As a rule, all exterior doors should be at least 1¾ inches thick, and of white pine, painted. The veneered door is not a very satisfactory type for outside use, unless, perhaps, it is protected by the porch, for even with the best waterproof glue there is a considerable tendency on the part of the veneer to break away from the soft pine core. Some consider that the 1⅜-inch-thick door is satisfactory for exterior doors in the small house, but, generally speaking, it is best to use this thickness only for interior doors.

Softwood doors, 1¾ inches thick, have panels, if they are raised, only 1⅛ inches thick; while doors 1⅜ inches thick have raised panels only ⁹/₁₆ inch thick, and flat panels ⁵/₁₆ inch thick. The latter is quite evidently too thin for exterior doors.

Interior doors of veneered woods usually have flat panels, ⁵/₁₆ inch thick, except the one-panel door, which is as thick as ⁷/₁₆ inch. Such panels consist of three layers, the two outside veneers and the interior softwood core with the grain running at right angles to the veneer. The stiles and rails of well-built veneered doors are made of built-up pine blocks, glued and locked together, with a tongue-and-groove joint, and fastened at the corners with hardwood dowels. Strips of hardwood to match the veneered face should be placed on each edge of the stiles and rails.

Stock Exterior Doors Stock Interior Doors

The common-stock sizes of doors are as follows:

The commonest type of window for the small house is equipped with the double-hung sash. This sash should be made of 1⅛-inch white pine, mortised and tenoned at the corners. The meeting rail ought to be rabbeted so that water is prevented from seeping through, and the bottom rail ought also to be rabbeted to fit over a similar rabbet in the sill. The size of the lower rail is usually 3 inches wide, the sides and top rails 2 inches wide, and the meeting rail 1⅛ inches wide. It is generally admitted that a window has little architectural charm without muntins, and these are made ¾ inch wide, as a rule. The glass of the window is inserted into the sash frame at least ¼ inch, and its plane is about one-third in from the outside face of the rails. The over-all dimensions of a window sash are determined by the size glass used, and as glass is cut in inches, the over-all dimensions of a sash will be in fraction of inches. For example, a double-hung sash of twelve lights, each 8 inches by 10 inches, will give a sash opening of 2 feet 4½ inches by 3 feet. If the lights measure 9 inches by 12 inches, then the sash size will be 2 feet 7½ inches by 4 feet 6 inches.

The best type of double-hung window-frame is constructed so that the blind stop is rabbeted to receive the pulley stile, preventing any wind from blowing through. The pulley stiles are usually made of yellow pine, but the outside casing and sills should be of white pine. It is also a good precaution to have the sill rabbeted to receive the ground strip, so that air cannot come underneath the sill. The use of 1³/₁₆ inch-thick material is common for all parts of the frame except the sill, which ought to be 1¾ inches thick. A 2¼-inch depth should be allowed for the weights in the box, and a space of ⅞ inch left between the stud and the top of the frame. Parting strips are made ⅜ inch wide.