Door Buying Guide
Solid Core vs. Hollow Core:
Which Door Where?
Both are painted interior doors that look identical shut. One weighs three times as much, costs two to three times as much, and makes a house feel finished. Here is how to decide room by room.
What is inside the door
A hollow core door is two thin skins — usually molded MDF or hardboard — glued over a wood frame with a cardboard honeycomb between them. It weighs 20–30 pounds and costs the least. A solid core door uses the same skins over a solid slab of particleboard or mineral core, weighs 60–90 pounds and costs roughly two to three times more per slab.
Neither is solid wood. Stile-and-rail solid wood doors are a third, higher category that we quote on request for stain-grade work.
Where the difference shows
| Hollow core | Solid core | |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | Muffles voices, not much more | Cuts hallway and bathroom noise noticeably (STC roughly 30+ vs low 20s) |
| Weight | 20–30 lb | 60–90 lb; needs three hinges, ideally ball-bearing |
| Feel | Light, slightly hollow sound when shut | Heavy, quiet thud — what buyers call “quality” |
| Durability | Dents if hit hard; hard to repair | Takes abuse; can be sanded and repainted |
| Fire rating | None | 20-minute rated versions available |
| Price | Lowest | Roughly 2–3× the slab cost |
Where each belongs
Most production builders in Florida use hollow core for closets, pantries, laundry rooms and secondary bedrooms, and step up to solid core where sound or feel matters. A practical spec for a house looks like this:
- Solid core: master bedroom, all bathrooms, home office, media room, door from garage to house (also check your fire-separation requirement).
- Hollow core: closets, pantry, linen, mechanical and secondary bedrooms on a budget.
- Louvered hollow core: AC closets, water heater and laundry that need airflow.
On multifamily and hospitality work the unit entry door is usually a 20-minute or 45-minute rated solid or mineral-core door by code; interior doors inside the unit follow the same logic as a house.
How G Millwork stocks them
Of the eleven prehung interior styles on the rack, the Destino flat modern slab and the Melrose raised-panel are stocked in solid core; the shaker, louvered and frosted-lite styles are hollow core. Any style can be quoted solid core as a special order.
Hardware note: a solid-core slab on two hinges will sag. Every unit we hang gets three, and we recommend ball-bearing hinges on solid-core doors over 2-8 wide.
FAQ
Core
Questions
Is solid core worth it for a bedroom?
If anyone in the house sleeps while someone else is awake, yes. It is the single most noticed upgrade in a production home for the money.
Can I paint them the same?
Yes. Both take the same primer and paint. Solid core holds a sprayed finish a little flatter because the skin does not flex.
Will a solid core door fit my existing hinges?
It will hang on them, but two standard hinges will eventually sag. Add a third hinge or upgrade to ball-bearing.
What about ‘solid wood’ doors?
Stile-and-rail wood doors are a different product, stain-grade and priced well above solid core. We quote them for feature openings; for painted work, solid core gives the same feel for less.
Are hollow core doors bad?
No — they are the right product for a closet. They are the wrong product for a bathroom next to the living room.
More Door Guides
Keep
Reading
Guide
Prehung vs. Slab Doors
Which one to buy, and why almost every new opening in Florida gets a prehung unit.
Guide
Solid Core vs. Hollow Core
Sound, weight, cost and where each core belongs in a house or a building.
Guide
How To Measure For A Door
Slab width, rough opening, jamb depth and handing — the four numbers the desk needs.
Guide
Impact Doors In Florida
HVHZ, Miami-Dade NOA, Florida Product Approval and what your inspector will ask for.
The Counter Is Open
Ready To
Price Your Doors?
Destino and Melrose solid-core units are on the rack. Quote them next to the hollow-core styles and see the difference on paper.