Doors today come in many shapes, sizes, colours, and of course – materials. Steel, aluminium, fibreglass and uPVC are all familiar players in the field. The type of material you choose for your door will depend on several things, not least budget, but today we urge you to consider the classic wooden door and explain why after all these years, it remains the undefeated all-round champion of doors.
Wooden Doors: Internal or External?
In short timber is ideal for both internal and external doors.
Unlike uPVC, composite, and aluminium doors, wooden doors are suitable as both interior and exterior doors. Wooden exterior doors offer strength and security whilst wooden interior doors offer a high-end feel, an easily repairable surface, and incredible durability.
We’ll discuss the benefits in more detail shortly, but it’s worth noting that teaming internal and external wooden doors can help create a more consistent, integrated appearance throughout the home.
Wooden Doors: Solid or Engineered?
Before we get into the advantages and disadvantages of wooden doors, it’s helpful to explain that there are two main types of timber door available: solid wood and engineered wood.
Solid wood doors are made from a single piece of wood, or several pieces of the same variety of wood glued together to make a continuous, solid construction.
Engineered wood has an outer layer and an inner layer. The outer layer (or veneer) is made of a more expensive and attractive piece of wood while the inner layer is formed of cheaper woods.
As they use a smaller quantity of high quality woods, engineered doors tend to be cheaper than solid wood doors – but which door is better?
On the outside the aesthetic is very similar, but engineered doors will not warp and can be more thermally efficient. Solid wood doors on the other hand can be much simpler to repair. For more information read our article on choosing the right door for you.
Benefits of Wooden Doors
One of the biggest benefits of a wooden front door is how great it looks. As a natural and extremely versatile building material, wooden doors come in a far wider range of designs than their uPVC, fibreglass or metal counterparts. The craftsmanship is clearly visible, which adds to the overall appeal. This appeal goes beyond just looks, however – we challenge you to find any other door material that feels (or smells!) as good as wood.
Their versatility means they can be tailored (in size, wood-type and design) specifically to your home and aesthetic, and because no two pieces of wood are exactly the same, you end up with a front door that is completely unique to you. The benefits of timber doors mean that whether you prefer light wood, dark wood, painted surfaces, tight grain, wide grain, simplicity or intricate design work, everything is possible!
One of the key advantages of wooden doors is security. Wooden doors are incredibly strong, and developments in their design and construction over their hundreds of years of manufacture mean they also last a very long time. They are one of the few door materials that can be repaired, as wood is easy to work with and a malleable material. This means a wooden door will offer you great security and reliability over its long life.
All of these things are important, but a wooden door benefits you in another way as well: wood is an excellent natural insulator. The properties of the material mean that warmth is kept in, and noise is kept out more so than with most other types of door. Plus, as long as the wood comes from a sustainable source, it’s environmentally friendly, too.
Disadvantages of Wooden Doors
You’ll have picked up by now that we’re big fans of timber, and there’s no doubt that the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages of wooden doors. However, we’d be doing you a disservice if we didn’t also tell you about potential problems with timber doors.
The primary disadvantage of timber doors is their cost. They sit at the luxury end of the market, and as such command a higher price than doors made from cheaper materials. However a hardwood door will need to be replaced less often, meaning you should end up spending less in the long term.
With a renewed focus on quality, efficiency, longevity and environmental care, wooden doors tick a lot of boxes when it comes to building a home that is safe, sensible, and on trend. Whilst we can’t claim that there are no problems with wooden doors, there certainly aren’t many, and the advantages are plentiful.
Start shopping for wooden external doors here, and wooden internal doors here.
