Solid Wood, Solid Core, and Hollow Core Doors Compared

23 Jun.,2025

 

Solid Wood, Solid Core, and Hollow Core Doors Compared

Solid Wood Solid Core Hollow Core Basics Whether Interior or exterior, this all wood door is usually frame-and-panel, not a single slab. Engineered wood core with natural wood veneer for interiors. Fire-resistant mineral core doors are available. Paperboard or plastic core with wood shell for interiors only. Common in many new homes. Location Interior or exterior Interior Interior Cost $500 to $2,500 $400 to $800 $70 to $150 Pros Good resale value, solid, blocks sound well. Stable, will not bend or warp, good sound resistance. Inexpensive, light-weight, easy to install. Cons Expensive, warps Heavy, hard to install Damages easily, poor resale

Solid Wood Doors

Solid wood doors are commonly made with a frame-and-panel construction that uses natural wood—whether a softwood like pine or a hardwood like oak or maple. Rarely, if ever, are wood doors made from a solid wood slab.

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Exterior doors made from wood typically use solid wood construction for strength and security. With interior doors, however, you have other options. 

Solid wood doors are 100-percent natural wood, except for the hardware or accessories. Few solid wood doors are single, unified slabs of wood because wood of that size is nearly impossible to obtain and because solid slabs can warp or crack. Solid wood doors are now built with a frame-and-panel construction. 

Sound-blockage is good to excellent, depending on wood species. Softwoods like pine are not very sound-proof, but hardwoods such as oak and maple are excellent at blocking sound transmission between rooms. 

The classic wood panel door looks and feels like one piece of wood, though it is not. The classic six-panel door has been around for centuries and is constructed of individual panels, mullions, stiles, and rails that hold floating panels. When stained or painted, a wood panel door looks like a solid slab of wood that has been shaped with decorative contours. 

Solid wood doors can be used for both interior and exterior doors. When used for exteriors, the wood must be finished or painted. Solid wood doors are a good choice where historical authenticity is desired. 

Hollow Core Doors

Hollow core doors are constructed with a thin layer of wood or fiberboard applied over a core of honeycombed cardboard or plastic. Hollow core doors are cost-saving products often used for the many interior passage doors found in a house.

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Most mid-range production houses built today receive hollow core interior doors as a matter of course. Inexpensive and lightweight, these doors are easy to install and can save thousands of dollars on construction costs, since a typical house may have a dozen or more interior doors. 

To call these doors hollow is somewhat misleading since they do have a honeycombed core placed within a solid wood outer frame, over which the surface veneer is glued. The frame and honeycomb core provides some rigidity to the door, as well as minimal sound-blocking ability. The significant amount of empty space lends the word hollow to the door and also helps make the door light so that it is easy to hang and easy to swing.

One downside of hollow core doors is that the edges are not covered by the veneer. Edges can be sanded and finished.

The lightweight construction of hollow core doors means that they are prone to breakage. It's easy to punch through a hollow core door without even meaning to do so. This also means that they provide almost no security within the home. Never use a hollow core door between the home and the garage, as a heavier, fire-rated door is required.

For connected accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, it's best to use solid core, solid wood, or any type of secure door between the two residences rather than relying on hollow core doors.

Solid Core Doors

Solid-core doors represent an interim construction method in which a fine-grade surface wood veneer is glued over a solid core made of engineered wood, such as fiberboard or Masonite. Solid-core wood doors can be used for either exterior or interior doors.

Solid-core wood doors are constructed with quality wood veneers glued over a solid core of engineered or composite wood, giving them the primary virtues of both solid wood and hollow core doors: they are relatively affordable yet quite sturdy and solid in feel. Because of the high density of engineered wood, these doors may actually be heavier and stronger than some solid wood doors. 

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