A

ANSI: The American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, is the voice of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system which empowers its members and constituents to strengthen the U.S. marketplace position in the global economy while helping to assure the safety and health of consumers and the protection of the environment.

Active Door: In a double-door unit, this is the one that will be used as the primary entrance. This door will also contain the operational handleset. The inactive door uses a “dummy” handle.

Adjustable Threshold: A threshold that may be adjusted up or down in order to customize a doors seal for different types of weather or humidity.

Astragal: See T-Astragal.

B

Backset: A measure of the horizontal distance from a lock face to the center of the keyhole or cylinder. Measured from the center of the lock edge for a beveled front, and from the lower step of the lock face for a rabbeted front.

Bevel of Door: The angle of a door’s edge to the outer surface of its stile. The typical bevel is 1/8” in 2”.

Beveled Glass: Glass that has been ground and polished along the outside perimeter at a desired angle in order to create a beautiful refraction appearance. In general, the thicker the glass, the larger and deeper the bevel can be attained. Beveled glass has always been associated with higher end glass products.

Bore: The single bore or double bore holes for handset and lockset.

Bored Lock: A tubular or cylindrical lock placed into a door via a bored opening.

Brickmould: A mould around the outside of a door’s frame. Used for decorative purposes.

C

Came: A metal strip, typically made of zinc or brass, which is used to hold pieces of glass in place. Used for more decorative designs.

Casing: A decorative wood paneling attached to the interior edge of a window or door frame. Covers the gap where the door frame meets the wall.

Cylinder: Contains the tumbler and keyhole of a lock. This is the part of the lock into which the key is fit.

D

Decorative Glass: Glass which has been formed or arranged into structure or patterns for ornamental and decorative applications. Beveled glass, camed glass, and blown glass are a few examples.

Door Panel: The leaves of the full door, attached to the frame.

Door Stop: The part of the frame upon which the door panel rests when closed.

Double-Acting Door: Door which is hinged in such a way that it may be swung open both inward and outward.

Double Bore: Two holes drilled in the door, one for a handset and one for a lockset.

Double Rabbet Frame: A frame with two rabbets.

Dutch Door: A door with both a top leaf and a bottom leaf that can be attached by a bolt to serve as a single door or unbolted so that the top leaf may be opened independently.

Dutch Door Bolt: The bolt used to lock in the bottom leaf of a Dutch door with the top leaf.

E

Engineered door: An engineered door is a door that is specially constructed in order to improve stability with the additional benefit of being environmentally friendly through improved timber yield. Although doors made from solid board lengths may suggest a “stronger” unit, they have a higher tendency to bow just as a tree can bend or bow. Our exterior doors have hardwood cores made by cross-grain block gluing that keeps the door stiles stable. The cores then receive a thick “skin” laminate, giving the appearance and performance desired.

Extension Bolt: A flush bolt connected to the operating mechanism via a rod piercing the doors thickness through a bored hole.

F

Flemish Old World European glass: A textured decorative glass. It is produced by passing the soft hot sheet glass through 2 rollers; one which is smooth and the other with a texture. The texture is embossed into the glass. Flemish glass, sometimes referred to as Old English Flemish, exhibits a texture which looks like a multitude of soft scalloped indents, providing a moderate level of obscurity.

Floor Clearance: A measure of the space between the floor and the bottom of the door.

Flush Bolt: A bolt that is flush with the face or edge of the door when retracted.

Frame: The surrounding edge of the door to which the door panel is attached. Includes the head, sill and jambs of the door.

French Door: A door whose panel consists of glass panes throughout its length surrounded by narrow stiles.

G

German Antique (GNA) Old World European glass: Glass that is vertically drawn in Germany exactly the way it has been for over 100 years. A special process is used while the glass is still soft to comb-in a texture that replicates the dazzling lines and striations that are reminiscent of mouth-blown antique art glass. This glass produces a moderate degree of obscurity and provides such movement that light seems to dance.

Glue Chip: Glue chip is a colorless, textured glass which affords a moderate amount of privacy.

Glue Chip Bevel: A Glue Chip Bevel is cut from a piece of glue chip glass, the edge is ground to a slant, and then polished back to clear.

H

Hand (Door Handing): Which direction the door opens. Many companies have different techniques but we have narrowed it down to the two simplest ways. First if the door swings clockwise it is a right hand. Second if the door swings counter-clockwise it is a left hand. The other way to determine the swing of your door is to stand on the side where the hinge pins are showing. First if the hinge pins are on the right side and handle on the left you have a LEFT HAND. Second if the hinge pins are on the left side and the handle is on the right you have a RIGHT HAND.

