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Measuring doors: When measuring either your interior or exterior door ignore the current door size and follow this advice.
Width: measure between the frame at the top, the middle and the bottom. Tell us or choose a door to suit the widest size.
Height: Measure from the carpet/floor covering to the underside of the timber lintol.
Thickness: Now and only now do you measure the door to find out how thick it is at present, with Interior doors you may have to compromise and fit a slighlty thinner door, this does not normally present any problems.
Beware: Do not assume all interior doors in your house are the same size or thickness, check them all.
Glass: virtually all our glass allows maximum light through, however, be sure to choose a glass that allows the correct amount of obscuration for bathrooms and bedrooms.
Future maintenance is important if the doors good looks are to be retained over many years and we recommend washing down with warm water and detergent every two to three years and re-coating, or sooner if necessary, do not use polyurethane varnish on any exterior solid timber door and surrounds.
Here is a list of what NOT to do:
- Do not stand new doors against an outside wall (inside the house) as the cold wall can make them twist/bow etc.
- Do not place new doors in a location where new plasterwork has been carried out within the last 2-3 weeks.
- Do not use Linseed Oil Putty - use more flexible compound/mastics.
- Never fit mortice locks etc. at rail joint.
- Do not use less than a minimum of three 100mm hinges on exterior doors, two hinges on interior doors.
- Do not fit without suitable weather board or weather bar.
- Do not fit doors less than 45mm thick in an Exterior location, ie; some sites sell 40mm thick doors for Exterior use, we do not recommend this thicknes of door for anything other than Interior use.
All forms of moisture, or lack of it, rain, condensation and even humidity have a critical bearing on the well being of your door, especially patterns that have solid timber panels.
Great care is taken to supply you with some of the finest doors available and we certainly derive no satisfaction whatever from the stressed and sorry state we sometimes see doors reduced to, owing to the ignorance and abuse to which they have been subjected. When doors leave our custody we have no control over the conditions to which they are exposed and in the interests of the continued validity of our guarantee we cannot stress too strongly the importance of observing the following advice.
Every effort is made to ensure that the moisture content levels of our doors are in accordance with BS. 1186 Part 1 when they enter and leave our warehouse. This provides for external doors to be in the range of 13% to 19% and interior doors 10% to 14%. For this reason, it is vital that the moisture levels are retained and external doors are not used internally and visa versa.
Solid timber panel doors cannot be similarly recommended for use on South to South Westerly elevations without being afforded protection from the direct heat of the sun and the prevailing weather, either by means of a porch or some similar construction.
We do hope that you will not scoff at the advice that follows and thus avoid the possibility of becoming dissatisfied with the appearance and performance of your door:
We recommend that before attempting to fit your door, you first take care to select the finish you require, and check with the manufacturer if necessary, that it will give a complete and lasting seal between all component parts. Many well known brands of wood finish, which may provide excellent surface protection fail to provide this vital element and may permit the passage of moisture around panel grooves. Avoid use of varnish or polyurethane based products and look for a brand that gives protection against the bleaching out effect of the suns ultra-violet rays, use polyurethane finish on veneers or ply doors only, this type of varnish is also suitable for most interior solid timber doors.
Immediately upon receipt, sand the door down lightly with fine glass paper (Grade 200) or (preferably in our experience) use wire wool in the direction of the grain to remove nibs and fingermarks, do not allow any sandpaper to come in to contact with any glass. Dust down thoroughly and apply at least three coats of your selected sealant including at least one finishing coat to all surfaces before installation, including glazing rebates and all around glazing beads, being sure to follow the manufacturers instructions.
Make sure you fit any exterior door with the beaded side to the inside, it is important to seal between the glass and the outside bead with a flexible compound, when using patterned glass the smooth side of the glass should be fitted to the outside of the door.
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