Glossary of Terms

ARGON GAS FILLED: Insulated glazing filled with argon gas to yield superior insulating, energy gain/loss factors.

ARTIST COLLECTION^®: Simpson's line of exterior doors that combine the design talents of today's artists with Simpson's manufacturing excellence.

ASTRAGAL: When two doors are installed in a double-hung installation, the vertical profile that divides the two doors, providing a weather seal and place for the strike for the operable door. The astragal is usually attached to the fixed door, but is sometimes removable.

BAR: A narrow, rabbeted, horizontal, vertical or diagonal wood member extending the total length or width of a glazed opening, used to separate individual pieces of glazing material.

BEAD: See glazing bead.

BEVELED EDGE: A shallow angle applied to the perimeter of one side of a piece of glass, usually used on small pieces of glass.

BRICK MOULD: The exterior profile that is used to trim out a door installation around the top and sides of the door(s) and/or sidelight(s).

BUILDER’S ADVANTAGE SERIES^®: Simpson’s Builder’s Advantage Series offers large decorative glass units with clean and simple door design. The result is a welcome mix of both traditional and ornamental design philosophies.

BUNGALOW SERIES^®: Simpson's line of exterior doors that combine the traditional look of beaded, v-groove panels with glass, creating a traditional look that's popular in today's home architecture.

C-GROOVE: A shallow, wide groove cut in one side of a glass panel, usually in a decorative design, usually polished. Compare to v-groove.

DOOR, COMBINATION: A door assembly of stiles, rails and wood panels utilizing interchangeable insect screening and glazing panel inserts. Combination doors are normally designed to occupy the exterior rabbet of exterior door frames.

DOOR, DECORATIVE: A door assembled of stiles and rails, that typically incorporates a glazed opening and raised moulding in the construction.

DOOR, FRENCH: A door assembly of stiles and rails, containing primarily glass inserts and may possibly contain bars.

DOOR, LOUVER: A door with one or more sets of louvers in place of panels. Simpson Louver doors feature a thick, 2-1/4" plantation-style blade that affords strength and privacy while allowing air flow from room to room.

DOOR, PANEL: A door assembly of stiles, rails and one or more panel modules. Intermediate rails or mullions are used to separate panels.

DOOR, PERFORMANCE SERIES^®: A door manufactured for exterior use with composite components constructed into the bottom of the stiles to block moisture absorption into the door. For additional protection, a medium density overlay (MDO) face and PVC sticking can be specified.

DOOR, SASH: A door assembly of stiles, rails and both glass and panel modules.

DOOR, STILE & RAIL: A door assembled of a framework of vertical stile components and horizontal rail components to form openings that are filled with inserts comprised of wood, glass, or other materials.

DOWELED CONSTRUCTION: A method of constructing wood doors where holes are machined into, but not through, the stiles and matching holes in the rails. Dowels are inserted into these holes with glue to attach the rails to the stiles.

DP RATINGS: Design pressure rating that describes a product’s ability to withstand uniform loads caused by wind.

DRIP MOULD: A horizontal moulding section used as a decorative detail on a door, usually applied to the upper intermediate rail of a door.

DUTCH: A door divided horizontally so that the lower or upper part can be shut separately.

EDGE BAND (EDGE STRIP): Applied to both the outside and inside of Simpson stile and rail components. The edge bands cover the fingerjointed core of the component and blend seamlessly with surface veneers.

ENGINEERED CONSTRUCTION: A method of door component construction utilizing smaller fingerjointed, end- glued pieces of core material and a surface veneer yielding a superior component as opposed to the same component made of solid wood. See core.

INSULATED GLAZING (IG): A glazing construction consisting of two or more pieces of glass separated by a sealed, insulating air space(s).

JAMB: The vertical and horizontal frame members, which along with the sill, makes up a door frame.

LAMINATED CONSTRUCTION: A method of bonding multiple layers of wood, solid or composite to form a thicker component.

LEAF: An individual door in a pair or multiple arrangement of doors. See Door, Bifold.

LOW-E: A glazing option made with either a special coating or in combination with a gas fill (see argon filled) meant to reduce energy transmission through the glazing modules.

MASTERMARK^® COLLECTION: Simpson’s premier line of exterior doors. When you order a Mastermark door, you are getting the very best design, materials and craftsmanship available in the world today.

MILL OPTION: A door made of available softwood, normally either Douglas Fir or Western Hemlock, at the option of the manufacturing facility.

MORTISE: A square hole or trough cut into a rail or stile meant to receive a tenon for a mortise-and-tenon joint.

MULL COVER: A piece of trim used to conceal the joint between two pieces of jamb.

MULLION (MUTT): A vertical module used to separate panels.

MUNTIN (MUNTIN BAR): A short bar, either horizontal or vertical, used to separate individual pieces of glazing material but which does not extend the full width or length of the opening.

NANTUCKET COLLECTION™: Simpson Nantucket Collection wood doors are an award-winning combination of historic charm and modern technology. Made to endure demanding climates.

OVOLO STICKING: Profile on a door component. Simpson's most requested profile and popular for traditional stile and rail doors for decades.

PANEL, FLAT: A solid, laminated, or engineered panel with a flat face.

PANEL, RAISED: A door panel whose face is raised above the edges, which are shaped to fit into grooves in the stiles and rails. Raised panels may be solid, laminated or engineered.

PATCH: A matching wood piece carefully inserted and glued into the various modules of the door after defective portions have been removed.

PERFORMANCE SERIES^®: See Door, Performance Series.

PLANTATION LOUVER DOOR: See Door, Louver.

SELECTS SERIES: Simpson’s Selects Series combines two popular door designs with nine distinct glass options, making your home look unique, without breaking the bank.

SHAKER STICKING: Profile of a door component. Provides a clean design aesthetic for doors.

SIDELIGHT(S): An assembly of stiles, rails, panels and one or multiple glazing module(s). Sidelights are normally designed to occupy a fixed position adjacent to exterior doors, either in a common frame with the door or in a separate frame.

SIMULATED DIVIDED LITE (SDL): A type of construction used in a French or sash door that features a single glass unit with bars applied to the glass surface, providing the look of traditional True Divided Lite with improved performance.

SOLAR HEAT GAIN COEFFICIENT (SHGC): Measures how well a product blocks heat by sunlight. SHGC is expressed as a number between 0 and 1. The lower the SHGC, the less solar heat is transmitted.

SOLID CONSTRUCTION: A method of manufacturing modules or door components from a single piece of raw lumber.

SPECIES: A distinct, scientific designation given to identify various living orders. In our case, species refers to the distinct wood species used in our product, such as Douglas Fir or Western Hemlock.

STANDARD GRADE: Wood products that are structurally sound with minor surface defects and discoloration permitted, providing a surface suitable for an opaque (stain or paint) finish.

STICKING: A profile machined into the edges of stiles, rails, mullions, muntins or bars, adjacent to panels or glazing materials. Simpson's most popular include ovolo sticking and shaker sticking.

STILE: Wooden modules that form the vertical edges of the door; two per door.