Hardwood: Wood from broad-leafed (mostly deciduous, but not necessarily in the case of tropical) trees. Hardwoods contrast with softwoods, which come from conifer trees. On average, hardwoods are of higher density and surface hardness than softwoods, but there is also a degree of overlap. Hardwoods are generally more durable for exterior applications.

Head: The horizontal section of the jamb that tops the door frame.

Heartwood: The wood at the center of the trunk, the heartwood, is older and darker. As a tree grows, a thin layer of cells called the cambium generates new wood, called sapwood, just under the bark. Sapwood tends to be lighter in color than heartwood. As the sapwood ages, natural substances called extractives invade it and gradually convert it to heartwood.

Hinges: The plates and pins used to attach the door unit to the frame.

I

Inactive Door: In a double door unit, this is the door that has the T-Astragal and the flush bolts. This door will also act as a secondary entrance.

Insulated Glass: Two pieces of glass spaced apart by a metal strip and sealed with rubber to create a more weatherproofed joint. Referred to as an IG unit.

J

Jamb: The vertical component of a door frame. Different types include the hinge jamb, upon which the hinges are attached, the strike jamb, upon which the strike is installed, and a blank jamb, which is not prepared for either a hinge or a strikeplate.

Jamb Depth: A measure of the depth or width of the jamb, perpendicular to the door panel when closed.

K

Kerf: The gut or groove manufactured in a door or window frame or sash which houses weather-stripping. The kerf normally measures 3/8″ deep by 1/8″  wide (saw blade width).

Knocked Down: Indicates that the product has been pre-assembled at factory, unassembled for shipping and must be assembled on site.

Knotty Alder: A selection of wood from the alder specie that provides occasional knots and features that increase the old world look and informal personality of a wood door or product.

L

Laminate: A skin applied to a core. Generally substantially thicker than a veneer. Laminates are used in exterior and interior applications, whereas veneers are more suited for interior applications.

Left-hand swing: The door opens counter-clockwise, regardless of your point of reference.

Lintel: The top part of a doorway, also known as the head or top jamb. A lintel is usually concrete, steel or stone.

Lock Rail: Horizontal member of a door unit located where the locking mechanism would be installed.

Lockset: The complete handleset with locking system.

M

MDF: Medium Density Fibreboard

Mahogany: The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored woods sometimes referred to as Indonesian Mahogany, African Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany and more. “Mahoganies” may refer to the wider group of all timbers traded under their individual names as well as sub-species or varieties of timber that perform at the same levels both functionally and aesthetically.

Meranti: A very durable wood used in exterior and interior applications. Sometimes referred to as Indonesian mahogany. Red Meranti is a preferred sub-species.

Mortise & Tenon Construction: A way of locking two wood pieces together to form a tighter bond.

Mortise Lock: A lock which is placed in a precut slot inside the door’s edge.

Mull Cover: A mould which covers the mull post.

Mull Post: The post between the door and sidelite created by the door frame.

Mullion: The vertical post dividing a door opening.

Multi-Point Locking System: Multiple locks located in various places on the door panel and frame.

Muntin: Small pieces which separate the glass from the window frame in a divided light or grille style patio door.

0

Opening Size: The measure of the door frame’s opening. Measured from the floor to the head rabbet vertically and between the jam rabbets horizontally. Larger than the actual size of the door itself: it also includes room for clearance.

Overhang: How far the roof extends past a wall.

P

Panel: A piece of wood or glass placed into openings left in a wood door.

Patina: A coating of various chemical compounds formed on the surface of metal during exposure to weathering. Artists and metalworkers often deliberately add patinas as a part of the original design and decoration of art, or to simulate antiquity in newly-made objects.

Powder-coat paint: Powder coating is the technique of applying dry paint to a part. In our powder coating, the powdered paint is electrostatically charged and sprayed onto the grill. The grill is then placed in an oven and the powder particles melt and coalesce to form a continuous film. This forms a very durable protective covering that outlasts any liquid applied paint.

Pre-Hung: A full unit with the door hinged and an assembled jamb, frame, sill and moulding. For shipping, units may be Knocked Down (KD) or Set Up.

Primer: The coating applied before a coat of paint or finish.

R

Rabbet: The portion of the door frame the door panel is fit into. May also describe the protruding edges (typically ½” further) of a pair of doors.

Rails: Horizontal sections of the door between stiles (top, cross or intermediate, lock, and bottom).

Rain Old World European glass: A textured decorative glass. It is produced by passing the soft hot sheet glass through 2 rollers; one which is smooth and the other with a texture. The texture is embossed into the glass. Rain glass exhibits a texture which looks like a multitude of rain drops racing down the face of the glass, providing a high level of obscurity.

