Differences in Door Construction

At Meridian, we work with a lot of designers who collaborate closely with their customers on kitchen trends and cabinet styles. It’s a good partnership – designers always have such great taste and the projects always turn out looking beautiful.

A question that is often asked when selecting cabinets and door styles is which door construction is the strongest, most reliable option. The truth is all of our doors are constructed using strong and reliable designs – they’re just made in different ways. At Meridian, we provide three different types of door construction — coped, notched, and mitered.

Coped constructed door. This door construction is one of the most common in the door industry. The best way to describe this construction is “connecting piece A to piece B.” Both pieces should fit snugly, creating a sturdy joint. At Meridian, coped constructed doors are made using a blind joint, which conceals the end grain of the tenon.

Notched door construction. This method creates a recess cut into the frame in order to receive the other tenon piece. This locks the joints in place and keeps the screws secure. In turn, this provides additional support for the door to avoid warpage.

Mitered door construction.  These doors are a 5-piece door that have 45-degree angles at the joints. Like the coped door, mitered doors use blind joints. They are joined across the grain, giving them the ability to adapt and change in the event of humidity.

Mortise & Tenon – Notched

Mortise & Tenon – Coped 

Mitered Construction

For additional insight into Meridian door construction, please reach out to your sales or customer service representatives.