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Closet doors--solid or hollow?

15 years ago

Hi All! We're considering replacing the lovely bypass slab closet doors in our 1960ish ranch with bifold doors. Any recommendations as to whether we should go with solid or hollow doors? We've recently replaced the other interior doors with 2-panel solid wood ones which has made a huge improvement. We're just not sure what the best choice is for closets. Thanks!

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Comments (5)

andrelaplume2
15 years ago
well, if they are odd sizes you might want to look for solid so you can cut them down. I messed around with custimizing hollow doors in our prior home (from the 50's) it was no picnic...and those doors were a lot less 'hollow' than the ones they sell today.
twalkman
15 years ago
Solid core doors always give a better impression if you're willing to pay the higher price.

But I'd stick with the sliding doors. Bifolds frequently act up.
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Well, Masonite does indeed have shaker hollow core doors but only 6'8" so that doesn't help us. I understand the savings are 'minimal' in the grand scheme of things, but I'm anal about my budget and so far we are right on our budget at about 60% complete. A $600 savings in doors will get me $600 somewhere else. I'm holding onto my contingency for dear life and refuse to use it unless absolutely necessary. It's become a game to me to see where I can save so I use that savings somewhere else. :) Well....sounds like no savings will be had by closet doors. I'll place my interior door order today for all solid. Thanks everyone for the possible leads. I appreciate it!
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PPF - My town isn't large enough to have any real door shops and I'm about an hour or so from the nearest "large" city, but will try expanding my search to include door shops. Beverly - That was my first thought, but the Mrs. wants the doors to look the same. 3onthetree - When I search Home Depot's website, the don't have 26 listed. Can you provide a link? The door I found on Menards is a plastic door that tries to mimic wood (honestly looks like garbage). I searched for the term you suggested "26x80 prehung flush" but couldn't find a 26" variant. Can you provide a link? I thought about how could I gain a couple more inches, but there really isn't any extra play left. The width is roughly 33 inches and I'm already running a rough 27.75" opening. The main reason for the closet, is that space is completely wasted and unusable. At least the closet can hold brooms and junk that can be hidden behind closed doors. Thank you all for your feedback!
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andrelaplume2
15 years ago
I agree that bifolds act up but sliders limit the amount of space you can get at in your closet as well as how much light gets in.
rjoh878646
15 years ago
Get solid doors. Whether you go with bifold or sliders. hollow core doors just give a cheap feeling. I am in the process of replacing the hollow interior framed doors and all the sliders with six panel solid doors.I went with MDF doors. They are heavier than h e double hockey sticks. They are a pain to carry around but worth it. If you go with bifolds or new sliders, get the hardware from Johnson hardware. they make some of the best bifold hardware and slider hardware. I used the bifold hardware in my old house about 10 + years ago after buying some of the cheaper bifold hardware and found it didn't hold up.

Here is a link that might be useful: johnson hardware
sarschlos_remodeler
15 years ago
Before you settle on bifolds check to make sure that you don't have other doors and improtant walkways that will interfere with the folded open door. We have bifolds for all of our bedroom closets and our laundry closet. While I agree you get greater closet access than from bypass sliders, the bifolds are often in the way:

1. Our laundry bifolds open so that one of the doors blocks the door to the main floor bathroom.

2. Our son's bifold doors block his bedroom door so that either the person in front of the closet or the person at the door get a door shoved in their face.

3. The bifold doors in our master bedroom closets block the walkway at the end of the bed so that if someone accidentally leaves a door open at night, the night time treks to check on the babies or to the bathroom are treachorous.

My preference would be bypass or (better yet) pocket doors if possible.

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