Complete Door Set Specification Guide

1. Define “complete door set” in writing

A buyer may use complete door set to mean a leaf with a frame. Another supplier may include casing, hinges and a lock. A third may quote a pre-hung assembly. None of these interpretations is safe unless the commercial offer lists every component.

Use the same scope matrix when comparing suppliers. This prevents a lower price from winning simply because important components were omitted.

2. Separate opening, leaf and wall dimensions

Three dimensions are often mixed together: the rough structural opening, the finished door leaf and the wall thickness. Each affects a different part of the doorset. The frame also needs tolerances, clearances and an installation assumption.

• Record width and height for every opening type.
• State wall thickness or required frame depth.
• Confirm single or double leaf, handing and swing direction.
• Identify floor-finish level, threshold and any undercut requirement.

For project work, an opening schedule and controlled frame-section drawing are more reliable than dimensions typed into a chat message.

3. Keep surface name separate from construction

PVC foil and melamine describe surface routes; WPC describes a material system; steel describes the leaf and frame material. None of these labels fully defines the internal construction or complete assembly.

For engineered interior doors, confirm the facing or substrate, perimeter structure, core route, edge detail and reinforcement. For WPC, confirm the extrusion section, chamber geometry direction and hardware reinforcement. For steel, confirm leaf and frame construction and treat every performance claim as assembly-specific.

Use the PVC foil vs. melamine guide and the WPC buying guide when selecting the product family.

4. Specify the frame, casing and wall interface

The frame is where a visually acceptable door can become difficult to install. Record the frame material, section, adjustable range, stop detail, seal groove, fixing method, casing width and how the system meets the wall.

Ask whether the casing is telescopic, fixed or separately cut. Confirm whether both sides are included, and whether corners are supplied cut, knocked down or assembled. Where walls vary, define the allowable range instead of assuming one frame suits every opening.

5. Lock the hardware and machining scope

A quotation should state whether hardware is included, buyer-supplied or prepared only. Record hinge type and quantity, lock body, backset, cylinder, handle, closer, viewer and any access-control preparation.

Machining positions should follow an approved drawing or sample. Hardware substitutions can change cut-outs, reinforcement and performance evidence, so the approved brand and model should be controlled where compatibility matters.

6. Compare packing and delivery on the same basis

Export packing is part of the product. Confirm individual protection, carton or crate route, corner protection, moisture precautions, labels, spare parts, pallet logic and the loading plan. Specify the named port or place and Incoterm so freight assumptions are comparable.

Before award, convert every quotation into one comparison sheet. The interior door RFQ checklist provides the fields needed for that review.