Double doors can completely change the feel of a room. Whether they are opening into a dining room, connecting a kitchen and living area or creating a wider entrance between two spaces. But when you start shopping for internal double doors, you may come across terms such as pairmaker doors, rebated door pairs and two single doors used as a pair.
They may look similar once installed, but they are not quite the same thing. At DirectDoors.com, we offer all three options, giving you a much wider choice of styles, finishes and budgets. Here is how each type works and what you should consider when choosing between them.
1. Double Doors Using a Pairmaker
A pairmaker is a clever way of turning two suitable single doors into a more traditional-looking double door pair. The pairmaker is a timber strip fitted vertically to the meeting edge of one of the doors — usually the door that remains closed most of the time. When the doors close, the other door shuts against this strip. This creates an overlapping or rebated-style meeting point rather than simply having two square door edges meet in the centre.
Why choose a pairmaker?
The biggest advantage is choice. It allows many suitable single-door designs to be used as a double-door pair, making it easier to match doors already fitted elsewhere in your home. A good example is our Belize Oak Internal Door Pair.
One important measurement to remember: The pairmaker adds to the overall width of the doors. Depending on the pairmaker selected, it can add 12mm to the total width of the pair, so this needs to be taken into account when measuring your opening.
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2. Purpose-Made Rebated Double Doors
The second option is a rebated double door pair.
Unlike a pairmaker arrangement, where an additional strip is fitted to one of two doors, purpose-made rebated doors have their meeting edges manufactured so that the two doors overlap one another when closed. Rather than seeing two straight edges meeting in the centre, the doors fit together at the rebate. It gives the installation a particularly neat and finished appearance.
How do rebated double doors open?
Because the two doors overlap, one door becomes the door that needs to open first.
This is sometimes referred to as the active door, while the other can remain closed until the full width of the opening is required.
A great example: Manhattan White Primed Door Pair
3. Two Single Doors Used Together as Double Doors
The simplest way to create double doors is also one of the most flexible: putting two matching single doors together. In this arrangement, both doors retain their normal square edges and meet in the centre. There is no manufactured rebate and no pairmaker required. It is a straightforward solution that opens up an enormous range of possible door designs.
Our Value 7 Panel Flush Style Internal Door Pair – White Primed is a good example. A pairmaker can also be added if you decide that you would prefer an overlapping meeting point between the doors.
Pairmaker vs Rebated Doors vs Two Single Doors
So what is the difference in simple terms?
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Type
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How the doors meet
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Main advantage
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Pairmaker doors
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A separate strip fitted to one door creates an overlapping meeting edge
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Allows suitable single doors to be turned into a more traditional double-door pair
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Rebated double doors
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The meeting edges are manufactured to overlap
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Purpose-made, neat and integrated double-door solution
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Two single doors
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Two standard square edges meet together
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Maximum flexibility and a huge choice of door styles
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