TIMBER REMAINS THE IDEAL MATERIAL FOR INTERIOR DOORS
Doors are one of the essential components of every home. Whether you’re building a house from scratch or renovating an existing one, doors are something that you need to pay attention to. These structures provide privacy and security for your home and for each room where they are used. While doors come in many shapes, sizes, and styles, the materials used in most doors only come down to a few types.
Timber has been in consistent use for the construction of doors for thousands of years. From early braced and ledged boarded doors to classical panelled doors. Despite continual innovation in architectural materials and design, timber continues to be used.
As an interior door, timber’s superiority in terms of sound and heat insulation is renowned. It’s quite possibly one of the best materials for doors, a beautiful natural material that adds warmth to any home. However, it is also easy to paint and produces a great finish that’s great for working with any colour scheme.
Why would you want timber doors?
Here are the advantages that solid timber doors offer:
Aesthetically pleasing…
Timber never goes out of fashion. It has been used for centuries and continues to be used as a door material for modern homes as well as traditional ones. The beauty of Timber is unparalleled; the patterns and shades of natural hues are unique and add flair and warmth to any home. A beautifully treated and stained door will give your home a stunning and luxurious look, the natural grain, texture, and rich tones give doors a character and visual appeal that no man-made material can match. The smooth finish allows the unmatched natural beauty of wood to be showcased. You can even paint it a colour that matches your personal style and taste, and naturally something that fits in with the overall architecture of the house.
Practicality
Timber doors’ versatility means they can be tailored (in size, wood-type, and design) specifically to your home and aesthetic, and because no two pieces of wood are the same, you end up with a front door is completely unique to you. The benefits of timber doors mean that whether you prefer light wood, dark wood, painted surfaces, tight grain, wide grain, simplicity or intricate design work, everything is possible!
You can have damaged timber doors easily repaired even if it has sustained structural damage without replacing it entirely.
Insulation
Solid timber is very effective at insulating against heat loss and acts as a safety barrier. Solid timber is also an effective insulator against noise, meaning if you are looking for a little bit of privacy, this is again the natural choice.
Strength
Timber has a high strength to weight ratio; this means timber doors are sufficiently heavy, feel substantial and to perform their function as secure barriers. At the same time, they are light in weight enough to hang without structural support and to be movable by hand without undue effort.
Durability
If you’re wanting durability and longevity, then timber doors give you that too. It is naturally structurally stable, durable in its finish, easily repairable, and chemically stable.
Flexibility
Timber is flexible. The changeable climate demands building materials which expand and contract with the seasons. Timbers’ ability to ‘breathe’ in response to changes in temperature and humidity, adjusts naturally and moves with its surroundings. This reduces stress between architectural components limiting the likelihood of cracking, fractures, water ingress and condensation.
Fire Resistance
Timber has excellent fire resistance qualities. Although wood is flammable, it burns slowly. High-density timbers char on the outside, which creates a cooler inner core that can resist fire for a surprisingly long time, providing sufficient protection to delay the spread of flames long enough for other safety measures to be implemented.
Sustainability
Timber ticks all the right boxes as far as sustainability is concerned. Timber is a natural material and can be used again and again to be upcycled, recycled, and turned into a variety of different objects. Usually, it has a very long life and at the end is biodegradable. During their cultivation, trees benefit the natural and human environment by absorbing carbon dioxide and toxic chemicals, helping to restore balance and clarity to the atmosphere. They also help to promote biodiversity, improve soils, and prevent erosion. Once harvested they can be replanted, starting the cycle again.
Health Benefits
Spending time around trees has been found to be beneficial to human health. It reduces cortisol and boosts the immune system to such an extent that ‘shinrin-yoku’, the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing, is a formalised part of the country’s preventative healthcare system and a growing trend in the Western world. Further Japanese and Australian research studies have reportedly found that timber buildings and exposure to wood panelling have a positive effect on lowering the heart rate and blood pressure of the people inhabiting them. When surrounded by nature and timber our stress responses are reduced.
Parkwood Doors are proud to offer a large range of timber interior doors to help you find the ones that work for your home.