Sheet goods for Exterior Door

[John TenEyck]

I'm going to build an exterior house door that will be a flat slab door veneered on both sides. What type of sheet good would be suitable for the core of the door? Seems like I've heard of an exterior rated particle board or MDF type product but the name escapes me. Anyone have some insight on appropriate materials for this? Thanks.

John

[Mel Fulks]

We recently had that long thread about EXTERA mdf. Good product ,but heavy. The painted canvas treatment would
allow many types of material.

[Edwin Santos]

Hi,
I was going to respond with a suggestion to consider MDO or Extira, but thought I would do some searching to be sure I am not giving you bogus suggestions. I ended up finding a thread on this subject where at least one respondent reported good experience with Extira and others discuss MDO. There's even a posting in the thread from someone with a very similar name to yours. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....-exterior-door

[Frank Pratt]

Medex is one brand of water resistant MDF.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks Mel and Edwin. I forgot about that thread; good info in there. That guy with the name like mine is my evil twin.

John

[Erik Loza]

Medite Tricoya?

[Jim Becker]

Extiera is one brand of exterior rated MDF. I used it recently for an architectural reproduction project for a client. It's easy to work with but darn heavy, especially the 1.25" thick version I was using for corbels. It's suitable for veneering or other treatments but must be be finished if exposed. You can source it from the same sheet goods suppliers where cabinet grade products are also bought. You may or may not need to special order the thicker varieties.

[lowell holmes]

See this link. Cypress or fir would be my choice.

https://www.google.com/search?q=best...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[John TenEyck]

See this link. Cypress or fir would be my choice.

https://www.google.com/search?q=best...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Thanks Lowell. The veneer and trim will be Sapele. That was a decision already made by the customer. Sorry I didn't point that out earlier.

John

[Edwin Santos]

John,

Have you sought advice from your lumber supplier? When questions like this come up for me, I usually ask mine for some input.
Depending on how sophisticated your supplier is, they probably have a person or two who are very knowledgeable about the most current industry offerings, performance specifications, what others good customers use in your application, etc.
Just a thought, and at a cost of no more than a phone call.

Edwin

[Mark Bolton]

I would never trust the work in an exterior door to an exterior MDF. MDO all the way. Ive drilled a hole in that stuff and tied a rope to it, tossed it in the creek for a week or two. Unphased. I have a hand painted sign on the front of the shop painted with rustoleum from the home center. in 10 years its barely showing age. I dont know whats in that stuff but its bulletproof.

[John TenEyck]

I would never trust the work in an exterior door to an exterior MDF. MDO all the way. Ive drilled a hole in that stuff and tied a rope to it, tossed it in the creek for a week or two. Unphased. I have a hand painted sign on the front of the shop painted with rustoleum from the home center. in 10 years its barely showing age. I dont know whats in that stuff but its bulletproof.

I've used MDO on a couple of projects with good success and have nothing against it. It's not as dead flat as the MDF and particle board type panels but it does have great screw holding ability. With the construction I'm thinking about, ladder core, I don't think that would be of concern, but I appreciate and value your input as one of the guys on here with lots of first hand experience and insight into what works and why.

John

[Jim Becker]

John, I could send you a small sample of the Extiera if you cover the postage for a small flat rate box. I have some scraps left over from the architectural stuff. Message me if you want to do that.

[Mel Fulks]

I like MDO but in most respects it's no better than standard fir plywood covered with painted canvas. The cloth is actually
thicker than the treated paper on MDO. MDO is many times the cost, but I would only buy 'good two sides' . I've used
the one good side stuff a couple of times and it came in non flat and stayed that way until fasteners put it down.

[Mark Bolton]

I like MDO but in most respects it's no better than standard fir plywood covered with painted canvas.

I may be dealing with a different MDO than you because the material Ive gotten consistently has no connection to even the best grades of exterior ply Ive ever had access to. Like I say, Im talking scraps completely un-treated, left outside, under roof overhangs, submerged in water, small scraps left to sit in 5 gallon buckets full of water for months and months. I actually have an old MDO saw top I made years ago leaning against a trailer that has been outside untreated for years (like 8-10) and while its a little ragged it is still sound.

No idea whats different about the core but Ive long abandoned any exterior ply for much of anything as it delaminates when a bead of sweat drops off your brow and lands on the sheet.