Roller doors: wooden, plastic, metal

Classic doors are not good for all cases. They serve as reliable protection, but practically do not allow air to pass through, which is why you have to either make special holes or arrange a complex and expensive ventilation system. Louvred doors can solve the problem of air access. These are ordinary doors, filled with individual planks installed at an angle. 

Features, advantages and disadvantages

The properties of louvered doors are determined by their device – the presence of transverse slats. They have these advantages:

• Good ventilation. Louvre doors almost do not interfere with the movement of air, so there are no problems with high humidity or stale air. Even in closed, rarely used rooms.
• Better heat distribution. It is difficult to ensure normal air conditions in unheated rooms with conventional doors. The presence of blinds solves this problem. In storage rooms and technical rooms, separated by doors with louvered grilles, the temperature is automatically equalized.
  

• More “light” visually doors with blinds look interesting, load the interior less.
• Interesting appearance. This design, of course, is not for everyone, but in some styles it looks very good.

Doors with a large number of slats and gaps between them are more technologically complex. Their production requires attention, precision, accuracy. Only under such conditions will the result be good – it will be pleasant to use and look at. This is why louvered doors are much more expensive than conventional doors. And this despite the fact that only the frame is made of solid wood. Partitions-lamellas are made of glued wood. This is due to the fact that thin wooden planks will “twist” with changes in humidity. The presence of several layers with multidirectional fibers, interspersed with layers of glue, solves the problem.

Among other disadvantages:

• Lack of soundproofing. The presence of a large number of gaps between the slats nullifies all soundproofing characteristics. In this regard, it doesn’t matter whether these doors exist or not.
• Free movement of dust. One of the areas of use of louvered doors is wardrobes. But the clothes placed in them are in no way protected from dust, which is more than enough in our homes.
  

The disadvantages of louvered doors are quite serious. Before installing, you should seriously think and decide what is more important for you: their advantages or disadvantages.

Application area

The sphere of use of louvered doors is determined by their properties. They are indispensable in rooms that need constant ventilation. At the same time, the degree of sound insulation should not be important for these rooms. In our houses and apartments there are several such premises:

• Technical premises – pantries, laundries, wardrobes. In the case of dressing rooms, it is worth considering the appropriateness of this option. After all, it is desirable to protect clothes from dust. A compromise is possible: to make a louvre in the upper part, where there is less dust and the warmest air accumulates.
• Bathroom. In the bathroom, it is desirable to quickly remove excess moisture and louvered doors will help with this. But this option is only good if the bathroom is separate, since the combined bathroom will become a source of not very pleasant sounds and smells.
  

• Boiler rooms facing the street. In the street door for such a room there may be a louvered grille. Only it should be adjustable – so as not to overheat the room in winter. One point: before installing such doors, consult your local fire department. Just in case.

Except as doors between rooms, louvered constructions can be used in furniture. They are good:

• In kitchen cabinets, both floor-standing and wall-mounted. In the dryer and in the cabinet with cereals, they provide quick ventilation, in the rest they are more like decorative ones.
• In cabinets that cover pipes in the toilet as a building envelope. You can hang them on hinges, or you can put them on magnets.
  

• As blinds on windows. The problem of light scattering is solved very well. It is not cut off completely, creating twilight lighting.
• For cabinets, chests of drawers and other furniture that is located in living rooms. In this case, the pros outweigh the cons, and the appearance is interesting.

Another area of ​​application is as shading structures with a large glazing area. On terraces, in winter gardens, large balconies and loggias with continuous glazing. Why are shutter doors better than regular shutters? The fact that “stationary doors can be opened by leaving the blinds closed. There will be free air access and there will not be too bright light.

As a room divider. For example, enclosing the sleeping area in a studio apartment. This option is ideal if there is no window in the fenced off area. Such a partition will provide air access, and enough light will pass through, and create privacy.

In principle, louvered grilles can also be used for other than their intended purpose – as a bulletin board, screen, covering or separating something.

Louvred doors: types, materials

Let’s start with the materials from which blinds are made. The bulk is made of wood. The budget option is from pine and spruce, the more expensive ones are from harder (and more expensive) species. Also available in plastic and metal. Plastic is the cheapest option, which is nevertheless very practical.

