The definition and function of architectural door and window
A door maybe defined as “an openable barrier or as a framework of wood, steel, aluminum, glass or a combiantion of these materials secured in a wall opening”.
Architectural windows and doors are tailored to complement the specific architectural style of a home, making them crucial for residences with distinctive designs, including contemporary and historic styles from the 19th century.
It is provided to give access to the inside of a room of a building.
It serves as a connecting link between the various internal portion of building.
Lighting and ventilation of rooms.
Controls the physical atmosphere within a space by enclosing it so that interior maybe more effectively heated or cooled.
Acting as a barrier to noise.
Aesthetic purposes, keeping formal and utility areas separate.
Windows: Same but smaller, no serves access or link between any rooms.
Location of a door in a building
The number should be kept as minimum.
It should meet the functional requirement.
It should preferable be located at the conner of the room, nearly 20 cm from conner.
If in a room, more than 2 doors are there, they shall be located facing each other.
Components of a door
A door panel, also known as a slab, is the entire component of a door that swings open and closed Typically, full door panels are segmented into smaller sections, positioned between the stiles, rails, and mullions.
The narrow horizontal segments on a door panel are called rails This door has a top, bottom, and a mid-rail.
A stile is the narrow vertical segment located on either side of a door panel One is called the lock stile and the other a hinge stile.
A mullion resembles a stile It is the vertical component that separates two panels located in the middle of the door between the rails.
Door stop moulding is attached to a door frame It aligns the door panel within the frame and prevents the panel from swinging right through the opening.
Hinges are essential hardware components that enable doors to swing open and closed smoothly While standard doors typically feature three hinges, larger doors may require four or more for added support Additionally, the color or finish of the hinges usually complements the lockset, ensuring a cohesive look.
A bore hole is drilled into a door to accommodate a lockset.
Components of lockset
A lockset, also known as a handleset or hardware, comprises various components such as handles, locks, latches, and strike plates that enable a door to securely latch and lock.
A door handle, knob, or lever is essential hardware for unlatching and operating a door, allowing it to open or close with ease Available in various styles and finishes, these components enhance both functionality and aesthetics There are three primary types of door handles to consider.
Entry handles are operated with a key cylinder on the exterior side of the door and a push or turn lock button on the interior.
Bed/bath handles have a push or turn lock button on the inside but not on the other.
Passage handles have no locking mechanism.
A door latch is a mechanism that extends from the edge of a door panel into the door frame, ensuring the door remains securely closed By turning the handle, the latch retracts, enabling the door to open smoothly.
A deadbolt is a security feature that extends from the door panel into the door frame, providing enhanced protection compared to standard latches While residential interior doors typically lack deadbolts, many exterior doors may not include them either Deadbolts are positioned separately from the handle assembly, necessitating an extra bore hole for installation For superior security, multi-point locking systems offer greater protection than a simple latch and deadbolt combination, and modern home automation solutions are now available to enhance security further.
A deadbolt is operated by turning a thumb turn on the inside of a house and by a key cylinder on the exterior side.
These plates add strength to latches, deadbolts, and the door panel, which helps prevent a forced entry.
Strike plates add strength to door frames which helps prevent a forced entry.
Escutcheons are decorative plates that encircle handles, thumb turns, and key cylinders, serving the essential purpose of safeguarding door panels from nicks and scratches.
Components of a door frame
Head
The head of the frame is the horizontal component located at the top, typically featuring a stop moulded or rebated into it to create a seal when the door is closed Additionally, it includes a groove for a weather strip, which may be pre-installed for enhanced protection against the elements.
Jambs
Jambs are the vertical components of a door frame that include molded stops and weather strips These weather strips play a crucial role in creating a tight seal when the door is closed, effectively preventing drafts and leaks.
Sill
The door sill, also known as the threshold, plays a crucial role in protecting external doors from the elements by acting as a barrier and featuring a weather strip or seal Typically slanted to facilitate water drainage away from the door, the sill often comes with additional components like a weather bar or door sweep, which ensures a tight seal with the sill when the door is closed.
Type of door
Most doors are designed with hinges on one side, enabling them to swing open in a single direction while remaining stationary in the opposite direction This design features a vertical axis of rotation for effective functionality.
The most common door type It is a simple and rigid.
The panel swings, opens and closes, on hinges.
Hinged doors requier a minium amount of maintenance and cleaning, they are not expensive, and have an excellent insulating ability.
However, they take up percious room space to swing in.
Such types are privided in public buildings, like banks, museums, hotels, offices, ect.
A revolving door typically consists of four wings that rotate around a central shaft within a circular enclosure This central shaft is equipped with a ball bearing system at the base, enabling the wings to move smoothly and quietly.
