Brett Field
Pick solid core for bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices and any outside door, and hollow core for low-traffic rooms like robes and spare rooms. That is the split cost guide Sparky recommends. A solid core door weighs about twice as much and costs more, but it is quieter and tougher.
Below is what is inside each door, the weights, sound ratings and prices, solid timber as a third choice, and the Queensland rule for the door between a garage and a house. These are market prices from cost guides, checked on 4 November 2026. They are not a quote from us.
What is the difference between a hollow core and a solid core door?
What is inside. A hollow core door is a timber frame filled with cardboard honeycomb, with a thin MDF skin on each face. A solid core door has the frame filled with solid MDF or particleboard. This is how door maker Corinthian lists its cores on its door construction page:
| Core | What is inside | Weight, 2040 x 820 door |
|---|---|---|
| Honeycomb (hollow core) | Timber frame, cardboard honeycomb, MDF skin, timber lock block for the handle | 16-17 kg |
| Ultima | Timber frame, polyfoam core, MDF skin, timber lock block | Not listed |
| Solid MDF | Timber frame, solid MDF core | 35 kg |
| Solid particleboard | Timber frame, moisture resistant particleboard core | Not listed |
| Blokdoor | Finger-jointed laminated timber | 35 kg |
Source: Corinthian door construction page and its Deco internal and EXP entrance door pages, checked 4 November 2026.
Thickness will not tell you the core. Corinthian's Deco 04S internal door is 35 mm thick, and its EXP entrance door comes 35 mm or 40 mm thick with a honeycomb, solid MDF or Blokdoor core. For heights and widths, see our guide to standard door sizes in Australia.
Is there anything between hollow core and solid core?
Yes. Corinthian's Ultima door has a foam core instead of cardboard. On its Deco door page, Corinthian also lists a medium to high density core at 30 kg, between the 17 kg honeycomb and a 35 kg solid door.
The foam core blocks more sound too. Corinthian rates its Ultima core at Rw31, against Rw26 for the honeycomb version of its Deco 04S door.
If a shop sells a door as "semi-solid", ask two things: what the core is made of, and what the door weighs. Those two answers tell you more than the name.
How heavy is a solid core door?
About 35 kg for a standard 2040 x 820 door, or roughly twice a hollow core door. Corinthian lists its honeycomb doors at 16 to 17 kg and its solid and Blokdoor cores at 35 kg. Sparky gives these ranges:
| Door | Weight |
|---|---|
| Hollow-core | 10-14 kg |
| Solid-core | 25-35 kg |
| Solid timber panel | 30-50 kg |
Source: Sparky, door and window costs (September 2026).
The weight matters for hinges (see below) and for sliding doors. Corinthian's Platinum 4000 cavity unit takes a door of up to 65 kg on a single slider, or 45 kg for each door on a double. A solid core door sits well inside that.
Is a solid core door soundproof?
No, but it is quieter. Rw is a sound rating where a higher number blocks more sound. Corinthian's figures:
- honeycomb core, Deco 04S door: Rw26
- Ultima foam core: Rw31
- Amod 14 timber stile and rail door, no glass: Rw29
Corinthian does not give a rating for its solid MDF core on the pages we opened. Sparky recommends solid core for bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices "where sound insulation matters".
Gaps let sound through whatever the core. Corinthian's install guide leaves about 3 mm at the top and sides of a door and 5 mm at the bottom. So a solid door on its own will not make a room soundproof.
How much more does a solid core door cost?
Roughly $70 to $200 more for the door itself. Here are the prices from two cost guides:
| Item | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hollow-core door, supply only | $80-$150 | Sparky (September 2026) |
| Solid-core door, supply only | $150-$350 | Sparky (September 2026) |
| Solid timber panel door, supply only | $400-$1,200+ | Sparky (September 2026) |
| Standard hinged door, installed | $400-$700 per opening | Sparky (September 2026) |
| Door installation, supply and fit | $245-$635, typically $390 | What's The Damage (Gold Coast page, November 2026) |
Sparky says a new hollow-core door hung in an existing, square frame with basic hardware sits near $300. Neither guide splits the labour by core. Our guide to door installation cost has the full list.
What about a solid timber door?
It is the third choice, and the dearest. Sparky puts a solid timber panel door at $400 to $1,200 or more, supply only, and 30 to 50 kg.
Corinthian makes two kinds:
- Stile and rail doors, built from engineered timber pieces with panels or glass between. Its Amod 14 weighs 20 to 35 kg and needs at least 3 hinges.
