A handleless concealed door only looks right when every variable has been agreed before the drawing is signed off. The leaf must sit flush, the finish must read as one continuous surface with the wall, and the opening must work every day for the people using the room. Because the Santerson Handleless Concealed Doors are made to measure rather than supplied in fixed sizes, the specification conversation is where the result is decided. Below is the list of items we ask buyers, designers and contractors to bring to that conversation, and what each one changes downstream.

Start with the opening, not the door

Concealed doors are built around the wall, so the first figures we need are structural. Please confirm the finished floor level, the clear opening width and height after the wall build-up is complete, and the total wall thickness including plasterboard, backing and any insulation or acoustic infill. A concealed leaf usually runs to full storey height, so the ceiling line and the position of cornices, skirting and shadow gaps also need to be fixed before production.

Send dimensions as a marked-up drawing rather than a single number. We produce the door to the project's dimensions, and the layout is tailored to each space, so the more precisely the wall build-up is drawn, the fewer site adjustments are needed later. If the wall is still open, flag it: the frame type and the wall system should be chosen together, not one after the other.

Decide how the leaf should read against the wall

“Handleless” is a decision about the front face, and it drives everything else. There is no visible handle or rose, so the edge detail, the recessed pull and the clearance gap carry the whole look. Tell us how the door is meant to be opened in practice — with a hand into a concealed groove, or by pushing a full-height edge — and how often it is used, because that affects the hardware we recommend and where it can sit.

Then decide the finish, and treat it as a wall finish, not a door finish. A concealed leaf is commonly painted, veneered or panelled to match the surrounding surface so that the opening disappears. If the plan is to paint the door on site after installation, say so at the outset and let us know the paint system, because the leaf must be prepared to accept it. If you prefer the finish applied in the factory, send a sample reference or a RAL / colour standard, and agree where the sample is to be checked, since the same paint reads differently on a vertical leaf and on a test board.

Where the brief calls for something less minimal, a Santerson Decorative Concealed Door can carry mouldings, panelling or a decorative surface while keeping the same hidden principle. If the door has to match an existing panelled wall, send the profile drawing and the panel set-out — matching a repeating pattern across a moving leaf is a drafting job, and it is far cheaper to resolve on paper than on site.

Specify the hanging and the swing

Concealed hinges and an invisible fixing line are what make the leaf read as part of the wall, so hinge choice belongs in the early discussion, not in the shop drawings. Confirm the swing direction, whether the leaf opens into or out of the room, and any obstruction behind the door — a light switch, a radiator, a wardrobe return, a piece of furniture that will stand in the arc. Tell us the intended opening angle and whether the door needs to hold open, close softly or stay shut.

Full-height leaves are heavy, so the hinge load rating has to match the finished leaf, including the weight of whatever finish goes onto it. A veneered or panelled leaf weighs more than a plain one, and that difference only becomes a problem if it was never stated. Send the wall thickness and the leaf thickness you want, and we will confirm what the wall can carry.

Agree the performance requirement room by room

The same opening in a bedroom and a study may need very different behaviour. Be explicit about what each door has to do: privacy, noise reduction, sight lines, or simply the ability to disappear when a room is photographed. Acoustic and fire performance are project-specific, and any requirement of that kind must be declared at the enquiry stage, because it changes the core build and the wall detail. We do not assume a performance level — we build to what the project states, and the details are confirmed for each project.

Coordinate the door with the rest of the joinery

Handleless detailing rarely stops at one opening. Where a wall carries wardrobes, cabinetry or panelling as well as a door, the reveal, the shadow gap and the edge profile should be identical across all of them, or the difference becomes the most noticeable thing in the room. Our flush, wall-aligned work in the same Windows and Doors collection follows the same logic, and buyers who are fitting out a whole floor usually find it easier to fix one detail set — one gap dimension, one paint specification, one edge treatment — and apply it everywhere.

The same applies to the neighbouring trades. Plasterers, painters, floor fitters and the electrical contractor all work to the door line, so the drawing that goes to us should be the drawing that goes to them.

What we need from you to issue a proposal

• Marked-up opening dimensions, with the wall build-up and finished floor levels shown.
• Swing direction, opening angle and how the leaf is to be opened without a visible handle.
• Finish decision: painted on site, or factory-applied finish with a colour or veneer reference.
• Matching details for adjacent panelling, wardrobes or cabinetry, including profiles and set-out.
• Any acoustic, privacy or other performance requirement stated for each room.
• Site programme: the date the walls are to be closed, and the date the doors are needed on site.

The site programme matters more than buyers expect. A concealed frame has to be set into the wall before it is closed, and the finish is applied after the wall is complete, so a door that arrives late holds up the plaster, and a door that arrives early sits in a corridor being damaged. Once the above is agreed, we confirm the specification for the project and work to it; dimensions and selected specifications are checked with you before manufacture.

Before you enquire: three questions worth answering alone

First, which rooms genuinely need the door to disappear? A concealed leaf is worth specifying where a wall has to read as one surface — a media wall, a corridor, a guest suite where the door sits in a decorated face. In a store or a plant room, an ordinary leaf is simpler and cheaper.

Second, who is maintaining it? Concealed hardware is repaired through the same invisible face, so agree now who adjusts the hinges and how access is handled, and keep the shop drawings with the project file.

Third, is the budget set by the door or by the wall? The leaf, the frame, the plastering, the painting and the ironmongery are one cost, not three, and projects that budget them separately tend to change the design mid-build.

If you have drawings, send them with the room list and the finish references, and we will come back with a specification and a proposal built around your dimensions rather than a standard catalogue size. For doors, joinery and the rest of the fit-out, you can reach us through the contact page.