Radiating shutters can be fully paneled, fully glazed, or partially glazed, allowing for visibility and interaction among pedestrians The inclusion of glass doors enhances transparency, enabling individuals to see and anticipate one another while passing through Additionally, vertical rubber components are installed at the shutter's rubbing end to effectively prevent air drafts.
People can walk out of and into building at the same time.
The door closes automatically when not in use.
In these doors, the shutter slide horizontally along tracks with the help of runners and rails often for space or
Sliding glass doors are common in places where there is no space to swing the door.
Such doors are very popular for use for the entrances to commercial structures and also in residential buildings for aesthetic considerations
Sliding doors consist of either one, two or three doors that slide by each other on a track depending upon the size of opening and space available for sliding
They are pretty easily cleaned and maintained
These doors sound insulation is pretty poor usually, and they must be of high quality and fitted exactly in their tracks or else they may slide out of them
When fully open these doors will allow half the space of the opening in double sliding doors, or one third if triple
Sliding doors operate on tracks made of metal, wood, or vinyl, which are installed in their frames at both the top and bottom To facilitate smooth movement, these doors typically feature plastic rollers, either at the top and bottom or solely at the bottom.
The door is supported by two trolley hangers at the top, which glide along a concealed track, while rollers at the bottom allow the shutter to move smoothly within a channel track.
The shutter is fitted to its frame by special double action hinges.
The hinges permits the shutter to move both ways, inward as well as outward
The doors are not rebated at the meeting styles.
To safely open the door, a gentle push activates the spring mechanism, allowing the shutter to close securely The forceful return of the shutter necessitates that the door be either fully glazed or equipped with a peep hole at eye level to prevent accidents.
Folding doors consist of narrow vertical strips that fold back into a compact bundle when opened, hanging from a top track They are space-saving as they do not swing into the doorway, but they tend to have poor sound and weather insulation Additionally, folding doors can be quite noisy and are often viewed as less durable.
Such doors are used in garages, workshops, public buildings etc to provide increased safety and protection to property
The doors do not require hinges to close or open the shutter nor the frame to hang them
It acts like a steel curtain.
The door is made up from vertical double channels (20x10x2 mm), jointed together with the hollows on the inside to create a vertical gap
These channels are spaced at 100-120 mm apart and braced with diagonal iron flats
These diagonals allow the shutter to open or closed
The shutter operate between two rails, one fixed to the floor and other to the lintel
Rollers are mounted at the top and bottom.
These are commonly used for shops, godowns, stores etc
The door shutter acts like a curtain and thus provides adequate protection and safety against fire and thefts
The shutter consists of interlocked thin steel slabs, known as laths or slates, each approximately 1.25 mm thick These laths are coiled around a specially designed drum, which is mounted at the top.
The shutter moves in two vertical steel guide channels installed at their ends.
The channel is made up of steel sheets and deep enough to accommodate the shutter and to keep it in position.
A horizontal shaft and spring in the drum which allow the shutter to coiled in or out
These may be manually operated for smaller openings (upto 10 sq.m.)
Above 10 sq m., they may be operated manually.
These doors consist of vertical boards called battens which are nailed or screwed to the horizontal members, called ledges Often the battens are a-bout 15 to 18 cm wide and
2 to 3 cm thick Doors made with narrow battens like these have a better appearance – With Braces
A ledged and battened door is reinforced with braces to prevent sagging, which should slope upwards from the hinge edge and fit into skew notches on the ledges.
These doors consist of a frame made up of (a) Stiles (b) a top rail (c) sometimes an intermediate rail (d) into this framework a plywood panel (e) is fitted
This panel may fit into a groove or a rebate.
These are provided where the visibility of the interior of the room is required.
The framed core flush door is a commonly manufactured door at Rural Building, featuring a sturdy frame with stiles, top and bottom rails, and narrow intermediate rails Each side of the door is covered with plywood, although it's important to note that plywood-covered flush doors are not suitable for areas exposed to rain and sunlight.
These permit free ventilation through them and at the same time maintain the privacy of the room.
Wire gauge or fly proof door shutters are fixed to provide free air circulation and prevent mosquitoes, flies, insects etc from entering into the building
These are composite doors of plywood and mild steel and are reasonably fire proof.
Types of windows
In this type, the glass pane is permanently fixed in the opening of the wall
The shutter can’t be opened or closed
The function is limited to allowing light and or permit vision in the room
No rebates are provided to the frame
The shutters are fully glazed.
In homes they are generally decorative windows near doors, stairwells and high- places or are used in combination with other styles.
In this type of window, the shutter is capable of rotating about a pivot fixed to window frame.
The frame has no rebate.
The shutter can swing horizontally or vertically Vertical pivotedHorizontal pivoted
It has two panes, top and bottom that slide up and down in tracks called stiles.
