External Door Care

All of our exterior doors are made from timber, which has the benefit of being a natural and sustainable material, however, this does mean that, to ensure longevity, they need to be protected from the elements.

External wooden doors can become vulnerable if they are not properly protected from changes in temperature and humidity, without suitable treatment. If they aren’t protected effectively, it could mean that, over time, your doors could swell, warp or split.

Your external door’s location

Wooden doors, particularly those made with an oak veneer, should be sheltered from the main elements. This means if it’s possible, to inset your door. However, not everyone’s home is designed that way, so if this isn’t an option, then building a small porch or canopy that extends out at least 1.5 metres to keep the elements at bay, will offer it more protection.

This type of protection is particularly important if you have a South or South Westerly facing external door as this is where your door will be at risk from the most sun damage – something that can degrade your door over time.

Treating and sealing your external doors

To ensure that our external doors remain protected for years to come, you need to ensure several things:

That you’re using the right, high quality sealant or treatment.

That you liberally apply your chosen sealant or treatment following the manufacturer’s instructions closely, taking off all of the ironmongery, locks and other additions before you do.

Follow the sealant/treatment manufacturer’s instructions and keep a copy of those instructions to ensure you have recourse if the sealant/treatment doesn’t live up to your expectations. Note: the instructions provided by manufacturers usually give you a minimum number of coats required, however, it is usually advisable to apply more coats than the minimum requirement, as long as the manufacturer doesn’t warn against it for any reason.

Be sure to select the right treatment, which will give you a complete and lasting seal to all surfaces and the elasticity to maintain the integrity between all component parts.

Preparing, hanging and installing your exterior doors

We’d always recommend using a professional joiner to fit your doors, however, often people like the challenge of fitting their exterior doors themselves. If that’s the case then we can offer you some guidance on how to complete the task as efficiently and effectively as possible. Take a look at our step by step guide to installing your external doors to find out more.

Maintenance of exterior doors

Maintenance is also important to retain the high quality finish and performance of external doors. We recommend re-coating your doors every two to three years as well as washing with washing up liquid and water as part of your regular household cleaning.

For for more information, please download our Essential Door Care & Maintenance Advice.

The British Woodworking Federation factsheet Care of Timber Doors also offers good practice guidelines.