Doors

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about doors. Yep, that's pretty boring. Even the thought of looking at a door, let alone listening to an article about doors for 25 minutes is almost too mind-numbing. You're in for a treat. Happy listening!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Bostor.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled Door.

A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress into and egress from an enclosure.

The created opening in the wall is a doorway or portal.

A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by controlling access to the doorway portal.

Conventionally it is a panel that fits into the portal of a building,

Room,

Or vehicle.

Doors are generally made of a material suited to the door's task.

Doors are commonly attached by hinges,

But can move by other means,

Such as slides or counterbalancing.

The door may be moved in various ways at angles away from the portal,

By sliding on a plane parallel to the frame,

By folding in angles on a parallel plane,

Or by spinning along an axis at the center of the frame,

To allow or prevent ingress or egress.

In most cases,

A door's interior matches its exterior side,

But in other cases,

E.

G.

A vehicle door,

The two sides are radically different.

Doors may incorporate locking mechanisms to ensure that only some people can open them.

Doors may have devices such as knockers or doorbells by which people outside announce their presence.

Apart from providing access into and out of a space,

Doors may have the secondary functions of ensuring privacy by preventing unwanted attention from outsiders,

Of separating areas with different functions,

Of allowing light to pass into and out of a space,

Of controlling ventilation or airdrafts so that interiors may be more effectively heated or cooled,

Of dampening noise,

And of blocking the spread of fire.

Doors may have aesthetic,

Symbolic,

Ritualistic purposes.

Receiving the key to a door can signify a change in status from outsider to insider.

Doors and doorways frequently appear in literature and the arts with metaphorical or allegorical import as a portent of change.

History The earliest recorded doors appear in the paintings of Egyptian tombs,

Which show them as single or double doors,

Each of a single piece of wood.

People may have believed these were doors to the afterlife and some include designs of the afterlife.

In Egypt,

Where the climate is intensely dry,

Doors weren't framed against warping,

But in other countries required framed doors,

Which,

According to Vitruvius,

Was done with stiles and rails.

The enclosed panels filled with tympana set in grooves in the stiles and rails.

The stiles were the vertical boards,

One of which,

Tenoned or hinged,

Is known as the hanging stile,

The other as the middle or meeting stile.

The horizontal cross pieces are the top rail,

Bottom rail,

And middle or intermediate rails.

The most ancient doors were made of timber,

Such as those referred to in the biblical depiction of King Solomon's temple being in olive wood,

Which were carved and overlaid with gold.

The doors at Homer mentions appear to have been cased in silver or brass.

Besides olive wood,

Elm,

Cedar,

Oak,

And cypress were used.

A 5,

000 year old door has been found by archaeologists in Switzerland.

Ancient doors were hung by pivots at the top and bottom of the hanging stile,

Which worked in sockets in the intel and sill,

The latter in some hard stone such as basalt or granite.

Those Hilprecht found at Nipper dating from 2000 BC were intolerite.

The tenons of the gates at Balawat were chiseled with bronze,

Now in the British Museum.

These doors or gates were hung in two leaves,

Each about 2.

54 meters wide and 8.

2 meters high.

They were encased with bronze bands or strips,

25.

4 centimeters high,

Covered with repose decoration of figures.

The wood doors would seem to have been about 7.

62 centimeters thick,

But the hanging stile was over 360 millimeters diameter.

Other sheathings of various sizes in bronze show this was a universal method adopted to protect the wood pivots.

In the Hauran in Syria,

Where timber is scarce,

The doors are made of stone,

And one measuring 1.

63 meters by 0.

79 meters is in the British Museum.

The band on the meeting stile shows that it was one of the leaves of a double door.

At Khafir near Bostra in Syria,

Burkhart found stone doors 2.

74 to 3.

048 meters high being the entrance doors of the town.

In Etruria,

Many stone doors are referred to by Dennis.

The Greek and Roman doors were either single doors,

Double doors,

Triple doors,

Sliding doors or folding doors.

In the last case,

The leaves were hinged and folded back.

In the tomb of Theron at Aggregantum,

There is a single four-panel door carved in stone.

In the Blundell collection is a bas-relief of a temple with double doors,

Each leaf with five panels.

Among existing examples,

The bronze doors in the church of S.

S.

Cosmas and Domiano in Rome are important examples of Roman metalwork of the best period.

They are in two leaves,

Each with two panels,

And are framed in bronze.

Those of the Pantheon are similar in design with narrow horizontal panels in addition at the top,

Bottom,

And middle.

Two other bronze doors of the Roman period are in the Lateran Basilica.

The Greek scholar Heron of Alexandria created the earliest known automatic door in the first century AD during the era of Roman Egypt.

The first foot sensor activated automatic door was made in China during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui,

Who had one installed for his royal library.

The first automatic gate operators were later created in 1206 by Arab inventor al-Jazari.

Copper and its alloys were integral in medieval architecture.

The doors of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem,

6th century,

Are covered with plates of bronze,

Cut out in patterns.

