A Complete Guide to Choosing Internal Doors - Part Two

Don’t Forget Door Furniture

It is surprising how many people go to great lengths to build themselves a fantastic home, stylishly furnished and decorated, then go and ruin it all by choosing mismatched finishing touches, including door handles and knobs. The old saying goes that the right door furniture should go unnoticed. That is to say, it should blend in well with the rest of your decor as opposed to sticking out like a sore thumb.

Period doors tend to suit knobs as opposed to flimsy lever handles, whereas more contemporary doors can get away with either. Stainless steel in polished or satin finishes work far better than gold or bronze finishes in modern settings, but may look out of place in very traditional homes, where wrought iron often works well.

Levers and knobs are not your only option. Pull handles in a D-shape look great on contemporary internal doors fixed vertically, whilst leather handles on rich timber doors can add a touch of opulence.

LEFT TO RIGHT: The Ski Solid Door Pull by Turnstyle Designs, from £150 (01271 325325); Brass Reeded Door Knob by Jim Lawrence, £65 (01473 826680); Stoke Latch in Beeswax by Jim Lawrence, £27 (AS BEFORE)

Planning Your Doors

Many doors are available with matching doorsets, or you can buy door lining sets separately. Doorsets are comprised of all the timber parts required to fill your doorway opening ready to take your new door, and are cut ready to slot together for fixing. If you have a standard opening then buying a doorset is a far easier option than making one.

However, non-standard openings may require you or your joiner to make a lining using timber of an appropriate size, although non-standard door lining sets are available. Linings should be fixed before your walls are boarded and plastered. Some doors come pre-hung in ready-made doorsets, delivered ready to fit.

Consider Reclaimed

Many renovators and owners of period properties prefer to opt for reclaimed doors over new ones. Reclamation yards usually have a good stock of salvaged doors from all eras and in all manner of shapes and sizes, and many also offer reconditioning and glazing services, at a cost.

If you decide to restore a door yourself to save some money, in all likelihood you will need to have the door either acid dipped or sanded. Prices for acid dipping tend to start at around £15 per door. The door will then need to be waxed or stained and furniture added. In some cases, you will also need to have the door glazed.

This is just a small selection of the hundreds of reclaimed internal doors for sale from one of the UK’s leading reclamation yards, Leominster Reclamation (01568 616205). Prices of the doors shown here range from £45-300. As the yard often conducts whole-house salvages, there are usually multiple sets of some styles available.

Solid Vs Hollow Core

Not all doors are made from solid wood. Often, flush doors, along with some styles of moulded door, are hollow core. These are cheaper than solid doors and are made by sandwiching a honeycomb layer of card between two sheets of hardboard or plywood. The edges are reinforced with timber battens.

Slightly more expensive versions have chipboard cores as opposed to card. The downside of these doors is that as the battens used for the outer frame are only made of thin timber, you often cannot cut more than around 5mm off each side or 10mm from the top or bottom, unlike solid timber doors which can be trimmed more easily. On the plus side, they are available off the shelf from most DIY stores and are lightweight, so easy to fit.

Read Part One of a Complete Guide to Choosing Internal Doors

Further reading:

• The Hottest Interior Design Ideas 
• Advice on House Design
• A Guide to Internal Finishes