Wood Species for interior doors.

[Greg Fairweather]

I am in the planning stages to build 6 interior (and some closet) doors for my home. Any suggestions on wood species to use? Will a stained VG Douglas fir look as elegant as a solid Mahogany door?
All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Greg

[David Hawxhurst]

in my opinion not matter what you do to pine it still looks like pine (to people that know the difference). if you want the look of mahogany you should use it. for other choices you could pretty much use what ever you like best.

[Dave Anthony]

Stained fir can look nice, but it won't look like Mahogany. On the other hand, 6 interior +closet doors all solid out of Mahogany = $$$. Unless it is a formal setting, it might be overkill. My front door was > 2K, and I don't think I could have made it for that.

[Sam Murdoch]

Stained fir can look nice, but it won't look like Mahogany. On the other hand, 6 interior +closet doors all solid out of Mahogany = $$$. Unless it is a formal setting, it might be overkill. My front door was > 2K, and I don't think I could have made it for that.

Clear Douglas fir doors can be beautiful and welcoming (try to fine vertical grain). Mahogany pretty but formal and pricey. Eastern White Pine soft and informal - more work if you want to stain it properly. Maple is hard yet boring whereas red birch can be attractive. Cherry can be lovely but will get brown over the years and so loses its sunset warmth. Walnut starts and ends dark. I like Red Alder very much and back to the Doug Fir, all with clear coats.

Just noticed that this is your first post. Welcome to the Creek. Don't be shy to ask questions or to seek advice or offer comments, but don't be shy about becoming a contributor either. Cheap money for a great resource.

[Shawn Pixley]

My house in Seattle (20's craftsman) had doug fir doors stained mahogany red. Not terribly formal, but nice. I restored an 1860's house that had doug fir or pine doors but they had been faux grained to look like mahogany. This was an American technique brought over from France. You do the graining with a feather. It was a neat technique that I learned. Depending upon what your intent is, the doug ir can work.

[Greg Fairweather]

Thanks for all the advice and the welcome. I had thought about Alder Sam but I have not seen Red Alder. Shawn, do you have pics of a project using the feather technique that you could post.

Greg

[Sam Murdoch]

Thanks for all the advice and the welcome. I had thought about Alder Sam but I have not seen Red Alder. Shawn, do you have pics of a project using the feather technique that you could post.

Greg

Alder is alder, as far as I know. Some people refer to it as poor man's cherry. In any event it is a very, very pale red when unfinished and with a clear coat it appears more golden, with a very light grain pattern highlighted here and there with shiny rays. I think it is a really lovely wood. Another feature of alder is that it will bleach to a really nice ivory white - never seen any wood quite match that color.

[Shawn Pixley]

Thanks for all the advice and the welcome. I had thought about Alder Sam but I have not seen Red Alder. Shawn, do you have pics of a project using the feather technique that you could post.

Greg


I don't have any pictures of my work and unfortunately it is thousands of miles away from where I live. I found this on the web and it looks representative of the doors on the first floor (Grained in a red mahogany). We found an original, and used that as a reference match. Here is a photo that captures the essence of the graining.

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The house was a General's quarters at a "permanent" fort as opposed to a frontier outpost or first generation fort. Because the General was expected to entertain guests up to and including the President, the first floor was relatively opulent relative to other officer's quarters. This was of course done on a budget, so as many things were done in a less expensive way such as wood graining the doors. The non-public spaces, the upstairs and the servant's quarters had their doors grained in butternut.

[Greg Fairweather]

Thanks Shawn. I may attempt the technique at a later date.

Greg

[Kevin Bourque]

What about ash or hickory?

[Greg Fairweather]

I do love the look of hickory, however I am primarily concerned with the expansion/contraction characteristics of the wood I finally choose. I live in Alberta, Canada where or moisture conditions can vary considerably.

Greg

[Jay Jolliffe]

I made these out of African Mahogany they called it ribbon grain...It had a lot of movement when I milled the parts. I milled them over sized & let them sit for a few day's then milled the pieces to almost the size I needed. Let sit for a few more days then I milled to the size I wanted. I made 19 doors all 1 3/8 thick & 6 8 tall. We probably have the same moisture here in Maine as you do. None warped or changed size from moisture 236269236270

[Sam Layton]

Jay,

Your doors are beautiful. I also like the leaded glass design and color.

Sam

[C Scott McDonald]

Alder is alder, as far as I know. Some people refer to it as poor man's cherry. In any event it is a very, very pale red when unfinished and with a clear coat it appears more golden, with a very light grain pattern highlighted here and there with shiny rays. I think it is a really lovely wood. Another feature of alder is that it will bleach to a really nice ivory white - never seen any wood quite match that color.

I wonder if after bleaching you could dye it with a color similiar to cherry. This way you don't have it turn dark like cherry does.

[michael case]

Lots of good advice here. Another thought is quartersawn white oak. Many period doors are quartersawn white oak though more often exterior rather than interior. Its very stable. Whatever you choose for a door, check for straightness, then check it again.

[Sam Murdoch]

I wonder if after bleaching you could dye it with a color similiar to cherry. This way you don't have it turn dark like cherry does.

No good reason to go through all this effort. Don't bleach it except to achieve a lovely ivory color, otherwise stain it, if you like, to match cherry and it will not darken like cherry does. Here is an example with a clear coat. The larger photo on the left shows the color more accurately. This is with a Watco natural finish. http://ttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=714&attachmentid=225021

[Jeff Duncan]

The best way to go is with a wood that fits your house. You can use whatever you want since it's your house, but for "good design" some things look better than others. For instance, mahogany doors in a ranch style house would look way out of place....at least to me. Oak doors in a modern house....same thing. So the first step is to decide on the style of doors and species as it relates to your house.

Second is finish....do you have trim in your house? Is it stained or painted? I find stained doors in a house full of painted trim to look out of place as well. Again, it's your house, but there are things that look right and look wrong.....generally speaking.

As for movement it shouldn't be a real big problem as your only doing interior doors. If these are panel doors your talking about, something in the neighborhood of 10" of width between the 2 stiles.....not a lot of movement there. As long as you account for it when hanging them you'll be fine. A bigger issue is finding good quality stock that mills flat and stays flat;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Greg Fairweather]

Jay;

Thanks for the pics. Is the panel veneered or is it solid? I am not sure that I could come close to your quality but those are similar to what I would like to build.

Greg