Those of Hagia Sophia at Constantinople of the 8th and 9th century are rotten bronze,

And the west doors of the Cathedral of Ix La Chapelle,

9th century,

Of similar manufacture were probably brought from Constantinople,

As also some of those in St.

Mark's Venice.

The bronze doors on the Achan Cathedral in Germany date back to about 800 AD.

Those baptistry doors at the Cathedral of Florence were completed in 1423 by Ghiberti.

Of the 11th and 12th centuries there are numerous examples of bronze doors,

The earliest being one of Hildesheim,

Germany,

1015.

The Hildesheim design affected the concept of the Gnusodor in Poland.

Of others in South Italy and Sicily,

The following are the finest.

In San Andrea Amalfi 1060,

Salerno 1099,

Canossa 1111,

Troia 2 doors 1119 and 1124,

Ravello 1179,

By Barozano of Trani who also made doors for Trani Cathedral,

And in Mont-Royal and Pisa cathedrals,

By Bonanno of Pisa.

In all these cases the hanging style had pivots at the bottom and top.

Exact period when builder moved to the hinge is unknown,

But the change apparently brought about another method of strengthening and decorating doors,

Wrought iron bands of various designs.

As a rule,

Three bands with ornamental work constitute the hinges,

With rings outside the hanging styles that fit on vertical tenons set into the masonry or wooden frame.

There is an early example of the 12th century in Lincoln.

In France the metalwork of the doors of Notre Dame at Paris is a beautiful example,

But many others exist throughout France and England.

In Italy celebrated doors include those of the Battistero di San Giovanni,

Florence,

Which are all in bronze,

Including the door frames.

The modeling of the figures,

Birds,

And foliage of the south doorway by Andreo Bissano 1330,

And of the east doorway by Ghiberti 1425-1452,

Are of great beauty.

In the north door,

Ghiberti adopted the same scheme of design for the paneling and figure subjects as Andreo Bissano,

But in the east door the rectangular panels are all filled with bas-reliefs that illustrate scripture subjects and enumeral figures.

These may be the gates of paradise of which Michelangelo speaks.

Doors of the mosques in Cairo were of two kinds,

Those externally cased with sheets of bronze or iron,

Cut in decorative patterns and incised or inlaid with bosses in relief,

And those of wood framed with interlaced square and diamond designs.

The latter design is Coptic in origin,

The doors of the palace at Palermo,

Which were made by a Saracenic workman for the Normans,

Are fine examples in good preservation.

A somewhat similar decorative class of door is found in Verona,

Where the edges of the stiles and rails are beveled and notched.

In the Renaissance period,

Italian doors are quite simple,

Their architects trusting more to the doorways for effect.

But in France and Germany the contrary is the case,

The doors being elaborately carved,

Especially in the Louis XIV and Louis XV periods,

And sometimes with architectural features such as columns and tablatures,

With pediment and niches,

The doorway being in plain masonry.

While in Italy the tendency was to give scale by increasing the number of panels,

In France the contrary seems to have been the rule,

And one of the great doors at Fontainebleau,

Which is in two leaves,

Is entirely carried out as if consisting of one great panel only.

The earliest Renaissance doors in France are those of the Cathedral of Saints' Savor of Eggs.

In the lower panels there are figures three feet high in Gothic niches,

And in the upper panels a double range of niches with figures about two feet high with canopies over them,

All carved in cedar.

The south door of Beauvais Cathedral is in some respects the finest in France.

The upper panels are carved in high relief with figure subjects and canopies over them.

The doors of the Church of Guizord are carved with figures in the niches subdivided by classic pilasters superimposed.

In Saint-McLeod at Rouen are three magnificently carved doors,

Those by Jean Gouillon have figures in niches on each side,

And others in a group of great beauty in the center.

The other doors,

Probably about 40 to 50 years later,

Are enriched with sparse reliefs,

Landscapes,

Figures and elaborate interlaced borders.

NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center contains the four largest doors.

The Vehicle Assembly Building was originally built for the assembly of the Apollo mission Saturn vehicles,

And was then used to support space shuttle operations.

Each of the four doors are 139 meters high.

The oldest door in England can be found in Westminster Abbey and dates from 1050.

In England in the 17th century the door panels were raised with bolecton or projecting moldings.

Sometimes richly carved around them.

In the 18th century the moldings worked on the stiles and rails were carved with the egg and tongue ornament.

Design and Styles There are many kinds of doors with different purposes.

The most common type is the single leaf door,

Which consists of a single rigid panel that fills the doorway.

There are many variations on this basic design such as the double leaf door or double door and French windows,

Which have two adjacent independent panels hinged on each side of the doorway.

A half door or Dutch door or stable door is divided in half horizontally.

Traditionally,

The top half opens so a worker can feed a horse or other animal,

While the bottom half remains closed to keep the animal inside.

This style of door has been adapted for homes.

Saloon Doors are a pair of lightweight swing doors often found in public bars and especially associated with the American West.

Saloon Doors,

Also known as Café Doors,

Often used bidirectional hinges that close the door regardless of which direction it opens by incorporating springs.