- Blokdoor, a flush door with a laminated timber core. Corinthian says it has no trimming limit, where honeycomb and solid MDF doors can only lose 5 mm from each edge. That helps in an old opening that is out of square.
Corinthian says Blokdoor needs hinge screws at least 75 mm long, and is not suited to a high quality paint finish because of its open grain at the top and bottom.
Can you use a hollow core door as a front door?
Sparky says no: "External doors should always be solid-core for security and weather resistance." Corinthian says only doors designed as external doors should be used outside. Even then, every entrance door must go in a weather protected opening, and the warranty does not cover doors fully exposed to the weather.
Corinthian does sell its EXP entrance door with a honeycomb core in some sizes, so "entrance door" does not always mean solid. Check the core before you buy.
For homes near the coast, Corinthian's overhead protection guide says an awning over a north, south or west facing door should stick out as far as it sits above the bottom of the door. For an east facing door, half that is enough.
Is a solid core door a fire door?
No. A fire door is a tested set, not just a heavy door. The Queensland Fire Department says a fire door is a door leaf, frame and hardware (closers, handles, locks) with matching tags on the door and frame. It must close itself and latch.
The tag shows the standard, AS/NZS 1905.1, and a fire resistance level such as -/60/30, plus the maker and certifier. A plain solid core door has none of that. The department adds that a licensed carpenter can install and repair fire doors, but cannot inspect, test or certify them without a separate QBCC fire doors licence.
Does a garage to house door need to be fire rated in Queensland?
Only in some layouts, and even then the rule asks for a self-closing solid core door, not a tagged fire door. It sits in Part 9.2 of the NCC 2022 Housing Provisions.
It covers a garage that sits beside the house and near a side or back boundary (not the street). The house must then be protected in one of five ways. The simplest is a garage at least 900 mm from that boundary. If it is closer, the options include making the garage's boundary wall fire-resisting, or making the house wall next to the garage fire-resisting. In a fire-resisting wall, clause 9.2.3 says any door must be a "self-closing solid core" door at least 35 mm thick.
Part 9.4 is stricter. Where a home sits above a garage that belongs to a different home, the wall between them needs a fire resistance level of 60/60/60 or 90 mm of masonry. Your certifier has the final word on what your house needs.
Do solid core doors need more hinges?
Yes, at least three. Corinthian's install guide says entrance doors and solid doors need a minimum of 3 hinges of 89 mm, to lower the chance of warping. Its warranty (VENTORA Group, March 2024) goes further: it does not cover solid doors that are not hung on 3 hinges of 100 mm.
Corinthian also says:
- its EXP entrance doors up to 2040 x 920 need at least 3 hinges, and larger ones need 4
- its 2340 mm tall doors and medium to high density core doors need at least 3
Hinges need solid timber to screw into. If the old frame is split or rotten, our guide to door frame replacement cost covers a new one.
Very wide front doors can hang on a pivot instead of hinges. Our guide to pivot doors explains how they work and the sizes.
How do you stop a new door warping in humid weather?
Seal all six sides. Corinthian's warranty does not cover a door unless it gets two coats of paint or varnish on both faces and all edges, top and bottom included, within one month of delivery. Its care guide says timber is "greatly affected by changes in moisture", which can make it warp, crack or rot.
Corinthian's other rules:
- paint all six sides the same colour, or the door may warp
- use light colours in the sun, with a light reflective value (LRV) over 50
- store doors flat, off the floor, in a dry building
- it does not cover warping when the timber's moisture is below 10% or above 15%
Sparky lists seasonal swelling from humidity as a reason doors stick. If yours already does, see why does my door stick. Corinthian's care and maintenance page has the full guide.
We hang hollow core, solid core and timber doors across the Gold Coast, with the hinges and hardware each one needs. See our carpentry work for the doors and other jobs we do.
Where do these prices come from?
Checked on 4 November 2026: Sparky (door and window costs, September 2026) and What's The Damage (Gold Coast carpenter costs, November 2026). Product details from Corinthian's door construction page, Deco 04S, EXP and Amod 14 door pages (undated), door installation guide and door care and maintenance guide (both September 2024), overhead protection guide (February 2026), Platinum 4000 cavity install instructions (undated) and the VENTORA Group warranty (March 2024). Rules from the ABCB (NCC 2022 Housing Provisions, Parts 9.2 and 9.4) and the Queensland Fire Department (fire doors information sheet, September 2025). We will check the prices again every three months.
See our carpentry work, or check what your job will cost.
