When Is It Necessary To Use Louvered Doors?

Louvered doors have been widely used for a long time, these doors have a very attractive aesthetic but they have a very important purpose apart from being an element that separates spaces.

In this topic, I will explain in which spaces it is necessary to use louvered doors and why, I will also make a summary of the origin of this type of door where it is clear its usefulness.

Why are louvered doors used?

What are the most common residential uses for a louvered door?

In the residential environment, the most common use of louvered doors is in closets, laundry rooms, and pantries, these closed spaces require forced ventilation because they tend to accumulate a large amount of moisture and these are the spaces used to store utilities that will be used continuously by people.

Most of the time closets, laundry rooms, and pantries do not have natural ventilation or cross ventilation through windows and this is why louvered doors are very common to use in these spaces in the residential environment.

Can you use the louvered door in the bathroom?

You can use the louvered door to improve air circulation and to eliminate accumulated moisture odors, keeping in mind that the louvered bathroom door models have a smaller louvered area than traditional louvered doors.

This is because the function of the bathroom louvered door is to moderately ventilate the bathroom to combat excess moisture, but remember that bathrooms can be odor accumulation spaces that do not need to be ventilated to the house with a fully louvered door.

The models of louvered doors designed to be used in bathrooms have the louvers located at the bottom of the door, the reason for this design is because the function of these doors is to remove moisture from the bathroom, and although it seems that the main function is to let the air out of the bathroom is actually the opposite.

The humid air (a mixture of air and water vapor) is less dense than dry air, although it may seem the opposite, the humid air accumulated in the bathroom is kept at the top, while the dry air being denser pushes the humid air from below.

It is for this reason that windows in bathrooms are made higher, and also, for this reason, louvered doors in bathrooms are made with the louvers at the bottom, to improve the airflow from the bathroom to the outside with the dry air pushing the humid air, and not to ventilate the humidity towards the inside of the house, which is not appropriate.

Do laundry room doors need to be louvered?

The need for your laundry room to have louvered doors will depend on how ventilated this area is, if your laundry room has several windows where cross ventilation can be created, then a louvered door is not as necessary.

But if your laundry room has only one window, which is the most common case, having louvered doors in a laundry room is a necessity to reduce the accumulated humidity, if you read above about the explanation of louvered doors in bathrooms, the humid air that is generated in these rooms is denser than dry air, it will need a flow of air from the louvered door to the window to the outside.

Besides, louvered doors are used in laundry rooms to reduce the effects generated by the noise of washing machines without blocking air circulation in the room.

Laundry rooms are places inside the house that generate noise from the machines and also where a high amount of moisture accumulates, in addition, laundry rooms are places that are visually unattractive and that homeowners prefer to keep out of sight.

Are louvered doors good for closets?

Louvered doors are a very effective way to keep the closets well ventilated. The closet space is vulnerable to excessive moisture accumulation, generally, closets are confined areas where the walls are usually in contact with the outside or with bathroom partitions.

Moisture condenses through the walls, and because the walls cannot be ventilated, it can cause mold to form in the corners. The most obvious sign of this is when clothes stored in the closets are impregnated with a musty odor.

The louvered doors help to reduce the accumulation of moisture in the closet and therefore mitigate the formation of mold, but this is sometimes not enough, so it is also customary to coat the closets with wood.

The problem with many closets is that the clothes are often vacuum-packed. Unpleasant odors are automatically created because the contents of the closets cannot breathe.

The louvered doors of a closet ensure that air can also circulate inside the closet. A beneficial side effect is that many insects that like heat and humidity are also kept away from the closets.

What type of louvered door is ideal for a closet?

Depending on personal preferences and expectations, the doors can be used as folding or sliding doors. In every format, the furnishings allow easy access to the wardrobe, which is based on different construction methods.

If a vertical louvered door is to be fixed to the cabinet, the sliding doors require special guides. To fill existing gaps, louvered doors can be improved with screens if necessary. In general, it is advisable to opt for sliding doors, especially in wide closets.

What is the difference between open and closed louver doors?

Louvered doors have various styles depending on the angle of inclination of the horizontal louvers and the small gap left between louvers, louvered doors with a considerable gap between louvers or that can be movable on their own axis are considered open louvered doors, while louvered doors with fixed louvers and no gap between them are considered closed louvered doors.

The main difference between open louvered and closed louvered doors lies in the amount of ventilation and privacy control required in a given space. Open louvered doors can be used for spaces where more ventilation is required without requiring maximum privacy, while closed louvered doors are used in spaces where ventilation and privacy are required simultaneously.

Can you use louvered doors for exterior facing spaces? Are they safe?

Lattice doors are not as secure as solid doors, obviously, there is a considerable difference in the amount of material used for their construction, but I can say that they are secure enough to prevent intrusions.

I have used louvered doors in country villa projects for exterior facing spaces, emphasizing the need to maintain visibility, connect the interior with the exterior, and always have a constant flow of air.

Although it should be taken into account, for louvered doors facing the outside space, to use movable louvers, which allow the possibility of shutting them, an insect could easily get in, also protecting the doors from the windy rain.

The origin of louvered doors and its main function

The origin of the slatted door remains uncertain, although the hypothesis of a French origin is favored, there is a theory that this concept of the slatted door is linked to an import from the East, specifically from Persia.

According to other sources, the term would have for the evocation of the horizontal stripes so characteristic of Persian fabrics.

As in all foreign colonies in the Antilles, the French tend to build houses in a style reminiscent of those of the metropolis.

The French, when colonizing Caribbean islands and in places where a warm climate prevailed, had to adapt to the local materials available, but above all to the tropical climate.

In these hot countries, often humid and with heavy rains, the search for shade, but especially ventilation, becomes a priority, but often remains a luxury.

It is necessary to have efficient air circulation, and this is the need of man, especially man who spends a lot of time at home. Various architectural elements are used in houses to achieve efficient ventilation and louvered windows are widely used both inside and outside the house.

The main purpose of using louvered doors is to enjoy fresher and healthier air at all times while maintaining a certain level of privacy.