Wood selection for paint grade doors?

[Peter Thomson]

Hi everyone,

I have some interior doors to make, matching some 1912 frame and panel doors in our house. These will be painted. Standard interior door size.

My question is -- what would you suggest for a wood for the styles and rails? I'll be using plywood for the panels.

I've used "nice" hardwoods like beech, walnut, etc. for furniture projects in the past. Since these will be painted I'd like to save money on wood if I can.

My thoughts are tending towards alder and hickory, if I can get them QS. I would use poplar but can't find any in QS. I'm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada if that helps.

Thanks in advance,
Pete

[Quinn McCarthy]

Paint grade birch or soft maple makes great doors. They are easy to paint and don't telegraph the grain like oaks and ashes.

Popple is a good wood for painting too but would stay away because it is too soft.

Hope that helps.

Quinn

[Frank Drew]

White pine takes paint very well but it's soft and bruises easily; I wouldn't consider poplar all that soft, but if it's not available that's a moot point. Hickory wouldnt be my first choice because the grain is fairly prominent and you might need a lot of coats of paint to mask it.

Birch or beech would be fine for paint grade; I certainly wouldn't use anything like walnut (expensive, somewhat open pored, much better reserved for clear finished work) or cherry (ditto except for the open pored part.)

[J.R. Rutter]

Paint grade birch or soft maple makes great doors. They are easy to paint and don't telegraph the grain like oaks and ashes.
Quinn

Ditto. Unless you want open grain like hickory. Alder is similar to pine in hardness (or softness rather).

[Aaron Wingert]

Poplar would be my choice. It works easily and has very few knots and flaws. Plus, it is inexpensive. Around here, alder is priced about the same as cherry.

[Cody Colston]

In your location, QS Fir would be a good choice. It's used a lot for doors and should be readily available in Calgary.

[Brian Smith3]

I just finished my kitchen cabinets that were painted. I used poplar for the rails and stiles and MDO plywood for the panels. Worked great. For me dinging the poplar wasn't an issue. I would try to find something like Alder or Birch which are considered somewhat "softer" hardwoods.

I had a painter paint them and any little defect he filled with wood filler or bondo and they came out perfect. They were sprayed and then detailed with a brush. IMHO the more important question is the type of paint and the finish you choose, also consider the quality of the job the painter (or you) do(es). ;)

[Frank Drew]

Peter,

If the material is well seasoned, I don't think you'd gain all that much stability in door framing material sizes by using quartered vs. flat sawn, if that's the only reason you're not thinking of the poplar you do have available.

[Peter Quinn]

We use poplar or soft maple for paint grade passage doors here. Both are good choices, neither are generally cut for QS grain, though you might find some wide boards that will be mostly QS over a stile's width on one edge. i wouldn't worry about the QS for interior doors, just not essential. Its more important for exterior work where the two sides face a different climate and high dimensional stability is required. Pine is also a fine though soft choice, and alder in a clear grade may also be a good option regionally. Between poplar and maple, poplar is easier to mill and hard enough to survive as a passage door, maple is maybe a bit more stable though much heavier and more difficult to shape IME.

I'd stay away from hickory personally. Its hard on tools, its really very heavy to swing in an average jamb, its about as stable as a crazy old uncle. Plus its grain is open, not so good for paint grade with satin or above finish. Makes a better axe handle than a door.

[Peter Thomson]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice on this, I really appreciate it! I'll compare some prices on QS doug fir and FS/RS poplar and give one of these a shot -- can readily get my hands on these in 8/4.

It's funny -- I've been told in the past that rails and styles, whether for interior, exterior or cabinet doors, absolutely had to be QS. It appears that this isn't the cast-in-stone rule I thought it was.

Thanks again,
Pete

[Marty Paulus]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice on this, I really appreciate it! I'll compare some prices on QS doug fir and FS/RS poplar and give one of these a shot -- can readily get my hands on these in 8/4.

It's funny -- I've been told in the past that rails and styles, whether for interior, exterior or cabinet doors, absolutely had to be QS. It appears that this isn't the cast-in-stone rule I thought it was.

Thanks again,
Pete

The only cast in stone rule I am aware of is there is no such thing as a cast in stone rule :D

[Brett Nelson]

Soft maple is almost 2x as hard as poplar, but both are used frequently for paint grade. Around here, soft maple is only about 15% more expensive than poplar, so I think it is worth it.