A guide to choosing internal doors

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While it is common for people to expend a lot of mental energy agonizing over the choice of furniture for their homes, the same care and thought is not often put into choosing internal doors. Yet, this can be a mistake, as doors can make a big difference to the overall look and feel of a home interior, and are touched and seen on a daily basis. Therefore, you should resist the temptation just to go for the cheapest that are available, and try to match the doors with the rest of the features of your home as best as you can. Visit the Todd Doors website to see an extensive range of internal doors UK.

It is worth bearing in mind that replacing one door with another might not be as easy as you hoped. For example, you might have to add an extra hinge to support a heavier door, and you may need to make alterations to the door frame in order to make the new door fit. They may not be a standard size or be completely straight, especially in older properties, and remedying this could make the process more difficult and/or expensive, depending on how handy you are at woodworking.

Before splashing out on any new doors, you should check with your building control department to see if the new doors have to comply with fire regulations. It could be the case that you need to replace old doors with fire-resistant models, which will add to the cost and narrow down your options.

There are four basic types of doors available: panel doors, moulded doors, flush doors, and the aforementioned fire-resistant doors. Here, we shall look at these, and weigh up the advantages of each.

Panel Doors

These doors, which have solid frames and panels made of solid hardwood or softwood, have a quality feel and can be perfect for matching existing period doors and features in your home. You can also get them with glass panels instead of wooden ones, and they can be easily cut down to fit almost any frame size. However, they can be quite expensive, especially those made of hardwood, or those that have unusual patterns on them.

Moulded Doors

If you are on a budget, but want doors that look like panel doors, then these doors can provide a good solution. They can be made from wood, plastic, or manmade board, and usually come with a wood effect veneer or a coloured surface. This means that they don’t need to be painted or varnished, but they don’t have the same quality look and feel of true panel doors.

Flush Doors

These plain, flat doors, which comprise a cardboard lattice or a chipboard core sandwiched between two thin sheets of plywood or hardboard, are both inexpensive and easy to handle due to their light weight. However, if they don’t fit, then you can’t do much about it, as you can only shave a few millimeters off each side before you get through to the core. Also, their modern look means that they aren’t suitable for older properties.

Fire-Resistant Doors

This type of door is much denser and thicker than other types, which means it takes a lot longer to burn – the other advantage is that its density also provides good sound insulation. It also means that they are heavier and more expensive to buy and fit and due to the building requirements associated with these safety features, such as the need for a sealant strip to prevent smoke from getting through, this is not a job you can do yourself, unless you are a qualified carpenter. They are mandatory for loft and garage access doors, although many new builds are fitted with them as standard, and they come in several different styles including moulded, flush, and glazed.