Well, I can't really help that much b/c we used solid doors and it surprises me that everyone who goes through the house is very impressed with these doors. I never knew solid doors were so important. If the price is not that much different, I would go with the solid doors.
JanB

We have solid MDF doors except on the closets, which are lighter. Not sure if they are hollow or semi.

So this might be a silly question, but are there two types of solid core doors, which are probably at different price points? Please excuse me if I phrase this wrong, but the first would be a solid "wood" door which are a solid species of wood through out and the second a solid MDF doors which have a wood veneer on the outside? If so, I'm assuming the solid "wood" doors are more expensive. What are the benefits over the other? That the veneer may chip or be marred? TIA. j.

I think your answer lies in how you are going to finish the doors and the trim in your home. If you are going to paint the doors you might as well go with a solid MDF product. It will look better and not warp as easily. If you are going to stain then you might want to go with a solid door with a veneer or true solid wood door. I do think there are more issues with solid wood such as warping etc.

Someone correct me if I am wrong. We estimated for solid wood throughout the house- the builder didn't realize I wanted painted woodwork. We saved a bundle on doors.....

I did compromise though... I really wanted flat panel doors. Even in MDF they are very expensive. Something I will always noticed but no one else will.

PD

I have no idea what a semi-solid vs a hollow door is. I believe its either solid or hollow. Now, there might be varying levels of hollow, but if it isn't solid - it sure isn't semi-solid. . .

If you are painting, you pretty much want to go mdf. If you are staining, then you have to choose either the wood all the way through and veneer or the actual wood. MDF doors are actually heavier than most species of doors, don't have as much movement and are ironically more trouble free. Solid natural wood doors must be made correctly as they will move. So real floating panels (rails/stiles) need to be properly made to give the wood area to move.

It's my understanding that a semi hollow core door is basically a hollow core door w/ a cardboard webbing in the hollow, hence the semi. Imo, it's still a hollow core door which i would never use any where in a house, hollow or semi.

We're very happy with our (painted) 36" wide 3-panel MDF doors -- passage and closets. With the money I saved using MDF I bought Baldwin locksets for them.

I concur with the above that it depends on whether you're staining or painting. We painted our doors and trim. With with solid-core mdf, except for closet doors, which are hollow. I never priced solid wood, because I knew I wanted to paint. But, I would not have gone with hollow doors. I'm happy with the solid-core mdfs.

I would go and look at doors to see what you think. I wanted all solid core MDF doors but then looked at the hollow core. They are different nowdays and not like the hollow core doors of old where you could easily punch a hole through them. I stuck w/ the solid core for the bedroom doors though.

We got almost all of our interior doors (some 8', some 6-8) at Nick's Building Supply. They are solid doors made of Alder, which when stained and finished in clear are BEAUTIFUL. The price is right. They are very inexpensive. I think the reason being is the whole door is not solid Alder. They do use some veneer in places. However, considering the price, I don't mind at all. It is one of those places we have dealt with that we can heartily recommend not only because of the product, but also because the service is excellent. The shipping was very fast and the crate they arrived in was very sturdy with no damage to the doors at all. Before we found Nick's (on this forum, by the way) we bought some solid Alder doors special order from Home Depot for 3 times the price. And while they may be a little better because they are true solid Alder, they have less detail, so I'm not sure I like them as much. You can't go wrong with Nick's.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nick's Building Supply