40d:Door

Doors are furniture which can be built from rock (at a mason's workshop), wood (at a carpenter's workshop), or metal (at a metalsmith's forge). You can also make glass doors (called portals) at a glass furnace. The symbol for a stone door is that of a solid tile, the color of its material, with a cross of a different color across it (e.g. ┼) Doors of different materials use different tiles, because Toady hates tileset makers^[Verify]. Glass doors (or portals) use the symbol O. Metal doors use the symbol ╪. Wood doors use the symbol ║.

Doors made of all materials function identically, although doors made of more valuable material will increase the "value" of a room it is used in. High-quality doors give a happy thought to any dwarf seeing them, especially when a door is part of a room that the dwarf personally owns.^[Verify] Items made of a material a dwarf has a preference for will give an even happier thought.

Doors, when closed, will prevent the passage of fluid (water and magma). However, if a dwarf opens the door, the fluid will come spilling through.

Door settings

There are three options one can specify on a door from the q menu:

• l Forbid/Permit Passage
  • A door set to Forbidden is impassable to everyone in the game. A door cannot be set Forbidden if the door is open. Invading thieves may lock-pick and bypass a Forbidden door.
• o Keep Tightly Closed/Make Pet-Passable
  • A door that is pet-passable allows through traffic of pets. A pet can still pass through a door that is tightly closed if it does so while it is being held open by an object or dwarf. This also affect the door's permeability to wild animals - a tightly closed door is a good way to keep wild animals from blundering into your fort.
• s Set as Internal/External
  • A door set to external functions as a wall when defining boundaries of a room such as a bedroom. A door set to internal allows the room boundaries to pour over.

"Building" doors

After constructing a door at any of the above workshops, they must be "built" (placed) like all other furniture. Doors can now be placed on any open square adjacent to a wall. Locked doors and statues do not count as walls for door-building purposes anymore. For the same result of the statue-door-move statue trick in previous versions to build an infinite line of doors, instead use a constructed wall segment. Doors will not "fall down" when the constructed wall is removed. They will, however, fall down if a non-constructed wall they are attached to is mined out and they have no other support.

Door construction

A door built will not create a floor above it the way a wall will. If construction is to be done above a door, walls, fortifications and floors can be built on top of doors. Doors cannot be built on top of other doors – there must be a floor. Stairs and ramps, of course, cannot be built on top of doors either.

Door strength

Trolls and most megabeasts can destroy doors. All doors. There is no exception. Run.
(Conversely, any door is completely invulnerable to anything that isn't a building destroyer. Therefore, a glass portal can stop an Elite Hammergoblin.)

Doors ajar

Sometimes dwarves will leave items in doors, propping them open. Having a door open when it should be closed can lead to all sorts of disasters with water, magma and hostile creatures.

To remove an item from a doorway designate a garbage dump (preferrably nearby) and then look at the item and mark it for dumping. A dwarf with the refuse hauling labour enabled will come along and shift it.

If you don't want to designate the item for dumping (or can't, if it's owned by an individual dwarf) you can clear the area by dismantling the door and rebuilding it. Dwarves always clear the area when they build things.
Select the door with q and then press x to order the door dismantled. Reconstruct the door in the same way as building a new one.

Buildings, Constructions and Rooms FAQ
When I try to build a bed/door/chair why does it say needs bed/door/chair?
How do I make and build chests?
How do I construct a wall from a particular direction?
How do I designate rooms or areas?
Help! My doors are stuck open!
Once placed, can furniture be moved?
How do I increase the value of a room quickly and easily?
Add a question to this FAQ
Back to the Main FAQ

V · T · E Buildings
Workshops • Furnaces
Rooms	Barracks • Bedroom • Dining room • Jail • Meeting hall • Office • Sculpture garden • Tomb • Zoo
Furniture	Animal trap • Anvil • Armor stand • Bed • Bin • Bucket • Cabinet • Cage • Coffin • Container • Restraint • Seat • Statue • Table • Weapon rack
Access	Door • Floodgate • Bars • Grate • Floor hatch • Bridge • Road • Window
Constructions	Fortification • Floor • Stairs • Ramp • Wall
Machine & Trap parts	Axle • Gear assembly • Millstone • Screw pump • Water wheel • Windmill • Lever • Pressure plate • Trap • Support
Other Buildings	Archery target • Kennel • Shop • Siege engine • Trade depot • Wagon • Well
Related Articles	Design strategies • Bedroom design • Cave-in • Computing • Furniture industry