Red Meranti: A tropical hardwood found and developed in Southeast Asia. It prospers most commonly in Indonesia but can also be seen in Malaysia, the Philippines, and certain parts of northern India. The wood is a tremendously popular export and widely used as a slightly cheaper alternative to teak, although there’s little between the two when broken down to their core essence. Its biggest attribute is undoubtedly the strength of the timber. It’s renowned for its excellent resistance to everyday wear and tear. It is extremely durable and tightly grained to produce a desirable density, even more so than teak which is traditionally seen to be the greater luxury and thus slightly more expensive. Its formidable strength puts it in good stead as a leading hardwood in the light construction industry. This is certainly helped by the fact that it is resilient to variations in weather. Resistance to damp conditions makes it extremely competent at combating insects attacks and decay.

ReNova™ Authentic Restoration Window Glass: Glass manufactured in Germany the way it was a hundred years ago. Vertically drawn, the glass exhibits a smooth soft subtle wave reminiscent of glass you see in buildings built before 1900. This glass is especially attractive in TDL true divided lite doors.

Right-hand swing: The door opens clockwise, regardless of your point of reference.

Rough Opening: Dimensions of the opening in the framework of the home required to install a complete door unit. (allowing ½” clearance on top and each side for stabilization shims)

S

Saddle: Another term sometimes used for the threshold.

Sapwood: As a tree grows, a thin layer of cells called the cambium generates new wood, called sapwood, just under the bark. As the sapwood ages, natural substances called extractives invade the sapwood and gradually convert it to heartwood. Sapwood tends to be lighter in color than heartwood.

Set Up: When a pre-hung unit is not disassembled for transport.

Sidelite: The side panels beside a door, typically filled with glass for decoration and to allow more light.

Sill: The bottom horizontal piece of a door unit. Includes both the threshold and the subsill.

Sill Extension: A matching piece that usually slides into the outer edge of the sill that extends the overall width by an additional 1-3 inches.

Simulated Divided Lites (SDLs): Windows that use just one piece of glass, but have grilles adhered to the interior and exterior of the window in a variety of decorative options to give the window an overall look of True Divided Lite. Often available with removable grilles, these windows are easy to clean. Windows with Simulated Divided Lite only have grilles adhered to the interior and exterior — there are no airspace grilles.

Single Bore: One hole drilled in the door for a handset.

Softwood: Wood from conifer trees, like pine.

Specifications: A document describing the materials and standards used for a construction project.

Stiles: The two outer vertical wood pieces of a door panel.

Strikeplate: The plate that covers the latch and deadbolt of a lock. Used to protect the jamb.

Subsill: The area below the threshold. Often will have a way to drain water away from the door.

Sustainable Forests: Forests which are replanted to ensure future availability of special species.

Swing-in: A door which opens inwards towards the house. May be a right-hand or left-hand swing.

Swing-out: A door which opens out from the house. May be a right-hand or left-hand swing.

T

T-Astragal: The component that closes the gap between a pair of doors. Used to provide a door stop, on exterior usage also has a weather seal.

Tempered Glass: Glass that has been heated and cooled so that it shatters into small pieces when broken. Also called safety glass. It is much stronger to impact than annealed glass.

Threshold: The bottom sill of the door unit which acts as the bottom of the frame unit and achieves the water and air barrier that meets with the door sweep.

Threshold Extension: A matching piece that usually slides into the outer edge of the threshold that extends the overall threshold width by additional 1-3″.

Transom: A piece of decorative glass placed atop the doorway.

Trim: A strip placed over the face of a door jamb for decorative purposes.

Triple Glaze: A decorated piece of glass between two clear pieces of clear glass.

True Divided Lites (TDLs): Individual panes of glass held together by mounting bars. These windows are similar to those found in colonial times. While they look very much like the windows of yesteryear, with today’s technology, these windows are extremely energy-efficient and feature insulated glass or insulated Low E2 glazing.

V

Veneer: A very thin but stable skin applied to a core. Generally used in interior applications.

W

Weather-strip: The flexible strips surrounding the door panel designed to impede airflow and reduce moisture when the door is closed.

Winterlake Old World European glass: Glass manufactured in Germany with wave, subtle lines, bubbles and seeds. This glass will remind you of glass that you would see in buildings hundreds of years old. It almost looks like a slice of ice cut from a pristine Alpine lake.

Wrought Iron: A commercial term used to describe the art and craft of welding various types of iron into ornamental, decorative, and functional items.