Batwing Doors that only extend from knee level to chest level are known as Batwing Doors.

A blind door,

Gib door,

Or gib door has no visible trim or operable components.

It blends with the adjacent wall and all finishes to appear as part of the wall,

A disguised door.

A French door consists of a frame around one or more transparent or translucent panels called lights that may be installed singly in matching pairs or even as series.

A matching pair of these doors is called a French window,

As it resembles a door height casement window.

When a pair of French doors is used as a French window,

The application does not generally include a central mullion,

As do some casement window pairs,

Thus allowing a wider,

Unobstructed opening.

The frame typically requires a weather strip at floor level and where the doors meet to prevent water ingress.

An espagnolette bolt may let the head and foot of each door be secured in one movement.

The slender window joinery maximizes light in the room and minimizes the visual impact of the doorway joinery when considered externally.

The doors of a French window often open outward onto a balcony,

Porch,

Or terrace,

And they may provide an entrance to a garden.

A louver door has fixed or movable wooden fins,

Often called slats or louvers,

Which permit open ventilation while preserving privacy and preventing the passage of light to the interior.

Being relatively weak structures,

They are most commonly used for wardrobes and drying rooms,

Where security is of less importance than good ventilation,

Although a very similar structure is commonly used to form window shutters.

Several louvered doors were introduced into Seagate,

Built in Florida in 1929,

By Gwendolyn and Powell-Crosley,

That provided the desired circulation of air with an added degree of privacy and that it is impossible to see through the fins in any direction.

A composite door is a single-leaf door that can be solid or with glass,

And is usually filled with high-density foam.

In the United Kingdom,

Composite doors are commonly certified to BSPAS 23-24,

And be compliant with Secured by Design,

An official UK police initiative.

A steel security door is one which is made from strong steel,

Often for use on vaults and safe rooms to withstand attack.

These may also be fitted with wooden outer panels to resemble standard internal and external doors.

A flush door is a completely smooth door,

Having plywood or MDF fixed over a light timber frame,

The hollow parts of which are often filled with the cardboard core material.

Skins can also be made out of hardboards,

The first of which was invented by William H.

Mason in 1924.

Called masonite,

Its construction involves pressing and steaming wood chips into boards.

Flush doors are most commonly employed in the interior of a dwelling,

Although slightly more substantial versions are occasionally used as exterior doors,

Especially within hotels and other buildings containing many independent dwellings.

A molded door has the same structure as that of a flush door.

The only difference is that the surface material is a molded skin made of MDF.

Skins can also be made out of hardboards.

A ledge and brace door,

Often called board and batten doors,

Are made from multiple vertical boards fixed together by two or more horizontal timbers,

Called ledges or battens,

And sometimes kept square by additional diagonal timbers called braces.

A wicket door is a pedestrian door built into a much larger door allowing access without requiring the opening of the larger door.

Examples might be found on the ceremonial door of a cathedral,

Or in a large vehicle door in a garage or hangar.

A bifold door is a unit that has several sections,

Folding,

And pairs.

Wood is the most common material,

And doors may also be metal or glass.

Bifolds are most commonly made for closets,

But may also be used as units between rooms.

Bifold doors are essentially now doors that let the outside in.

They open in concert,

Where the panels fold up against one another and are pushed together when opened.

The main door panel,

Often known as the traffic door,

Is accompanied by a stack of panels that fold very neatly against one another when opened fully,

Which almost look like room dividers.

A sliding glass door,

Sometimes called an arcadia door or patio door,

Is a door made of glass that slides open and sometimes has a screen,

A removable metal mesh that covers the door.

Australian doors are a pair of plywood swinging doors often found in Australian public houses.

These doors are generally red or brown in color,

And bear a resemblance to the more formal doors found in other British colonies' public houses.

A false door is a wall decoration that looks like a window.

In ancient Egyptian architecture,

This was a common element in a tomb,

The false door representing a gate to the afterlife.

It can also be found in the funerary architecture of the desert tribes,

E.

G.

Libyan,

Gerza.

A doormat is a mat placed typically in front of or behind a door of a home.

This practice originated so that mud and dirt would be less prevalent on floors inside a building.

Ancient Roman bronze doors of the Curia Julia,

Now in the Basilica of St.

John Lateran,

Rome.

Gothic door of the St.

Magnus Cathedral,

Kirkwall,

Scotland,

UK.

An Islamic door decorated with geometric patterns in Morocco.

Door with lock,

Late 19th or early 20th century wood with iron from Burkina Faso and the Brooklyn Museum,

New York City.

Reviews

I don't remember much or maybe there wasn't much to remember? Thanks, Benjamin.

How boring... thank you!
I very much enjoy these podcasts 👍 even though I usually never make it to the end 💤💤💤💤

I'm hooked on Benjamin's readings. Interesting enough to stay engaged until sleep wins.

Sleep 💤 every time.

Some parts were actually interesting 🧐 but my son fell right asleep! 😆 😴 Thanks!

I actually found that pretty interesting! Thank you!

You're the best, Boster! I try to listen but.....