Here at ETO Doors, we realize many of our new customers may be first-time homeowners, or just first-time home improvers, and that they might be preparing to make their first door purchase. For something we encounter all our lives and everywhere we go, doors can be a little mystifying, and most people don’t find themselves purchasing a new door unless they are involved in home improvement or construction projects. So to make things a little more clear, let’s talk about the differences between prehung doors and slab doors, and when one might be favorable over the other.
A prehung door is a door already fitted to a frame and attached with hinges, ready to open and close; a slab is the door itself, or what most of us think of as the door, with no extras. At ETO, we’re known for our high-quality slabs, but we also provide slabs prehung in matching frames for situations that call for it.
When Prehung Doors May Be the Right Choice
It should come as no surprise that part of installing a new door is making sure it’s attached securely to a door frame. For interior doorways, this is most often a straightforward task, so long as your door slab is a good fit for its intended frame. A good supplier of wood door slabs will be able to accommodate just about any measurement, and at ETO, we offer the most common door dimensions as prefab options, with the ability to cut according to custom measurements as well.
An exterior entryway door is a different story. Because your front entryway and rear entryway doors stand between your home interior and the outdoors, they need to accomplish a greater degree of separation so your home stays temperate through hot summers and harsh winters, is relatively soundproof, and doesn’t invite pests and invasive critters from moving into your home. That’s why entryway doors are almost always outfitted with gaskets or simple weatherstripping.
A prehung door built for exterior entryway applications will usually come complete with weatherproofing, eliminating a fair bit of the extra work involved in completing your front or back door. In general, a prehung exterior entryway door will be a quicker installation in most scenarios than a comparable slab without frame. It can also be more affordable than having a slab cut to custom measurements to accommodate an already installed door frame. ETO’s prehung doors also come totally prepped to receive hinges, door knob, and deadbolt.
When a Slab is All You Need
There will be times when a prehung door seems like overkill. The most common example, of course, is when you have a perfectly good door frame already, and you don’t feel the need to replace it. Maybe the frame is of a certain style you enjoy, or maybe you want to preserve as much of your home’s original construction as you can. Maybe you just don’t feel like ripping your door frame out of the wall to accommodate a brand new one.
For interior doorways, finding the right door slab to fit your frame is as simple as making sure you have the correct measurements. Make sure the dimensions of your slab will allow for a door that closes easily, rather than a slab that fits so flush with its frame that it can’t be opened or closed without great difficulty, damaging both the slab and the frame.
Slabs are typically chosen by the DIY and budget-conscious crowd. Not only do many people seek to save money by keeping their old frames, but there’s a growing interest in repurposing old, discarded door slabs. These are often found at salvage yards, and many of them are antiques or exhibit charming design features that can be rather attractive. However, we always recommend a brand new door slab, since salvaged slabs are almost always warped. A warped door will require some real attention and effort to be rendered flat again, and otherwise will not properly fit your frame, even when cut.
Additionally, most salvaged slabs will already sport holes for knob and bolt, which means you may have to bore a new hole for a deadbolt in your door frame to accommodate the slab. That’s another reason we recommend a brand new door slab: ETO’s slabs come with no bore prep by default, which means you’re getting a blank slate perfect for matching to an existing frame.
Never hesitate to contact ETO Doors’ support staff if you have any other questions concerning our selection of prehung doors and slabs, and which may be right for your project.