The most common used windows today When open, these windows allow air flow through half of its size.
The two parts are not necessarily the same size
Traditionally, each shutter is provided with a pair of counterweights connected by cord or chain over pulleys.
When the weights are pulled, the shutters open to required level.
It is possible to have controlled ventilation
Sash windows can be equipped with simplex hinges, enabling the window to be securely locked on one side while detaching the rope on the opposite side This design allows for easy opening of the window, facilitating escape or cleaning.
Nowadays, most new double-hung sash windows use spring balances to support the sashes.
Special frames called boxed or cased frame is used, which consists of two vertical members spaced apart to create a groove to slide the shutter
A parting bead is provided in the groove of the frame to keep the two shutters apart.
Only the bottom sash slides upward in a single-hung window In single-hung windows the top sash is fixed and can’t be moved.
Has two or more sashes that overlap slightly but slide horizontally within the frame.
Suitable openings or grooves are left in the frame or wall to accommodate the shutters when are shutters are opened.
Casement windows are hinged at the sides.
When fully opened, offer the maximum amount of ventilation.
Operates like a hinged door, except that it opens and closes with a lever inside the window.
The shutter consists of styles, top rail, bottom rail and intermediate rail.
Depending upon the design, the frame can have additional vertical and horizontal members i.e mullion and transom respectively.
The panels may be either glazed, unglazed or partly glazed and are fixed in the grooves made in rails and styles
This is a type of casement window where panels are fully glazed.
The frame has styles, top rail and a bottom rail.
The space between top and bottom rail is divided into number of panels with small timber members called, sash bars or glazing bars.
The glass panels are cut 1.5-3.0 mm smaller in size than the panel size to permit movement of sash bars
Glass panes are fixed to sash bars by putty or by timber beads
They are provided for the sole function of ventilation and not for the vision outside.
The styles are grooved to receive a series of louvers which may be of glass or wood slates.
The louvers re usually fixed at 450 inclination sloping downward to the outside to run- off the rain water
The windows provide light and ventilation even if closed Louvered window
Such windows are recommended for bath, WC, workshops etc., where privacy is more important.
Venetian shutters feature adjustable louvers that can be easily opened or closed, providing flexibility in light control Each louver is pivoted at both ends within the frame, and is also connected to a vertical batten by hinges, ensuring smooth operation and durability.
These are very popular in public buildings and can be made up of mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, bronze etc.
Mils steel being cheapest of all, they are widely used The windows can be fabricated for the required size using light rolled steel sections.
They can be fixed directly to the wall opening in a wooden frame or in the steel frame
While fixing, care has to be taken that the members of the frame are not subjected to any structural loads to prevent damage.
Thus, the size of the window opening is kept slightly more than the frame size so as to allow some clearance between the two
The window is fixed into the opening only after masonry and lintel work is over and fully set.
The window projecting outward from the external walls
Wide and decoratively impressive allow for 180° view.
A multi-panel window, with at least three panels set at different angles to create an extension from the wall line
It is commonly used in cold country where snow often falls.
They may be triangular, circular, rectangular or polygonal in plan.
These are provided to permit light and ventilation to a room having more height than the adjoining rooms or when the ventilation is restricted.
Generally provided near the top of main roof and they open above the slab of adjoining rooms
The shutters are generally pivoted at centre.
The shutter can be opened or closed by means of two chords, each attached to the rails of the shutter.
The shutter must swing in such a way that the upper part opens inside the room and lower part opens outside, to exclude rain water.
These are provided at the corner of the room
Light and air is admitted from two directions
The jamb post at the corner is made of heavy section
Dormer Windows and Gable windows
The windows provided at the dormer end and gable end of the sloping roof to provide light and ventilation to the enclosed space below the roof.
Awning windows are hinged at the top and open outward They are designed to provide ventilation without letting in rain, etc
Awning windows can be used alone or in vertical or horizontal groups in combination with additional awning windows, other types of windows, or above doors
These are fixed windows on the sloping roofs
Admit natural light and help distribute light more evenly throughout the room. Considered an energy saver feature.
Skylights not only reduce reliance on electric lighting but also provide natural warmth during winter and cooling in summer, thereby decreasing the need for fuel-based heating and air conditioning In winter, sunlight streaming through south- or west-facing skylights warms interior surfaces, while in summer, ventilating skylights enhance air circulation by allowing warm air to escape.
To create a window opening, common rafters are cut, and the framework includes trimming pieces, curb frames, a bottom rail, and a top rail Lead flashings are applied to the opening to ensure effective waterproofing.
Skylights may be plastic or glass, fixed or operable, and made in any number of sizes and styles.
