Door skin, method of manufacturing a door produced therewith, and door produced therefrom

1. A method of producing a door, comprising the steps of:

forming first and second wood composite laminated substrates into first and second universal door skin blanks, each of the universal door skin blanks having an exterior side and an interior side and comprising first and second spaced stiles having first outer surfaces in a first plane, first and second interface portions integral with the first and second stiles, respectively, a substantially flat planar portion disposed between and integral with the first and second interface portions and having a second outer surface in a second plane offset from the first plane, and at least one rail receiving portion having a third outer surface in a third plane intermediate the first and second planes;

securing a first rail member on the rail receiving portion of the first universal door skin blank so that the first rail member extends between the first and second stiles; and

securing the interior sides of the formed universal door skin blanks to opposite sides of a peripheral door frame.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substantially flat planar portion is recessed relative to the stiles 6 mm to 9 mm.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

providing a second rail;

placing the second rail at any position along the substantially flat planar portion not occupied by the first rail so that the second rail extends between the stiles.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising the step of providing an intermediate stile and positioning the intermediate stile on the substantially flat portion so that the intermediate stile is oriented parallel to the first and second stiles and extends between the first rail and the second rail.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one rail receiving portion comprises first and second rail receiving portions, wherein the first rail member is secured to the first rail receiving portion, and wherein the method further comprises securing a second rail member to the second rail receiving portion.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first and second rail receiving portions are positioned at opposite ends of the universal door skin blank.

7. A method of producing a door, comprising the steps of:

forming a substrate into a universal door skin blank comprising a pair of spaced stiles each having a first outer surface in a first plane, a substantially flat planar portion having a second outer surface in a second plane spaced from the first plane of the stiles, and first and second rail receiving portions having third outer surfaces in a third plane between the first and second planes, wherein the first and second rail receiving portions and the substantially flat planar portion extend between the stiles, and the substantial flat planar portion extends between the first and second rail receiving portions; and

securing an interior side of the formed universal door skin blank to a frame.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the substrates comprises a laminated substrate.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of

re-moisturizing the laminated substrate sufficient to prevent subsequent warping in said universal door skin blank.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said re-moisturizing of the laminated substrate is to a moisture content of between 8 and 12 percent.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising securing first and second rails on the first and second rail receiving portions, respectively.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising securing a third rail on the substantially flat portion between the first and second rails.

13. A method of producing a door skin blank, comprising the steps of:

positioning a laminated composite comprising a substrate and a decorative layer adhesively bonded to the substrate between an upper die and a lower die of a die set, the dies possessing forming surfaces facing one another to defined a chamber when the die set is closed, the forming surfaces of the chamber being shaped to mold the composite into a shaped universal door skin blank comprising first and second spaced stiles having first outer surfaces in a first plane, a substantially flat planar portion having a second outer surface in a second plane spaced from the first plane, and at least one planar rail receiving portion having a third outer surface in a third plane intermediate the first and second planes, the substantially flat planar portion and planar rail receiving portion extending between the stiles, the decorative layer comprising a member selected from the group consisting of a veneer, a foil, a polymeric film, and a paper overlay;

trimming the laminated composite; and

compressing the laminated composite using heat and pressure to form the laminated composite into the shaped universal door skin blank.

14. The method of forming a molded door skin blank according to claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

applying an ornamental molding to cover cracks in the shaped universal door skin blank; and

adhering to the shaped universal door skin blank a transfer foil having a transparent coating layer.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said transparent coating layer is tinted.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising the step of:

re-moisturizing the substrate of the laminated composite sufficient to prevent subsequent warping in the shaped universal door skin blank.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein said re-moisturizing of the substrate is to a moisture content of between 8 and 12 percent.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the substrate comprises a composite wood material.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the composite wood material comprises a medium density fiberboard material.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the substrate comprises a fiberglass material.

21. The method of claim 13 , wherein the substrate comprises a thermoplastic material.

22. The method of claim 13 , wherein the adhesive is polyvinyl acetate.