Timber joinery in Morocco: choosing internal doors and the front door

By Yassine AT-TARASSI, architect · Updated on 23/10/2026 · Reference texts (6)

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Internal doors, the front door, wardrobes, linings: timber joinery is touched every day and has to last. This guide, for overseas Moroccans, foreign owners, developers and facility owners, explains how to choose timber and quality, what the architect checks and what doors cost for a house, a development block or a facility, according to the CITURBAREA cost simulator.

Disclaimer: published costs are indicative outputs of the CITURBAREA estimator (October 2026 version), not binding quotations, technical designs or compliance certificates. Apartment buildings and public-use facilities require project-specific drawings, specialist studies, applicable regulations and contractor quotations.

What types of doors and timber joinery are there?

• Flush door (isoplane): frame and two facings (melamine, laminate or paint-grade) on a honeycomb core; light and cheap.
• Door set (bloc-porte): door supplied with its frame and hardware, adjusted in the workshop; easier to fit accurately.
• Veneered door: a thin sheet of fine timber bonded to a panel.
• Solid timber door: pine, northern red fir, oak, iroko, cedar; heavier, dearer, can be repaired and re-sanded.
• Solid timber front door: exposed to weather, it needs a durable or treated species and a maintained finish.
• Wardrobes and linings: often in panels (MDF, melamine chipboard, plywood).

How much do wooden doors cost in Morocco in 2026?

Method note: CITURBAREA simulator, version 2026-10, calculated 23/10/2026. Contractor selling prices excl. VAT in Kénitra (factor 0.93), supply, fitting (200 to 400 MAD per standard door, 400 to 800 MAD per solid door, engine assumptions) and coordination; incl. VAT = excl. VAT × 1.20; rounded to the nearest 5 MAD; brackets show the engine's low-high range. Reference supply: before city factor, June 2026 records of indicative reliability (price guides, no verified supplier quote yet; VAT treatment not confirmed; not directly comparable with a fitted price excl. VAT).

Rounding: amounts excluding and including VAT and quantities are each shown after rounding, so the product of the visible values may differ from the total by a few dirhams. Contract calculations must start from unrounded quantities and unit prices.

Example for a private owner: for a 150 m² two-storey villa in Kénitra with nine internal doors, the simulator (VILLA type, October 2026, excl. VAT, contractor) counts about 22,000 MAD excl. VAT of door sets (mid-range), 44,000 MAD in solid pine (good standard) and 87,000 MAD in solid oak (high-end), plus the front door. Wardrobes appear in the simulator as an allowance (assumption, no reliable price record): have them priced from the drawings. To get the figure for your own house, run an estimate in the simulator, which changes door type with the finish level.

For panels, the materials library records for example 18 mm marine plywood at 280 to 450 MAD/m² (June 2026 benchmark; VAT treatment not confirmed; not directly comparable with a fitted price excl. VAT). To compare species, doors and hardware, browse product sheets and supplier prices in the materials library (free account).

What the price includes, and what it excludes

A "door price" means nothing until you know what is in it. Simulator prices include:

• the door leaf and, for a door set, the frame;
• standard hardware for the range: hinges, lock, lever handles;
• the range finish (melamine, paint-grade, varnish);
• fitting, adjustment and coordination by the contractor.

They exclude: on-site painting or lacquering if not specified, special hardware (multipoint lock, door closer, access control), fire doors, decorative architraves outside the range, making good of masonry reveals, VAT (in the excl. VAT columns), fees and contingencies. On each quote, check line by line: frame, leaf, lock, hinges, finish and fitting, included or excluded. Then compare complete fitted door sets with matching hardware and finish; otherwise the price gap means nothing.

Which timber should you choose?

Three ideas guide the choice, and the CITURBAREA engine checks them for every item. They come from European (EN) standards, which are voluntary references and not Moroccan law; the project specification (CPS) can make them contractual.

• Use class (EN 335), from 1 to 5: 1 = dry interior, 2 = occasional wetting, 3 = exterior, 4 = ground contact, 5 = sea water. Good practice: unsheltered exterior timber is at least class 3.
• Natural durability of the species (EN 350), from 1 (very durable) to 5 (not durable). A low-durability species used outside receives preservative treatment suited to its class (EN 351-1).
• Moisture content on delivery (EN 942): timber that is too wet warps and splits once fitted.

Inside, pine, northern red fir, MDF and plywood are suitable; for an exposed front door choose a durable species (oak, iroko, cedar) or treated timber, with a maintained varnish, stain or lacquer.

For a development apartment building

R+4 apartment building: a feasibility estimate, not a bill of quantities. The amounts shown come from a simulation scenario (1,200 m², 11 flats, Kénitra, parameters of 23/10/2026). Before any investment decision, the client needs a fixed brief, a preliminary take-off per trade, soil and structural studies, utility connection conditions and the requirements of the competent services, a contingency allowance and comparable quotations. Items already included in one package must not be added a second time.

For a five-storey (ground + 4) 1,200 m² apartment building in Kénitra (simulator IMMEUBLE type, 11 flats inferred by the engine, mid-range, calculated 23/10/2026), the internal timber joinery and kitchen package comes to about 566,000 MAD excl. VAT (357,000 to 913,000): 55 door sets (about 134,000 MAD), 44 lin. m of wardrobes (about 84,000 MAD) and 11 mid-range fitted kitchens (about 349,000 MAD). At good standard, with solid pine doors and a solid timber entrance door per flat, the same package rises to about 1,083,000 MAD excl. VAT. At mid-range, the engine puts flat entrance doors in the aluminium package (solid aluminium door), hence their absence here.

