Doors come in all shapes, sizes, and weights. They are made of different materials, are intended for different uses, and move using different motion systems. One of the most interesting movement systems happens to be a growing trend today called barn door hardware, also known as flat track hardware. Although that is this author’s preferred style of door hardware, it is neither here nor there. The design of this article is to address the construction of doors and their subsequent anatomy.

As stated above, doors can come in all shapes and sizes. Here we will talk about the composition of a standard 3’x7′ door, the most used door in most homes. This description will be given as if one were looking at a door in the closed position.

Starting off, there are two long vertical pieces that run the length of the door on both the left and right sides. These are called the styles. At the top and bottom there are two horizontal pieces that fit into the uprights; these are called the top and bottom rail. There are also two other horizontal rails, one towards the top and one that sits at the height of the doorknob or handle. The one near the top is called the middle or cross rail, and the one near the center is called the lock rail. Running vertically in the center of the door you have what are called studs. These are parallel to the side uprights and lock into the horizontal rails just described.

Among all these rails, stiles and stiles, you will notice that there are six panels, four large and two small. The two smallest are almost square and sit on top of the door. The four longest ones are rectangular and take up the rest of the space in the door.

That’s the basic anatomy of a standard door found in most homes.