Timber door questions, answered

Most doors run six to ten weeks from survey to fitting, depending on the specification and the finish. Repairs and re-hangs are usually inside three weeks. We confirm dates at survey rather than guessing at enquiry stage.

We give an indicative price from sizes or photographs, then survey free of charge before anything is made. The survey is what turns an estimate into a fixed price.

Timber moves with humidity, which is why clearances, sealed end grain and a breathable finish matter. A door made to the correct moisture content and finished on all six faces stays workable through the seasons.

Engineered redwood for painted doors, dense hardwoods such as sapele or idigbo where more strength is wanted, European oak where the grain is the point, and Accoya on exposed and coastal openings.

Engineered stiles are laminated from several sections with the grain alternated, so the door resists twisting far better than a solid section of the same size. Under paint it is the more stable choice.

Yes. We take the mouldings, panel proportions and glazing pattern from the original and reproduce them. If the door is beyond saving we can still copy it before it goes.

Both. Most customers take supply and fit, which keeps the guarantee in one place. Supply-only is available if you have your own joiner.

A well-built timber door with a multipoint lock and reinforced keeps is at least as secure as a composite equivalent. The lock and the frame fixings matter more than the leaf material.

Sealed units in a range of obscure, etched, leaded and clear finishes, bedded and beaded from the inside so the glass cannot be removed from outside.

Replacing a door like-for-like usually does not need approval, but the new door must meet current thermal and safety-glazing standards. We specify to comply as standard.

A modern insulated timber door with a sealed unit performs comparably to composite alternatives, and timber itself is a far poorer conductor than aluminium or steel.

Arched heads, splayed jambs, tapered cills and out-of-square openings are routine. Old buildings are rarely square and we build to the opening as found.

Factory spray in any RAL or heritage colour, translucent stains, and natural oils on oak. All applied and cured in controlled conditions before the door ships.

Wash the door twice a year with mild soapy water and check the bottom rail and cill for standing water. Recoating intervals depend on exposure and aspect — south and west elevations go first.

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.

Very few are. The survey records the actual dimensions at several heights and the door is made to suit, with the frame packed and scribed on fitting.

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.

Ten years on the joinery and the factory finish, with the survey record kept so any claim is straightforward to deal with.

Guide prices start from the figures shown on each product page, supplied and fitted. The variables are size, timber, glazing and ironmongery, and the survey fixes the number.

A deposit is taken when the order is placed and the balance on completion. Nothing is payable before the survey and the written quotation.

Yes. A low-threshold or ramped cill can be specified without losing the weather seal, and the leaf can be widened where the structural opening allows.

Everything from period butt hinges and rim locks to modern multipoint systems, in finishes from polished brass to satin stainless. Coastal sites get marine-grade stainless as standard.

Modern microporous coatings hold colour well, though very dark colours on south-facing elevations work hardest. We will advise if a chosen colour is likely to be a maintenance burden.

Both, and it is better done in the workshop where the aperture can be sealed properly rather than cut on site.

Regularly. Listed building consent is a separate process from planning, and we can supply the drawings and specification your application needs.

Making a door secure and weathertight is usually possible quickly; the permanent repair follows once parts are available.

First-season adjustment is included. Timber settles, buildings move, and a small tweak after a winter is normal rather than a fault.

Yes, for builders and joiners working to their own programme. Trade orders still go through the same survey and quality checks.

Yes, and often it is the better answer. A new leaf in a rotten frame will not seal properly however well the door itself is made.

By area and specification. Obscure and etched glass costs more than clear; leaded and stained panels are priced per panel once the pattern is agreed.

Responsibly sourced timber is the only mainstream door material that stores carbon rather than emitting it in manufacture, and a timber door can be repaired rather than replaced.

A doorset is the leaf, frame, seals and ironmongery supplied together and pre-hung. It fits faster and performs more predictably than parts assembled on site.

Yes. Send the drawings and schedule and we will price against them, flagging anything that will not perform as drawn.

We do not submit on your behalf, but we produce the elevational drawings, sections and specification that conservation and planning officers ask for.

Around 1,100mm for a standard leaf before the weight starts to work against the hinges. Beyond that a pair or a leaf-and-a-half arrangement is the sensible answer.

Compression seals in the rebate handle the leaf; the gap between frame and structure is a separate job, insulated and sealed on fitting rather than filled with expanding foam alone.

Timber and finish samples are available so you can see the colour on the actual species in your own light, which rarely matches a printed chart.

Yes. Clearances are set for the season and the finish is already cured, so there is no waiting for weather to paint on site.

Then we quote a repair. Splicing a bottom rail, easing a dropped leaf or replacing a failed cill is often the right answer on a door worth keeping.

Use the guide-price tool, or send sizes and a photograph. Either gives a realistic range within a working day.