What matters to a developer: a joinery schedule per flat type, one hardware range for the whole block (maintenance and keys), flat entrance doors whose fire and burglar resistance is set by the fire safety regulation and the inspection body's opinion, and passage widths meeting the accessibility rules for apartment blocks. A residential building of more than three storeys or over 800 m² also falls under compulsory TRC and RCD insurance (ACAPS). To build this package into a feasibility study, developer's appraisal and bill of quantities, go to the developer area.

Developers: have the economic feasibility of your plot analysed: saleable areas, common parts, parking options, structure, utility connections, forecast cost per package and permit risks. Ask for an initial scoping review; detailed studies and costings are covered by a contractually defined assignment.

For a facility (school, clinic, hotel, shop)

Schools, clinics, hotels, shops and warehouses: requirements vary. Fire safety, accessibility, sanitary facilities, ventilation, operational safety and permits depend on the precise use, the number of occupants, floor areas, number of storeys and the activity. Regulatory references must be checked for the project concerned. The CITURBAREA simulator offers an indicative estimate by type of building open to the public (school or nursery, clinic or medical practice, hotel or riad, shop, offices, warehouse or workshop), based on a standard brief and on price and ratio assumptions still to be confirmed: no ratio is a quotation for this kind of project.

This guide gives no amount for this package: the simulator's ERP estimate rests on a standard brief and on assumptions still to be confirmed. What changes:

• Fire doors: high-risk rooms, compartmentation of corridors and stairs depending on the classification of the building open to the public and the fire and panic safety regulation (decree no. 2-14-499); doors are backed by a test report (NM EN 1634-1).
• Emergency exits: opening direction and devices (NM EN 179 for emergency exit devices), as required by the regulation and the competent services.
• Accessibility: passage widths, handles and thresholds under law no. 10-03 and its implementing decree no. 2-11-246; dimensions are read in the text and in the approved drawings.
• Heavy use: protected edges, kick plates, door closers, washable facings (clinic), acoustics (classrooms, hotel rooms).
• Inspection: the inspection body and the engineering consultancy (BET) check safety doors; TRC and RCD insurance is compulsory for a hotel or a shop according to ACAPS; for a school or a clinic, check with your insurer.

Facility owners: ask for a brief scoping review before any costing: capacity, flows and operation, security and fire safety, maintenance, technical needs, permits and overall operating cost. A specific consultation will determine which studies to commission. For a first order of magnitude, run the simulator's ERP costing, then book a brief scoping appointment.

How is timber joinery made and fitted?

1. Internal joinery schedule: size, opening direction, type, species, finish and hardware for each door.
2. Timber and finish samples approved by the architect.
3. Frames fitted plumb and square, before or after rendering depending on the system.
4. Doors hung after wet trades (render, screeds) to avoid damage.
5. Adjustment: gap under the door, closing, lock, stops.
6. Finish and protection until handover.

What are the most common mistakes?

• Front door in an untreated low-durability species exposed to rain: it swells, warps and rots.
• Timber fitted too wet: splits and doors that stick a few months later.
• Frame out of plumb: the door swings open or shut on its own.
• Doors hung before wet trades: stained, swollen facings.
• Cheap hardware on a heavy door: hinges that sag.
• Quotes compared without the same content: one with frame and lock, the other without.
• Door to a high-risk room (boiler room, block car park) without the fire rating the project requires.

What does the architect check?

As for all joinery, the CITURBAREA checklist covers approved shop drawings and samples; sizes, opening directions and glazing as scheduled; fixings and packing; operation of leaves and hardware. For timber, the architect also asks for the species, use class and, where needed, the treatment certificate, and checks timber moisture at handover.

Which standards and regulations apply?

Paid standards: reference and subject only; the specification (CPS) states which are contractual. "Mandatory" status comes from the Ministry of Industry and Trade list updated 09/03/2026 and applies to the products concerned.

• NM 10.2.476-2019: flush internal timber doors, specification; mandatory. NM 10.2.002-1988: timber or metal windows, specifications; mandatory.
• Mandatory hardware standards: NM EN 1670:2020 (corrosion resistance), NM 10.2.217:2020 (mortice locks), NM EN 1303:2020 (lock cylinders) and NM EN 12209:2011 (mechanical locks and keeps, in force from 18/03/2026).
• NM 10.2.485, 10.2.486 and 10.2.487: internal timber joinery works (approved Moroccan standards, contractual if the CPS cites them); the French rule NF DTU 36.2 covers the same subject (voluntary foreign reference).
• NM EN 14220: timber for external windows and doors; NM 10.2.488: installation of external windows and doors; NF DTU 36.5 as a French reference.
• NM EN 1906 (lever handles), NM 10.2.105 (hinges for timber joinery), NM ISO 6444 (door leaf behaviour under humidity changes): approved standards.
• NM EN 1634-1 (fire door tests) and NM EN 179 (emergency exit devices), with decree no. 2-14-499 of 15/10/2014 (Official Bulletin no. 6306) on fire and panic safety in buildings.
• Law no. 10-03 on accessibility and its implementing decree no. 2-11-246 of 30/09/2011 (Official Bulletin no. 5988): passage widths for buildings open to the public and apartment blocks.

How do you price your timber joinery?

Count the doors on the drawings and draw up a door-by-door schedule (size, species, finish, hardware). Send the same schedule to several contractors (see choosing a construction company) and, for aluminium windows and front doors, see our guide to aluminium windows. Before signing, the architect can review the quotes with you and spot what is missing in a video call with the architect.

Frequently asked questions