which used MDF panels that were not completely dried, as well as illiterate installation, the nuances of which we will talk about later.
3. Insufficient sound insulation. Again, this nuance does not apply to all MDF doors. In many ways, it depends on their internal filling (corrugated cardboard, naturally, inhibits sounds worse than polyurethane foam) and the thickness of the MDF itself. In addition, this characteristic can be influenced by the design door block– MDF compartment doors are practically incapable of providing sound insulation to a room.

In general, when making the right choice you can buy very quality doors MDF and enjoy their aesthetic characteristics for a very long time.

To clearly understand the process of installing MDF doors, you can watch the attached video.

Installation of MDF doors: process features

By by and large, MDF installation doors is carried out in the same way as installing any other types of door structures - in this respect they are all identical. The difference is in the nuances. To be specific, there are two points that are the reason why manufacturers use MDF profile for door frames - if you choose a wooden frame for the door leaf, then the first of these problems will disappear by itself, and the second depends on the type of room in which the installation will be carried out. Then you will understand why.

1. Flexibility door frame from MDF - in most cases, when sealing a door block in an opening, it is strongly squeezed out, even if you use foam with little force during expansion. This problem can be solved in two ways - in the first case, the box is fixed in the opening using special brackets installed on the back side of the profile, and in the second case, plates are installed in the gap between the box and the canvas, which prevent the foam from squeezing out the box. In the latter situation you will have to do .
2. If we talk about installing MDF doors in rooms with high humidity, then care should be taken to protect the box. The fact is that in almost all cases, the back side is not protected by a laminating film - it is from there that moisture penetrates and deforms the door frame. Since the manufacturers did not think about this, they will have to take care of this nuance on their own - back side the door frame will at least need to be glued with tape or coated with the same silicone or similar similar material. Only in this case, the question of how to install an MDF door in a bathroom will be resolved correctly, and most importantly, for a long time.

Basically, that's all. As you can see, MDF interior doors are not ideal, but at the same time they are superior to many other types of doors in some qualities. Most likely, they can be called the golden mean between expensive solid doors and their cheap hollow counterparts. As for the rest, decide for yourself.