Swanage · Dorset · BH postcodes
Timber French Doors in Swanage
If you are replacing a door in Swanage, Timber French Doors are cut to your actual opening rather than to a nearest standard size.
Specifying a door for Swanage
Swanage sits on the coast, so doors here deal with salt-laden air as well as rain. Salt is hygroscopic — it holds moisture against the surface long after the weather has passed — which is why standard softwood and standard ironmongery both fail early within about a mile of open water.
Housing in and around Swanage is largely Victorian terraced and villa stock, which suits four-panel doors with a bolection moulding and an etched or obscured upper light. We match the mouldings and panel proportions to what is already on the street rather than fitting a generic pattern.
- Exposure
- Highly exposed — BH postcode area
- Timber
- Accoya or a dense hardwood such as sapele
- Weather detail
- a storm-rated weatherbar, deep drip mould and a rebated hardwood cill
- Ironmongery
- Grade A4 marine stainless steel
- Recoating
- Every three to five years on the weather elevation
Price and lead time in Swanage
Timber French Doors start at £2,800 per pair supplied and fitted, VAT included. Typical lead time is 8–10 weeks from survey. Use the indicative price tool for a range in about a minute.
Common questions
How do French doors stay weathertight?
Through a rebated meeting stile, compression seals on both leaves and a shootbolt set that pulls the slave leaf into the frame at head and cill.
Which ironmongery survives salt air?
Grade A4 (marine) stainless steel. Standard A2 stainless and lacquered brass both fail within a few years within about a mile of open water.
Does sea air really affect a timber door?
Yes, in two ways. Salt is hygroscopic so it holds moisture against the surface, and airborne chloride corrodes standard ironmongery quickly. Both are solvable at specification stage.
What door suits a Victorian terrace?
A four-panel door with a bolection moulding and an etched or obscured upper light. Stile widths matter — narrow modern stiles make the proportions look wrong immediately.
Do you remove the old door?
Yes, and we take it away. If the frame is sound we can hang into it; if it has rotted at the foot we will say so at survey rather than after.
Can you supply just the door leaf?
Yes, if the existing frame is sound and correctly sized. We will check it at survey — hanging a new leaf in a failed frame wastes the door.
Nearby
We cover the rest of Dorset too.
Get a fixed price for Swanage
Send sizes or a photograph and we will come back with an indicative range, then survey free of charge before anything is made.