Three naming systems in one conversation

Door terminology confuses people because three separate classifications are used at once. The first is material: steel, composite, timber. The second is how it opens: hinged, pivot, sliding, folding. The third is where it is used: apartment, building entrance, villa, fire exit. One product can take a name from all three, which is how a phrase like "glazed pivot villa door" comes about.

The way to avoid confusion when buying is to know which system you are speaking in. "I want a steel door" names the material but not the application, and a supplier has to ask about both separately.

By material

  • Steel doors: steel sheet faces over a filled core, in a formed steel frame. The most common external type, with the widest range of lock configurations.
  • Composite doors: bodies combining several materials, with different surface texture and thermal behaviour. Our composite doors frequently use timber and stone-like finishes.
  • Sheet panel doors: embossed steel faces, quick to produce and favoured on high-volume projects, which is why sheet panel doors are common in residential developments.
  • Timber and timber-look doors: standard internally; used externally, moisture and sun behaviour become the governing questions.
  • Aluminium and glass doors: frequent in commercial entrances, with thermal and acoustic performance depending entirely on the system.

By how they open

  1. Hinged: the common type, with the leaf swinging on hinges fixed along one edge.
  2. Pivot: the axis of rotation sits inside the leaf rather than at its edge, transferring weight to top and bottom bearings. An advantage on wide, heavy leaves, which is why it appears on villa and prestige entrances.
  3. Sliding: the leaf travels sideways, saving floor space, with insulation and security designed differently from a hinged door.
  4. Folding: the leaf folds into sections, used on wide openings and internal divisions.
  5. Double leaf: the opening is split in two, usually asymmetrically — a main leaf for daily use and a second opened for furniture.

By application

Apartment doors serve a dwelling entrance, where resistance to forced entry, acoustic and thermal insulation and appearance all matter. Standard reference: 90 × 200 cm clear, about 108 × 210 cm overall.

Building entrance doors open onto shared circulation and are used many times a day, so leaf weight, hinge count and closer selection come to the front. Standard reference 145 × 215 cm clear, about 165 × 223 cm overall; building entrance doors are usually configured as asymmetric double leaves.

Villa doors serve a detached entrance and commonly include glazing, with external exposure — sun, rain, temperature swing — governing surface and glass choice. In the glazed villa steel doors range, glazed area and grille style define the model more than colour does.

Fire and emergency exit doors separate fire compartments, with hardware configured for escape: opening in the escape direction, openable from inside without a key, and fitted with a closer. Standard reference 90 × 200 cm clear, about 104 × 208 cm overall.

Plant room doors serve boiler rooms, electrical rooms and stores, where appearance expectations are low and access control and fire behaviour are high.

Where the names get muddled

Three confusions recur. Villa doors and building entrance doors can both be wide and double-leaved, but a villa door serves one household and faces the weather, while an entrance door needs hardware for heavy shared use.

Pivot describes an opening system, not an appearance — not every wide, thick-looking door is a pivot.

And fire doors are not the same as emergency exit doors. Not every exit door needs fire resistance, and not every fire resistant door is suitable as an exit. The first targets escape, the second compartmentation, and a door can be configured to do both.

What to tell your supplier

  1. Where the door goes: apartment, building entrance, villa, plant room, escape route.
  2. What each face sees: interior to interior, or interior to exterior.
  3. Opening size and wall thickness in centimetres.
  4. Swing direction and handing.
  5. Whether glazing is wanted.

With those five answers the right group is settled in one step and model choice follows. Send your sizes and application and we will confirm the group, then quote the models within it, shipping from Istanbul.