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Some frequently asked questions:
What types of timber do you use? ^ top ^
Our standard timber types are:
- Softwood (Douglas Fir or Hemlock)
- Hardwood (Sapele)
- Oak (European)
In terms of popularity, we sell approximately 40% softwood, 40% hardwood and 20% oak. All of these are solid timbers (not "engineered" where pieces of wood are glued together to form a composite and overlaid with a veneer finish).
Is a hardwood door better than a softwood one? ^ top ^
Given exactly the same circumstances, a hardwood door wil outlast a softwood one. However (and it's a big "however") a well maintained softwood door will outlast a poorly maintained hardwood one. When we talk about maintenance we don't mean that the door has to be repainted every year - many modern finishes carry 10 year guarantees - it just needs to have been properly sealed at the beginning of it's life (see our Door Care page) and retouching if there are any chips in the paint.
Which construction is best for my circumstances? ^ top ^
The answer is - it depends! If you plan to stain your door then the door and panels would need made from the same material. If it will be painted, the panels can be made from a manmade material to keep down cost. For high traffic areas, we would recommend hardwood or oak, if the door is within a porch or isn't used regularly, softwood is fine.
The manmade panels are an excellent choice for painted doors since they are inherently stable and do not warp, crack or split.
How are the doors made? ^ top ^
The doors are all made by traditional methods using mortice & tenon joints for strength and durability. Panels are set into grooved channels within the door stiles and rails. We do not use dowel construction in any part of our doors.
How long will it take to make my door? ^ top ^
This will depend on the style of door and the chosen options. Our standard lead time for an unglazed door is around 2-3 weeks depending upon workload. Stained glass will add a further 7-10 days and encapsulated leaded glazing adds another week.
If you have a more pressing deadline, please discuss it with us and we'll do our best to help.
What about maintenance? ^ top ^
As with most things, doors will benefit from having a good start in life and this means that the timber must be sealed agains the elements to prevent moisture ingress. For painted doors, this is achieved by the application of 2 undercoat layers followed by 3 to 4 gloss coats. Stained doors should have 2 preservative/base coats followed by 3 to 4 top coats. Many finishes carry a 5 or 10 year guarantee so all that needs to be done in the intervening time is to touch-up any chips - a five minute job. Please see our Door Care page for more information.
Our door opening is a non-standard size. Can you make on to fit? ^ top ^
Yes. All our doors are made-to-order so we can usually accommodate any sizing requirements you may have.
Why are your doors more expensive than "off the shelf" sites? ^ top ^
Door wholesalers usually buy from a few large manufacturers who keep down costs by offering only selected styles & sizes. For external doors, there are usually 4 or 5 sizes ranging from 78" x 30" to 84" x 36". While these can be reduced slightly, you need to have an opening size which is at least close (usually -12mm to -20mm). Unfortunately. many older properties don't play by the rules so a door has to be made to measure.
A former employee of one of the large door manufacturers told us that one £4.5million production line could make a door, from timber to wrapping, in 3½ minutes. No matter what incentives we offer, we can't get our joiners to match this. The time to change style on this line was more than a day and a half so, if you factored in the cost of this down-time, we would probably look quite cheap by comparison!
What is "encapsulated" leaded glazing and what are the advantages? ^ top ^
Encapsulation is of benefit where security and/or insulation are of interest. The traditional leaded glazing which we supply is made up from individual pieces of glass mounted in lead channel and then cemented. For a variety of reasons, this cannot be used as one side of a double glazed unit and so the leaded panel is sandwiched between two more panes of glass, effectively giving a triple glazed unit. A further advantage of this method is that the leaded lights retain their character while being easier to clean.
Why do you offer different options for the panels? ^ top ^
Where a door is to be painted, we can make use of a manmade panel to help reduce cost - over 95% of our customers choose this when specifying their door. The door stiles & rails are traditionally constructed using solid timber with mortice & tenon joints. We use a sealed green core moisture resistant MDF for the panels and the door is primed before despatch.
For doors which are to be stained, we would manufacture the door from all softwood or hardwood and despatch this in its raw state suitable for the application of your chosen finish on site.
We live in a listed building. Can you copy our existing door? ^ top ^
Yes, no problem. We regularly work to photos, sketches or architect's drawings
Can you make the glazing in the door to match our existing windows/fanlight? ^ top ^
Certainly, just send us a photo and we'll do the rest. The image below shows a recent situation where we replaced an off-the-shelf door with one which was more in keeping with the style of the property. The door glazing was designed from a photo of the existing fanlight and the customer was delighted with the result.
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