Solid Core Door DIY. Best Materials to use?

[glenn_jr]

Hey guys, I'm back with another question...

Apparently building a simple wall has been anything but simple. I've called around everywhere in this country and can't find a plain old solid core door. They have the kind with fancy patterns on them, but nothing solid with a plain veneer. Looks like I'm going to have to DIY.

How would you recommend I build my own doors?

My thoughts...

(a) Slap 2 or 3 pieces of drywall together and add veneer to both sides. I had a door made for me a while back and that's what they did. Feels solid.

(b) Attach 2 or 3 sheets of plywood that already has veneer.

(c) A better way?

-If using drywall, how would you attach them?

-If using plywood, how would you attach them?

-How would these compare to a real solid core door?

Thanks! And hope this is my last question regarding this wall. I'm really bummed about it. Just found out today that Green Glue will cost me $22.50 a tube and SilenSeal will cost $27 a tube!! Talk about highway robbery! I say, don't buy it in Taiwan. That's for sure...

[Sebg]

Drywall is denser than plywood so (a) would work. Depends on what you want to achieve in terms of quantified noise reduction. Heavy, well-damped door panels work well but then the size of stops, seals, drop seal all play a part as well.

Rod Gervais book has some info. There are other threads around as well.

And of course the BBC docs:

BBC RD - Publications - R&D Reports Published in 1994

1994-14 and 1994-15.

[glenn_jr]

Yeah, I'm planning to do Rod's double door setup. He specified the solid core doors, so not finding them has been kind of a problem.

Thanks

[Disjointed]

you can buy solid core pretty much anywhere... oh taiwan....
well if you cant find them, they are just made of 1" ish thick mdf, with veneer.

as mdf is even denser then drywall, it would be a good choice, plus laminating drywall seems almost impossible.

gl

[jhbrandt]

Agreed.

You should be able to have some workers build you the solid core doors you need either from MDF or solid glued planks. I would recommend gluing 3 or 4, 2cm thick sheets of MDF together to build Rod's 'super door'.

Cheers,
John

[glenn_jr]

You guys are Awesome as usual!

To add to it...

I ripped the top off the door that was made for me several years ago to have a look. Here's the layering I see:

- Thin paneling
- Thin Luan-type plywood
- 15mm drywall
- 15mm plywood
- Thin Luan-type plywood
- Thin paneling

No idea what they used to hold it together. Being Taiwan, I would guess glue.

Question: I can easily get someone to copy this if it's a good design. Is it a good design?

I can't answer it myself because they did a shit job sealing it. Actually, there's no seal at all. It's just like a normal door. (this was done in my DJ days, when I knew nothing at all on this subject)

Or...I'll go with John and Disjointed's suggestions. (prob better)

[solar2]

I would generally not use drywall for the main reason that it does not take movement and abuse that a door usually gets well.
It is going to fall apart, unless its completely sealed and protected.
I would tend to use MDF or any dense substrate that is available.
On budget builds I will use a solid core (particle board) and am very happy with the results.
Best of luck! Ken
Welcome to Solar2: Custom recording studio acoustic architectural design and construction

[audiothings]

I would put the drywall sheets between outer layers of 12+mm plywood or MDF... drywall offers maximum mass for your money (unless you want to consider sand!), but its not durable enough to be used as the outer layer.

The bigger problem is effective sealing of the door... you'll find plenty of useful references if you search here for "door", in the subject.

[stuntbutt]

I agree with Solar2, no drywall. I've worked in an older studio where drywall was used as a layer in the doors and there were signs of deterioration.