The pros and cons of wooden doors

Timber doors come with a maintenance overhead.

If you are looking for a new or replacement wood door for your home, one of the first considerations is the type of door you will choose. In the vast majority of cases, the choice will be between wood, solid-core, and hollow-core doors, so we will look at these in some detail.

Several factors must be considered when choosing a replacement door, such as its location, style, colour, finish, and required accessories. Some say nothing compares with a real wooden door. Wood is a natural, renewable resource that offers beauty, flexibility, and style.

Budget considerations may determine the choice of a wooden door, the door's location, the available door finishes, and how much time and effort you are prepared to spend on maintenance and upkeep.

When all things are considered, you should have a better understanding of wood doors and finishes, and a more informed idea of the best door for your home.

Solid timber doors

Solid wood doors are manufactured from engineered natural wood. They are usually constructed using frames and panels rather than a single piece of wood. The type of wood used in a solid wood door can vary from dense-grained hardwoods such as oak, walnut or maple to loose-grained softwoods such as pine, larch or cedar.

There are hundreds of types of hardwood and softwood, and both have excellent machining properties and can be used throughout the home, not only for doors but also for floors, skirting, window frames, furniture, mouldings and veneers – you name it.

Wood can also be waxed, oiled, varnished and weather-sealed to make it suitable for both internal and external use. It is a traditional choice for many homeowners and is associated with high quality, sturdiness and style.

Advantages of solid wood doors.
Wooden doors from sustainably sourced wood are good for the environment. A solid door can be long-lasting and provide good heat and noise insulation if properly maintained. Here are the main advantages of choosing a solid wood door.

 Insulation: Wooden doors offer good thermal protection, especially when installed with decent draught excluders and edging sealants.
 Soundproofing: The denser the material, the better the soundproofing, but all wood doors offer good sound insulation, as wood readily absorbs sound waves.
 Aesthetics: Solid-wood doors have strong visual and tactile appeal. They not only look good but also feel classy and can add enormously to a home's value.

Disadvantages of solid wood doors
Solid doors look and feel great, but they have some drawbacks, and it's important not to overlook them when making decisions.

 Price: Solid wood doors are not cheap. They can easily cost twice as much as other doors, and if you are on a tight budget, you will need to ensure your budget stretches to the cost of solid wood.
 Fitting: Solid doors are relatively heavy, especially when manufactured from dense hardwood. Additional fitting work may increase the total price if alterations are needed.
 Maintenance: Wood is a natural material that expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity. This requires maintenance to look its best over time.

Hollow core doors

Although they are called hollow, these wooden doors are not truly hollow at all. Hollow-core doors are manufactured like a sandwich, with a honeycomb interior core, often made of stiff cardboard or plastic, between layers of wood or fibreboard.

Advantages of hollow core doors
Hollow doors are much cheaper, lighter than solid ones, and only suitable for internal use. Most new estate homes will have hollow-core doors as they are relatively easy to install and inexpensive to buy.

 Price: This is at the top of the list as they are far cheaper than solid-core doors. However, the costs can quickly mount up if you need to buy several replacement doors for your home.
 Installation: Hollow doors are lightweight and easy to handle, making installation a breeze.

Disadvantages of hollow core doors
Cheaper doors have a few drawbacks that become more apparent the longer you have the door.

 Durability: Doors of this type are more prone to damage and don't last as long.
 Insulation: Lightweight construction means these doors lack the heat-insulating properties of solid doors.
 Soundproofing: Sound insulation is relatively poor.

Solid core doors

Solid-core doors aim to strike a balance between solid wood and hollow-core. This type of wood door has a solid centre of processed wood, such as MDF, sandwiched between thin veneers of natural wood. Solid core doors offer good thermal and sound insulation, but they come with high overheads and fitting challenges.

Advantages of solid core doors

 Price: Although not as cheap as hollow doors, they are still much less pricey than solid wood doors.
 Durability: Solid-core doors are long-lasting, hard-wearing, and require less maintenance than their hollow-core neighbours.
 Insulation: The core may not be solid wood, but it can be made of a dense material that provides good thermal and acoustic insulation.

Disadvantages of solid core doors

 Installation – though not as heavy as solid timber, these doors are not lightweight, and installation may not be a one-person undertaking.

Choosing the best type of wooden door

Choosing among solid timber, solid-core, and hollow-core will depend on several factors. If you fit a large number of replacement doors , they do not all need to be the same type. Different door types can be suitable for different locations.

You would never, for example, choose a hollow-core door for your exterior front door, where security, weatherproofing and insulation are at a premium. Likewise, a solid timber door may not be the best choice for a storeroom, study or pantry. For bedrooms, soundproofing and thermal insulation are paramount, whereas for prominent, well-used living rooms and kitchens, style and maintenance are high on the list.