Choosing the right material for your timber door
There are many reasons to why you might need to replace your front door. It might have been broken, become damaged, or you just want to upgrade it to fit your sense of style and security. Solid timber doors are very popular for many people that are redecorating their homes. Apart from looking rustic and stylish, they are also very secure as solid timber is a material very hard for burglars to break down. When deciding on what type of timber door you want, the most important thing to consider is the material.
Pine
A very popular choice for solid timber doors is pine. It's a very common material throughout the world and is therefore often cheaper than other options of wooden materials. The wood is soft and rather light in colour, but if you want the door to last as long as possible, you should paint or stain it to make sure it doesn't get affected by moist and sunlight. As pine is a softwood, it needs more coating than many other types of wood to withstand the forces of the weather.
Lime wood
Lime wood is another type of softwood popular for making doors. It has the same properties as pine, with the exception that the grain is smaller in lime wood than it is in pine. This makes it easier to paint and often only needs one coat to be covered. As lime is a popular type of wood for any type of woodwork, you can easily match your door with, for example, timber window shutters or window frames.
Red cedar
Red cedar is also a popular choice for exterior woodwork. Besides the fact that this wood has a very appealing natural colour, it's also naturally insect repellent. This is a clear advantage during the summer. It's also more weather resistant than lime and pine, which means that it only needs topping up in the finish every now and again while still being able to endure many years.
Phoenix wood
If you have your mind set on oak doors, but can't afford it, then phoenix wood might be something for you. It looks similar to oak, but is more affordable. This style is especially suitable if you have an older house. Phoenix wood also comes with the natural property of being fire repellent, meaning that using phoenix wood for your doors, and maybe also windows, can help with slowing the flames down if you were ever so unlucky to have your house caught on fire. It's also a rather insulating wood, which helps saving energy for warming your house up.
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