What is a rebated door?
A rebated door — in Dutch opdekdeur — is an internal door with a raised lip running around the leaf that laps over the frame. The door therefore sits partly in and partly on the lining, and stands slightly proud of it. Its counterpart is the flush (square-edged) door, which sits entirely within the frame.
Rebated doors are very common in the existing Dutch housing stock. They need a matching rebated lining with an internal rebate for the lip to close against, and they hang on dedicated rebated hinges; ordinary butt hinges for flush doors do not fit.
Rebated or flush?
- Rebated door — the lip covers the gap between leaf and lining. That makes the junction less critical and more draught-tight, and small inaccuracies in the frame do not show.
- Flush door — sits square within the lining, looks crisper and more contemporary, but demands a more accurate frame and will not simply fit an existing rebated lining.
You cannot drop a flush door into a rebated lining, or the other way round: lining, hinge type and sizing belong together.
Sizes — where it usually goes wrong
The lip is typically about 12 mm wide and around 14 mm thick; the overall leaf thickness of an internal door is usually 38 to 40 mm.
- Width: measure without the lip — that is, the clear opening in the lining.
- Height: measure including the lip.
Common widths are 530, 580, 630, 680, 730, 780, 830 and 880 mm; common heights run from 2,015 to 2,315 mm. Do not confuse the rebated size with the flush size — that is by far the most frequent cause of ordering the wrong door. Always measure the existing lining at several points and record whether it is a rebated or a flush arrangement.
Measuring for a rebated door: checks before ordering
- Measure the width without the lip: The width is the clear opening in the lining.
- Measure the height including the lip: Unlike the width, the height is measured including the lip.
- Measure the existing lining at several points: Take the measurements on the lining that is already in place.
- Record rebated or flush arrangement: Do not confuse the rebated size with the flush size.
- Check left-hand or right-hand: Decide which handing you need before ordering.
Practical tips
- Take the old door with you, or photograph the hinge: its shape tells you immediately whether the door is rebated or flush.
- Check whether you need a left-hand or right-hand door before ordering.
- If the floor build-up gets thicker, the door has to be trimmed at the bottom; keep the lip intact when you do.
Related terms
- Internal door
- Door frame
- Door hardware
- Door buffer
- Door handing
Want to learn more about construction terms? Visit our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.