Abstract:
A method for forming a flush architectural wooden door using at least one post-consumer material includes collecting a previously-used door from a collection site. The previously-used door includes a core having a first major surface, a second major surface opposite to the first major surface, and a perimeter extending around the opposing major surfaces. The core is extracted from the previously-used door. Rails and styles are applied to a perimeter of the extracted core. A first skin is applied over the first major surface of the extracted core and applied rails and styles. The extracted core, rails, styles, and first skin have a collective weight. The extracted core forms over half of that collective weight.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/097,996 filed Apr. 29, 2011, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is directed to the area of door fabrication and methods of making the doors. The present invention is also directed to flush architectural doors formed using post-consumer materials, as well as methods of making the flush architectural doors. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    There is a general desire to reduce the costs associated with construction projects (e.g., commercial, residential, industrial, or the like). These costs may include, for example, money, time, materials, or the environmental impact associated with the construction projects. One way to reduce one or more of these costs is to reuse materials, whenever possible. For example, prior to demolition of a preexisting structure, at least some hardware and/or materials may be removed from the structure and resold or reused (either in whole or in part) in another structure, either at the site of the demolition or at another location. 
         [0004]    Flush architectural doors are commonplace in many buildings (e.g., commercial, residential, industrial, or the like). When new buildings are built, new flush architectural doors are commonly used within the new buildings. Flush architectural doors are commonly formed using wood or wood-based products. Currently, 95%-100% of commercial-grade flush architectural wooden doors are produced by harvesting of living wood. Unfortunately, when many buildings are demolished, flush architectural wooden doors from within the buildings are destroyed during the demolition process. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
           [0006]    Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified. 
           [0007]    For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will be made to the following Detailed Description, which is to be read in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1A  is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a door formed, in part, by disposing rails, styles, and at least one skin over a core formed from post-consumer materials, according to the invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 1B  is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of skins removed from the door of  FIG. 1A , thereby exposing inner portions of the door, the inner portions including rails and styles surrounding a core formed from post-consumer materials, according to the invention; and 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method for manufacturing the door of  FIG. 1A  using a core formed from post-consumer materials, according to the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0011]    The present invention is directed to the area of door fabrication and methods of making the doors. The present invention is also directed to flush architectural doors formed using post-consumer materials, as well as methods of making the flush architectural doors. 
         [0012]    At least some flush architectural wooden doors (“doors”) are formed from skins styles, and rails disposed over a core. Skins, styles, and rails can be formed from any suitable materials including, for example, wood, wood-based products, gypsum, or the like or combinations thereof. Cores can be formed from any suitable material including, for example, woodchips, sawdust, wood shavings, particle board, plywood, resin (or one or more other suitable binding materials), stud grade lumber, structural lumber, laminated strand lumber (“LSL”), gypsum, fiberglass, agrifiber, or the like or combinations thereof. 
         [0013]    As herein described, a system and method for making doors includes using post-consumer (i.e., recycled) materials. The post-consumer materials include cores from previously-used doors (e.g., doors formerly used in commercial, residential, or industrial settings, or the like or combinations thereof). It may be advantageous to form doors that include cores from previously-used doors. Doors formed from recycled cores may be more environmentally friendly than other doors because the doors formed from recycled materials do not involve harvesting new lumber to form the cores. In addition to reducing the amount of new wood or wood-based materials needed to form a new door, using recycled cores may additionally reduce the amount of post-construction wood debris discarded from construction sites (or demolition sites). Moreover, using doors formed from recycled cores in a construction project may enable credits (or points, or the like) to be earned under one or more environmental-based accreditation systems, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) certification system. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1A  is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a door  102  formed using post-consumer materials. The door  102  includes a top rail  108 , an opposing bottom rail  110 , a first style  112 , and an opposing second style  114 . A first skin  104  and an opposing second skin  106  are disposed over the rails  108 ,  110  and the styles  112 ,  114 . 
         [0015]      FIG. 1B  is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of the door  102  with the first skin  104  and the second skin  106  removed to expose inner portions of the door  102 . The exposed inner portions of the door  102  include a core  160  disposed between the rails  108 ,  110  and the styles  112 ,  114 . The core  160  is formed from previously-used (i.e., recycled) materials. Optionally, one or more of the styles  112 ,  114  may include one or more mortises  130  for receiving hardware (e.g., mounting hardware for a latch, a knob, a lock, hinges, or the like). 