Some common door, windows sizes suitable for feng shui
Choosing the appropriate window size for any project is crucial and should be based on the specific space and its intended use By understanding these factors, one can select the most suitable window dimensions that effectively fulfill the project's requirements.
Main door upstairs, ground floor
Back door or side door
This type of door usually does not have wings, can be covered with thin curtains, hanging curtains:
The door of the owner's bedroom:
The child's bedroom door in school age
The room has a job and a living room
The dimensions of the warehouse and garage doors will match those of the main ground floor door, but they will be slightly smaller, measuring one notch less than Lu Ban's ruler.
The size of a window is primarily determined by user comfort rather than geographic dimensions, as it is not meant for entry or exit Typically, the total area of windows is about three times that of the main door.
Kinds of doors
Real wooden tenon-joint door Structure
A real wooden tenon-joint door is crafted from genuine wood sourced from forests, featuring a tenon-joint design that allows for secure assembly This type of door consists of multiple pieces of wood, each with pre-made tenon-joints and mortises, ensuring a sturdy and traditional construction Various styles of real wooden tenon-joint doors are available, showcasing the beauty and craftsmanship of natural wood.
A typical real wooden tenon-joint door, as illustrated in Figure 3, is constructed from multiple solid wood pieces interconnected by tenon joints The design features six panels and a central lock rail, with three mullions positioned between the panels for added stability Additionally, four rails with dowels are securely glued to the two side stiles, ensuring that all components work together seamlessly as a single cohesive unit.
Figure 3 Structure of tenon-joint wood door [3]
Tenon-joint wood doors are crafted from exquisite woods such as cherry, teak, and walnut, which are renowned for their beauty and value These premium materials offer a natural and warm aesthetic that appeals to those seeking a classic and elegant look The use of these luxurious woods elevates the quality and sophistication of any space.
Real wood doors offer not only aesthetic appeal but also exceptional quality and durability Their solid structure ensures longevity and resistance to deformation, making them a reliable choice for any home.
Real wood doors offer superior waterproofing compared to wood composite doors, as their surfaces are made of genuine wood rather than laminated materials that can be damaged by water Additionally, the solid wooden structure of these doors enhances soundproofing, making them a more effective choice for noise reduction.
Real wood tenon-joint doors offer numerous benefits, including an attractive appearance; however, they also come with notable drawbacks One significant disadvantage is the high cost of real wood, which can make these doors substantially more expensive—sometimes up to ten times the average price of standard doors.
Manufacturing high-quality doors is a challenging and costly process due to the need for premium materials and precision machinery The use of expensive materials is essential to ensure durability, while the machinery required for production must be highly accurate, contributing to increased costs Additionally, maintaining superior building quality is crucial to prevent deformation of real wood.
One last disadvantage about real wood door is that it is very heavy It could be up to two to three times heavier than a door made of synthetic materials.
Wood composite doors are the most popular type of wooden doors, constructed from multiple types of wood They feature real wood for the rails and stiles, while the core typically consists of another type of real wood or laminated wood, often utilizing MDF (medium density fiberboard) and tubular board for added strength and stability.
Cross banding involves placing veneer made from different materials on both sides of a core, with the grain direction of the 2-ply construction oriented at right angles to that of the face veneer This technique enhances the stability and appearance of the door, as the cross banded layers are then integrated into the stiles and rails, forming the door's frame.
Wood veneers or alternative materials are hot press glued onto both sides of the door, followed by edge banding to finish the edges To enhance energy efficiency, a polyurethane (PU) layer is sometimes added inside the door, helping to retain heat For instance, in Finland, wooden front doors commonly feature PU insulation for improved thermal performance.
Wood composite doors offer an ideal balance of cost and performance, making them a smart choice for those seeking quality without breaking the bank While they are not the cheapest or the most expensive option available, their performance-to-price ratio is unmatched, providing excellent value for homeowners.
This door mimics the appearance of a genuine wood tenon-joint door, offering a variety of veneer options that can resemble any type of wood, including high-end varieties, all at a significantly lower cost.
Wood composite doors offer superior durability and resistance to deformation compared to traditional wood tenon joints Unlike natural wood, which can easily bend and warp if not properly dried, composite materials provide enhanced stability and require significantly less manufacturing effort.
Doors can be designed to be both fireproof and soundproof by utilizing special coatings and veneers for fire resistance Additionally, a tube core board can effectively absorb more sound than traditional wood Further details will be discussed in chapter four.
Wood composite doors, featuring wood veneers, closely resemble genuine wood doors but lack their quality The quality of these doors can significantly vary based on the manufacturing processes and machinery employed Despite this, wood composite doors remain an excellent alternative to traditional wood doors.
Veneer and wooden frame core door
The structure is actually very similar to the wood composite door For both of them, the multi-ply (usually 5-ply) hot press gluing methods are used.