Doors

Ordering a door starts with selecting the type of door. If the door will be exposed to direct sunlight and rain, it should be considered that these are not the best conditions for a wooden door and will reduce its lifespan. In such cases, it might be worth considering a door made of another material (e.g., plastic). However, if you still prefer to order a wooden door for such conditions, whether due to personal preferences or heritage conservation requirements, a solid wood door with a through tenon is a good choice. Although rainwater may cause the wood to swell and damage the paint coating, the solid wood construction (through tenon) and the absence of finger-jointed seams prevent the door from falling apart.

Another factor that damages wood is the sun. Paint coatings protect the wood, but only for a certain period of time, depending on the intensity of the sun. For example, identical doors on the same house have required maintenance differently. The door on the south-facing side, which has no shade and is exposed to direct rain, has required two refreshes within a 10-year period. Meanwhile, an identical solid wood door on the opposite side of the house, which is exposed to little sunlight and only occasional rain, has not required any maintenance.

Regarding color tone: dark tones significantly raise the wood’s temperature compared to light ones, and softwood doors may release resin in the first few years. While this doesn’t damage the door’s health, it can be visually startling. On the other hand, resinous wood is more resistant to decay, and for certain details, we intentionally choose resin-rich wood, for example, for the drip grooves and door casings that are installed against stone walls.

Doors that are not constantly exposed to water and the scorching sun will last for decades without any issues, so there’s no need to dwell on them. The first components that typically need replacement are the hinges and locks, which wear out over time. A wooden door must function smoothly, closing and opening easily. A new door may need to be adjusted and calibrated several times during its first few years before it reaches its stable shape. The older the door gets, the less it is affected by the weather.