         [0016]    In at least some cases, the core  160  may be coupled to one or more of the rails  108 ,  110  or the styles  112 ,  114  using adhesive, mortise and tenon joints, or the like or combinations thereof. The skins  104 ,  106  can be coupled to the recycled core  160  and one or more of the rails  108 ,  110  or the styles  112 ,  114  in any suitable manner including, for example, one or more adhesives, or the like. 
         [0017]    The rails  108 ,  110  and the styles  112 ,  114  can each be any suitable thickness. In at least some embodiments the rails  108 ,  110  have thicknesses of no less than one-and-a-half inches. In at least some embodiments the rails  108 ,  110  have thicknesses of no more than and eight inches. In at least some embodiments the styles  112 ,  114  have thicknesses of no greater than two-and-a-half inches. The skins  104 ,  106  can each be any suitable thickness. In at least some embodiments the skins  104 ,  106  have thicknesses of no greater than a half inch. In at least some embodiments, the skins  104 ,  106  have thicknesses of approximately one-sixteenth of an inch. 
         [0018]    In some cases, one or more of the rails  108 ,  110 , the styles  112 ,  114 , and the skins  104 ,  106  may include one or more layers of materials, such as a substrate and an outer edge. For example, the rail  108  may include a substrate  108   a  (e.g., medium-density or high-density fiberboard, or the like) and an outer edge  108   b  (e.g., hardwood, softwood, or the like). Similarly, one or more of the styles  112 ,  114  may include a substrate  112   a,    114   a,  respectively, and an outer edge  112   a,    112   b,  respectfully. The skins  104 ,  106  may include substrates (e.g., medium-density fiberboard, or the like) and outer edges. 
         [0019]    The edges  108   b,    112   b,  and  114   b  can be any suitable thickness. In at least some embodiments the edges  108   b,    112   b,  and  114   b  have thicknesses that are no less than three-eights of an inch. In at least some embodiments, the edges  108   b,    112   b,  and  114   b  have thicknesses that are no greater than one-and-one-quarter inches. 
         [0020]    In at least some cases, one or more portions of the door  102  can be omitted. For example, in at least some embodiments the door  102  may not include one or more substrates (e.g., substrate  108   a  of the rail  108 , or the like). In which case, the outer edge  108   b  can be disposed directly against the core  160 . 
         [0021]    The recycled core  160  may form the majority of the weight of the door  102  (excluding any post-manufacturing hardware, such as knobs, latches, locks, strike plates, fasteners, or the like, that may be subsequently mounted onto the door  102 ). In some cases, the recycled core  160  may form a majority of the weight of the door  102 . For example, the recycled core  160  may form at least 51%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or more of the weight of the door  102 . 
         [0022]    Forming the door  102  from post-consumer materials may involve one or more of collecting a previously-used door, extracting a core from the previously-used door, and processing the core to form the new door  102 . In some cases, the core may be inspected one or more times to ensure that the core is satisfactory for re-use. Processing the core to form the new door  102  may include re-applying all, or a portion, of one or more of the rails  108 ,  110  or the styles  112 ,  114  and re-skinning at least one side of the rails  108 ,  110 , styles  112 ,  114  and extracted core  160 . Optionally, processing the core to form the new door  102  may also include refinishing the new door  102 . 
         [0023]    Previously-used doors can be collected in any suitable manner. For example, previously-used doors can be gathered from a collection site. The collection site can be any suitable location including, for example, a construction project, a demolition location, a previously-used-door drop-off location, or other suitable location. 
         [0024]    Gathered previously-used doors can be transported to an extraction location where the cores of the previously-used doors are extracted. In some cases, the collection site and the extraction location are the same location. Extracting the core may include one or more of: removing any skins disposed over the core, and removing all, or a portion of each of the rails and the styles disposed around the core. The skins can be removed from the core in any suitable manner, including using a planer, an abrasive sander, or the like. The rails and the styles (or portions thereof) can be removed in any suitable manner including, for example, ripping the rails and styles from the core. In some cases, extracting the core may include making one or more preliminary cuts through a portion of the door to determine the thicknesses of one or more of the skins, rails, or styles. 