Plastic louvered doors do not “lead” from moisture, they do not need to be painted, just washed. So for a locker in the bathroom or bathroom, this is an ideal option. Such doors are also good for a closet on the balcony. In general, anywhere where there is high humidity and/or frequent cleaning is required.

Metal louvered doors are a very rare phenomenon, but there are some. Entrance doors with blinds are installed very rarely, except in boiler rooms with access to the street. So their scope is very limited.

In appearance, louvered doors are the same as ordinary ones:

• swinging;
• sliding;
• folding (accordion or book).
  

They can consist of one, two, four or more wings. Everything is like in conventional models, only with a difference in filling.

There are also louvered doors with the possibility of adjustment. In this case, the lamella plates are movably fixed. All of them are united by one bar. By holding the bar, you can change the position of the jumpers – fully open, close or leave small gaps.

dimensions

In supermarkets such as OBI and Leroy Marlene, pine louvre doors are usually available. They are usually presented in one or two lines in different sizes. The most common settings are:

• width – 294 mm, 394 mm, 494 mm, 594 mm;
• height – 606 mm, 720 mm, 993 mm, 1100 mm, 1700 mm, 2013 mm, 2422 mm.
  

These standard sizes can be adjusted a little – cut a couple of centimeters in height and width. If you need a completely non-standard option, there are firms or private traders who will make doors to order – according to your size.

What to look for when choosing

When choosing shutter doors in a store, you should first pay attention to the quality of the wood. Knots should not be at all, or they should be few. They should be dense, brown in color (not black and without cracks).

The second point is geometry. The entire door leaf must lie in the same plane. This is the first – no longitudinal bends or “twisting” of the elements and the entire door as a whole. Next, you need to check the length / width / thickness. They must match to the nearest millimeter.

And the last – the quality of wood processing. Wooden shutter doors are sold unpainted. Painting is to be done by yourself. But the processed wood should be good. It is desirable that there are no roughnesses, irregularities and other defects, which then have to be eliminated with your own hands.

Possible finishes

Wooden louvered doors can be decorated in almost a dozen different ways. There are traditional ones and not so much. You can do the following:

• Cover with stain. The effect and appearance is known to all.
• Soak with wood oil. It is usually sold with color, but there are also wooden products that preserve the natural color. These compounds have antiseptic properties, and some can be used in baths and pools. As a result of such processing, the pattern of wood appears brighter, water is not absorbed into it. There may even be puddles. At the same time, there is no film on the surface, it is absolutely “natural” in appearance and to the touch.
  

• Varnish. This can be done after treatment with stain or without it. Lacquers are best used on a water basis. They are glossy, semi-gloss, semi-matte and matte. The difference is in the degree of gloss of the treated surface.
• Paint. There are a variety of paints for wood, with different effects. There are those that create a strong film, there are translucent ones that do not paint over the texture.
• Decoupage. Technique for creative interior.
• Inlay. A sophisticated finishing method that gives the products a unique look.

These are all ways of finishing wooden lattice doors. In any case, it is worth remembering that before finishing it is necessary to fill all the irregularities with putty on wood, let them dry. After – smooth out all the bumps with sandpaper. And those that remained after puttying, and those that were allowed during the production process. After that, we cover all the planks and the frame with a primer on wood. The type of primer is selected for the finish. After drying, finishing work can be carried out – paint, varnish, etc.

How to paint

The main difficulty lies in the large number of slats. When painting them, a lot of streaks and splashes are obtained. In order to avoid this trouble, there is a special procedure:

• Tape the frame on both sides of the door with masking tape. We cover the floor and adjacent sections of walls, furniture, etc. with paper.
• With a wide flat paint brush (7-8 cm) we apply a layer of primer on the planks. We wipe the brush well on the edges of the can so that there is a little composition on it. We process the strips on one side first.
  

• With a dry flat brush of a smaller size (5 cm wide), we remove all smudges and stains, rubbing the composition evenly.
• Let’s go to the other side.
• After that, you can process the frame by removing masking tape from it.

With this order of work, the quality of the painting will be at least normal. It is important in time, before drying, to remove streaks. It is better to work with compositions that do not dry very quickly.

If you have a spray gun, the work will go easier and faster.

For those who want to make louvered doors with their own hands, the following video is useful.