Panel door question

[Mark Paavola]

Another project almost complete. I wanted to see if anyone has a better design idea than what I have so far. Attached are pictures of doors along a stair wall. One has a divider in the short panel and one does not. I don't like the look on either one. Does anybody have a better idea? I don't have a problem making new doors if that's what it takes. Also they will be painted white to match the trim if that makes any difference.

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[Buck Williams]

Just a guess here, maybe a center style would accentuate length and make them appear taller. Visually what bothers me is that they feel short and wide, the divider on the smaller door really accentuates that. It might all go away when you paint it white, since you have a finished product, might as well paint and see how it blends in. Maybe having the bottom rail wider than the other stiles and rails might also break it up, it might make it look less like a frame and more like a door. Nice job of having it all fit and flow with the space you had to work with, and I'm sure you wanted to have the doors as wide as possible to make access easier. Let us know what you finally come up with.

[John A langley]

I'd move the tall door divider down and the short door divider up so they wear in the same plane

[Shawn Pixley]

I'd try leaving out Horizontal Rails and using two Vertical Stiles to divide the Panels into thirds. That will more closely mimic the balustrade on the handrail. Experiment with frame member width versus divider widths.

[Peter Quinn]

I don't like the mid rails at all for that application. I'd leave them out entirely. If they are there to mimick some other details in the area I'd make sure they each mid rail is in the same elevation across the pair of doors.

[Mel Fulks]

Agree with Peter and others on getting rid of the mid rails. Also would add a small door at bottom right,real or fake, just for design. Spandrel. Gives a "sharper" look.

[Jeff Duncan]

Yup, agree with the others about leaving any horizontal rails out of the door entirely.

JeffD

[Mark Paavola]

Everyone, thanks for all the suggestions. This is one of those projects that I don't know what looks good or right until I hang the doors. Regarding leaving out the center rail entirely, is this going to be a problem structurally? The door is a frame and panel with 1/4" ply in the center. It is approx. 55" on the long side. I can make a raised panel insert if that will work better. I also considered a fake third door just to balance it out but wasn't sure how such a small panel would look.

[Mel Fulks]

What ever is needed on the inside of the doors to make them strong enough is fine,including clunky diagonal braces. Can't imagine that the doors would ever be open for more than a moment or two at any use. You can google up plenty of precedent and photos showing the use of small triangular panels.

[Jerry Miner]

I agree with removing the mid-rails. With a 1/4 ply panel (as opposed to a solid lumber panel) you can glue-in the panel, which will give you plenty of structural strength.

[Peter Quinn]

if you are worried about strength on the remake you could go with 1/2" panels, either make the panel grooves 1/2" or rabbit the backs of the panels to create a 1/4" tongue that fits your groove, this gives you a considerably more substantial panel. If somebody walks by and leans on a 1/4" panel that large it will deflect. You could also do as Mel suggests and glue some ribs to the back side where its not seen, you could make the doors 1 1/4" thick, use 1/2"plywood glued into the grooves to create in essence a large I joist type thing, but shaped like a door! Custom problem requires a creative solution. If its in the scope of your project aesthetically I would have paneled that whole wall with a frame and panel system and basically made the doors a hidden part of the wall, like wainscot, hung on touch to open zero protrusion euro hinges....but I digress!