         [0025]    The cores may be inspected one or more times, including before, during, or after extraction. In some cases, the inspection may occur at the collection site. In other cases, the inspection may occur at the extraction site, or at some other suitable location. Inspection may include recording information about the door and/or the core. The recorded information may include, for example, one or more door dimensions, observable door features (e.g., cutouts, or the like), fire ratings, general physical conditions (e.g., integrity, moisture, density, warpage, defects, damage, or the like), core type, style or rail configuration, skin application, existence of potentially-flammable or toxic materials, or the like or combinations thereof 
         [0026]    Once the cores are extracted, the cores can be re-styled, re-railed, and re-skinned. In some cases, the doors  102  may additionally be machined, for example, to facilitate installment of new hardware. In some cases, the doors  102  may additionally be refinished. Refinishing the doors  102  may include at least one of staining, painting, varnishing, or the like to one or more portions of the doors  102 . Refinishing the doors  102  may additionally include applying one or more protective coatings, sealants, or adhesives to one or more portions of the doors  102 . In at least some embodiments, refinishing is performed using one or more ultraviolet-light-curing materials. When adhesives are used (e.g., during re-styling, re-railing, re-skinning, refinishing, or the like), the adhesives can, optionally, be No Added Urea Formaldehyde (“NAUF”) compounds. It may be advantageous to use NAUF compounds in order to reduce, or even eliminate, off gassing. Using NAUF compounds may provide additional credit for a construction project seeking a desired accreditation, such as a LEED accreditation. In some cases, one or more portions of the fabrication of the doors  102  may be performed by one or more licensed door manufacturers. 
         [0027]    Currently, one or more agencies implement tracking systems that trace timber from designated locations along a supply chain. For example, the Forest Stewardship Council (“FSC”) traces products from certified forests throughout the supply chain to ensure that any claims on the origin of the product are credible and verifiable. The FSC tracking system includes a voluntary chain-of-custody certification that enables manufacturers and traders to demonstrate that timber comes from a forest that is responsibly managed in accordance with specific criteria. In some cases, a valid chain-of-custody certification may be necessary for receiving approval for using wood products in a particular project. 
         [0028]    In some cases, the door  102  with the recycled core  160  may include chain-of-custody information that validates the origin of the core  160  as being a post-consumer product. The chain-of-custody information may include one or more of the date or location of collection of the core. The chain-of-custody information can be recorded and attached (e.g., stamped, written, etched, stapled, implanted via a chip, or the like) to a core (or to some other portion of the door  102  or to some other portion of the rail of the door) subsequent to extraction. In at least some cases, the door  102  may be useable on construction jobs that would otherwise be limited to doors having FSC chain-of-custody certification. In at least some embodiments, the chain-of-custody information can be used to create a chain-of-custody certificate. 
         [0029]    The chain-of-custody information may additionally include other relevant information including, for example, the type of core (e.g., particle core, strand core, mineral core, stave core, or the like), the dimensions of the core, a physical description of the door from which the core was extracted, details regarding the age or origination of the door from which the core was extracted, the name or other relevant identification information of the collecting entity, the general condition of the door from which the core was extracted, or the like. 
         [0030]    In some instances, the extracted core may be certified by one or more certifying bodies including, for example, the Architectural Woodwork Institute (“AWP&#39;), the Window &amp; Door Manufacturers Association (”WDMA″), American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”) or the like or combinations thereof, prior to being re-railed, re-styled, and re-skinned. In some cases, the certification process may be very similar to a certification process performed on a new core. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a method for forming the door  102  using at least some post-consumer materials. In step  202 , a previously-used door is collected. In step  204 , a core is extracted from the previously-used door. In optional step  206 , the core is inspected. In step  208 , the core is re-railed and re-styled. In step  210 , at least one skin is disposed over the core, rails, and styles. Optionally, in step  212  the door is machined. Optionally, in step  214  the door is refinished. 
         [0032]    The above specification, examples and data provide a description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention also resides in the claims hereinafter appended.