How To Choose The Perfect Timber Door For Your Home

As an essential element to your home, your front door gives friends and family a warm welcome while speaking volumes about your style and personality. But quality craftsmanship, design aesthetics, and a door that’s built to last are all key factors in making the right choice in choosing the perfect timber door for your home.

Helping you make the right choice

Your home’s front door should be able to keep you safe while serving a highly functional purpose. Those qualities should apply to other doors around your home as well, but for all its practicalities, your front door has the ability to boost kerb appeal and the potential to make an individual and inviting first impression.

But knowing your options, possibilities, and limitations of your choice means you should be able to choose the perfect timber door for your home. And the information we’ve given here will be essential in helping you make an informed decision to get the look and style that’s right for your home.

Timber door materials

Nathan McCarter Joinery is all about the beauty of timber in every door or window we create for our clients. But our experience in working with different types of wood tells us which material is better for certain products, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Working with you to select the right timber for your doors is something we give great importance to as it can have a long term impact.

While we work with all types of wood for both internal and external doors, we normally advise clients on their external door choice for weather-facing aspects. Though oak is an attractive, classic, and desirable timber, its natural permeability means you’ll be more likely to have issues with swelling, warping, and contracting if it’s not properly treated and regularly maintained.

But all timber including Sapele, Mahogany, Idigbo Iroko, and Utile are likely to suffer the same effects when used for external doors. The same goes for softwoods, but the effects would be seen far more quickly in those, together with other problems such as damp and rot, setting in within just a couple of years.

The Accoya choice

Well treated and properly maintained internal doors made of these hard or softwood materials will give you many years of durability. But for any external doors, especially those which are continually exposed to the elements, we always favour Accoya® wood. While a similar costing material to oak, Accoya offers a lot more.

Well known for its incredible durability, stability, and sustainability, this fast-growing softwood goes through a unique chemical process, giving it exceptional qualities. With a 50-year warranty for any ‘above ground’ applications, Accoya wood gives you decades of maintenance and trouble-free service. Read more and find out everything you need to know about Accoya.

But though Accoya is fully treated for outstanding durability, even in the harshest of weathers, we’re able to apply a weather-resistant, RAL colour paint finish of your choice which is in itself guaranteed for 10 years. Together, you’ll have a door with a formidable, all-weather defence and capable of withstanding anything nature can throw at it – all while keeping its good looks. But, of course, weather durability is only one aspect of your door – there’s plenty more to think about.

External door styles

We already know that your front door is one of the first things friends, family, and guests will see as they approach your home. So choosing the right style of door for your property is just as important as any other design choice. While your choice will match your taste, it’s crucial that it suits the architectural style of your home too.

Using the skilled craftsmanship Nathan McCarter Joinery is renowned for, we use traditional methods to handcraft a range of bespoke modern or traditional door styles, suited to most homes for a timeless look. Whether that’s a distinctive, classic front door or the country elegance of a stable door that’s full of character and charm for cottages or barn conversions.

But we can also work with you to design and create a truly unique door that expresses your personality and matches your property style. From traditional or contemporary door designs, classic period styles featuring a transom to create a fanlight above the door, to curved, gothic, or arched styles for listed or heritage buildings – the choice is yours.

And don’t forget to give some thought to the rear of your home too. A selection of handcrafted double doors or even full width, bi-fold doors can help create a seamless transition from inside your home out into your garden. They can also help you make the most of natural daylight streaming in, even when they’re closed.

Door options and ironmongery

Beyond which wood types, door styles, and paints are right for you, the finishing touches to any door can give you the individuality you want – and there’s plenty of choice. One of the first things to consider is if your door choice needs glass.

We’ve mentioned the possibilities of transoms and fanlights above your door, but with many door styles having no glass, any glass detailing can help bring light into your hallway or throughout your home. We’re able to incorporate any glazing details you need from practical, hand-cut clear or textured double glazing to bespoke shapes and styles for a truly unique design.

Other styling options and hardware can also be incorporated if you want them as part of your design. Would an elegant or rustic door knocker be the defining feature of your door? Or perhaps a modern electronic entry system would be more in keeping with your home’s style and aesthetic?

Then, of course, you have the choice of traditional hardware for your door. It’s often the small details which can be overlooked, but for every handcrafted door, we work with our trusted south-west-based ironmongery supplier to provide the quality hardware your timber door needs. From the finishing touch of just the right handle, right down to the locks and latches, cylinders and turns, hinges and pivots, and thresholds.

Contact Nathan McCarter Joinery today

As creators of inspired and individually created bespoke timber doors of every style, all our experience, excellence, and craftsmanship go into each one to give your door both the function and form to last a lifetime. From concept to completion, our design, installation, and aftercare focuses on the guarantee of service and quality with an exceptional finish every time.

For more information or advice on our handcrafted door and joinery services for your home, or to arrange a visit to our Tavistock workshop, contact us on 01822 615010 or email info@nathanmccarterjoinery.co.uk today.