The photograph is the easy part
Most buyers flip through a door catalogue, stop at a pattern and point. Fair enough — but the pattern is the smallest decision on that page. The same image can be built with two frame depths, three surface families and two lock configurations. What you pick from a catalogue is the design; everything else is specified at order stage.
Two sizes, two purposes
Catalogue pages normally carry two dimensions and they answer different questions. The clear frame opening is the gap you walk through, and it is the figure that decides whether your furniture fits. The overall architrave size is the footprint on the wall, and it tells you whether your structural opening is big enough.
- Apartment entrance doors: 90 × 200 cm clear, about 108 × 210 cm over the architrave.
- Building entrance and villa doors: 145 × 215 cm clear, about 165 × 223 cm overall.
- Fire doors: 90 × 200 cm clear, about 104 × 208 cm overall.
If a catalogue quotes only one number, ask which one it is before ordering. The 15–20 cm difference is the gap between a door that drops into your opening and one that needs the wall cut back.
Colour codes beat colour photos
Print and screens both lie about dark tones. Anthracite reproduces darker than it is, whites brighter. A serious catalogue therefore gives a colour code and names the surface family separately: PVC membrane, laminate, ultralam, digital print or powder coat. Surface family changes how the door feels in the hand, how it resists scratching and how it is cleaned. On anthracite steel doors, the same colour code in matt and silk matt reads as two different products.
For export orders, ask for a physical sample chip before confirming colour, and tell us the climate the door is going to. UV exposure and humidity at destination change which surface we recommend, regardless of how the panel photographs.
Core, weight and hardware
The technical box usually lists leaf thickness and core. Polyurethane foam favours thermal performance; mineral wool favours acoustics and fire resistance. If leaf weight is printed, note it: at building entrance width a heavy leaf changes hinge count and door closer selection, and it changes the pallet weight in your container.
The lock line is often a single word, so ask three questions instead. How many directions do the bolts throw, how deep do they enter the frame, and are there security pins on the hinge side? A multi-point system pulls the leaf into the frame on three edges and spreads load under force. The cylinder itself is a replaceable part and can be upgraded later without touching the lock case.
Narrow the list before you browse
Five hundred models is a tiring way to shop. Start from use and opening size instead: apartment, building entrance, villa or fire exit. Glazing alone halves the list — in the glazed villa steel doors range, the glass area and grille style define the model more than the colour does. If you are after premium finishes, sort by texture first; the luxury steel doors group separates marble and stone textures from wood tones, and the two suit very different interiors.
Checklist before you confirm
- Measure width, height and wall thickness in centimetres; wall thickness sets frame depth.
- State handing and swing direction: inward or outward, left or right.
- Expect the pattern to be rescaled for non-standard widths; proportions shift on narrow leaves.
- Approve a surface sample, not a catalogue image.
- Ask for lead time and packing method in writing; made-to-measure takes longer than standard sizes.
Prices cannot be printed as one figure, because the same pattern costs differently by size, surface and lock. Send the model code with your opening sizes and we will quote that exact door, with shipping from Istanbul priced separately.
