The History of 1930s internal doors. 1930 - 1939
Douglas Fir was the most popular choice of timber for making internal or external doors during this period. It is one of the best known wood species in the world. The majority of doors were made from Douglas Fir due to its structural strength, straight close knit grain and resilience to rot.
How 1920s and 1930s doors were finished
Most 1930s reclaimed doors have been sprayed with an organic water based stain, usually referred to as Vandyke Crystals. The wash has usually penetrated the grain and even after paint removal through caustic dipping the colour remains. Yellow Pine doors made in the 30s were usually painted so these doors come up much lighter after they have been stripped.
Design style of 1930s doors
We usually refer to internal doors from this period as 1 over 3 doors. This refers to the top single panel made from a single tiger pine patterned plywood panel over three panels in the bottom 2/3rds of the door. When choosing these doors if you want them to match existing doors in your house you may want to check the heights of the middle horizontal rails. These heights can vary. You can email us your specific dimensions and we will try to find the closest match. This is only important if the doors are to be adjacent to each other, in a hallway for example. The other style common slightly earlier in the 1920s but overlapping into the 1930s is the 3 over 3 design. Very similar to the 1930s 1 over 3 but with three vertical short panels in the top.