Sep 29, 2021 | All About Materials
When it comes to home-related issues, few things are more frustrating than dealing with a warped front door. A warped door can cause a slew of problems, as it allows both air and pests to get into your home.
What Causes Doors to Warp?
To prevent door warping, it is helpful to understand what causes it. Door warping is most often caused by:
- Excessive Heat: Too much heat can create a moisture imbalance between the exterior and interior of your home, causing wood doors to expand.
- Changes in Moisture: Excessive humidity makes wood swell. As the wood dries, it shrinks, which can cause changes in the door’s shape and size.
- Improper Finishing: If all sides of a door are unfinished, or if one or all sides are finished inconsistently, the wood is left vulnerable.
What Can You Do to Prevent Warping?
While you cannot stop extreme temperatures or humidity, you can take steps to prevent your front door from warping:
- Apply a finish or sealant to every side of the door: This is the most important step you can take when it comes to protecting your wood door. By applying the proper finish to every side, you’re giving the wood the best protection against the elements.
- Periodically polish the door: In addition to making your front door look better over time, polishing can help ensure a custom wood door’s longevity.
- Use a humidifier: Moisture can be problematic for your door’s life span. A dehumidifier may be a wise investment, as it will control your home’s moisture content.
- Choose a weather-resistant wood type: Some woods offer better weather protection than others, including cedar, Douglas fir, and white oak. Quartersawn wood is less likely to warp as well.
In addition to the tips above, the technique we use at Vintage Millwork & Restoration helps to prevent warping. Our custom exterior doors are engineered for added strength. We layer quarter-inch pieces of wood, strategically positioning them with the grains running in different directions, to form the core of your door. This minimizes points of weakness and the potential for warping. We can layer the same type of wood or blend different wood species for the core and the exterior. The result is a solid, durable, beautiful wood door that will last and provide better thermal insulation than standard doors.
The best way to ensure that your front door stands the test of time is to work with a trusted company that has the knowledge and experience to build high-quality doors. The experienced team at Vintage Millwork & Restoration will properly build, finish, and install your front door, and we’ll also provide the maintenance tips you need to keep it looking great over time.
To get started with your custom front door project, contact us today.
Jul 2, 2021 | Custom Doors
Wood doors add lasting style and beauty to our homes and businesses, but they do require occasional maintenance to ensure their longevity and appearance. To keep your investment looking and functioning as it should, follow the cleaning and maintenance tips below.
Exterior Door Care
Both residential and commercial custom exterior doors take a lot of wear through the years due to weather and touch. They are constantly being exposed to dirt, heat, wind, and rain, as well as the touch of people and pets. Due to this constant wear, exterior doors should be cleaned periodically to ensure they last for years as they are intended.
How to Clean Your Exterior Wood Door
- Using a soft rag, duster, or vacuum with a nozzle attachment, dust the door gently to remove loose dirt and dust.
- Mix equal parts water with either gentle dish soap or vinegar. Scrub the door lightly using a soft sponge or cloth.
- Stained Doors: Use furniture wax or polish to wipe down the door for an extra sine.
- Painted Doors: To ensure the color is not stripped off during the cleaning process, dilute your soap mixture by adding more water.
- Glass Window Accents: Use a mixture of water and vinegar. Make sure to either squeegee dry or wipe dry with a cloth for a streak-free shine.
- Hardware: A commercial cleaner is fine for cleaning handles and such. For brass door handles, mix a half cup of vinegar with two tablespoons of salt. Dab the mixture on the hardware with a sponge and let it sit for 15 minutes before wiping off with a cloth.
- Dry your door with a heavy-duty paper towel or dry cloth.
Interior Door Care
Although interior doors don’t experience the same level of exposure to the elements as their exterior counterparts, they do require their own level of care. Doors on the interior of a home or commercial space are frequently touched and attract dust.
How to Clean Your Interior Wood Door
- The top edge of the door frame can be cleaned using a duster, soft cloth, or vacuum with a nozzle to remove dust.
- A door frame should be cleaned regularly with a spot cleaner and rag to remove smudges and fingerprints. For those who may not want to use chemicals, use warm water and soap on a soft sponge instead.
- The full door should be wiped down from top to bottom with warm, soapy water. Make sure to include the narrow inner edges, and when you’re finished, dry the door completely with a soft rag.
- Pro Tip: Wipe your cloth in the same direction of the wood grain and remove excess water while drying.
- To clean your door hardware, which can collect germs and dirt, use spray cleaner on a rag. For brass handles, you can purchase special brass cleaner or make your own using a half cup of vinegar and two tablespoons of salt.
Custom doors are a special investment, but just like anything we want to last, we need to take care of them. With these cleaning tips, your wood doors will not only look great but last for you too.
For additional information on our custom doors, click here or contact our expert craftsmen if you’re interested in creating a custom door package.
Apr 22, 2021 | Custom Doors, General Interest
Are you thinking about adding a screened porch to your house design? This home addition allows you to expand your living space for three seasons out of the year. If heaters or a fireplace are added, the space can even be utilized year-round. A screened porch addition increases the value of a home in two ways: by adding more living space and by improving quality of life.
Some people like the feeling of being outdoors but don’t love the idea of being bothered by pesky bugs or risking a sunburn. A screened porch solves all of these problems and more. Done correctly, they offer a continuation of the home space and blend in a natural element. This home, shown above and to the right, provides great views of the nearby water and landscape while providing shelter and close proximity to other aspects of the home.
Understanding Value
There are many moments where a screened porch is beneficial. It provides shelter from outside elements like rain, sun, and bugs, but it allows you to feel like you are still outside in the fresh air. This type of porch can also act as an extension of a room that already exists, like a kitchen or a family room. The screened porch can be designed to match this interior space as well as blend into the existing structure and the natural landscape that surrounds the house. It is important to note that the value of a home can be measured with intangible benefits like these, not just monetarily — although the resale value of the home will most likely increase with an asset like a grand screened porch (especially with a nice view)!
Customization Benefit
Custom screened porches are typically a must-have for homeowners willing to invest in a space that is unique to them. These additional rooms are a classic upgrade and can be built to fit the needs of any family. One aspect of customization includes different options for flooring and screening to suit one’s lifestyle. For instance, you can create a space with waterproof flooring and pollen-resistant or UV-filtered screens to protect against the outdoor elements. Interested in building a small screened room off a bedroom, or a large two-story porch that looks over a backyard? No problem! Our custom millwork capabilities can fit the needs of any space and make your home stand out on the block.
Interested in upgrading or building a home with a screened porch? Contact us today for a quote.
Dec 31, 2020 | Custom Doors
Choosing the best door style is important not only for the appearance of your home or business, but your personal comfort and taste as well. While taking up only a fraction of a building’s surface area, exterior doors are a key component to the overall aesthetics of a building. In order to make the best choice, property owners should take a number of things into consideration before their purchase. The following is what you need to know about custom wood door styles to ensure that your building looks great.
Consider Your Home’s Architectural Style
The right door type will always be the one which fits your building’s architectural style. Building owners and homeowners should consider the entire appearance of their building before choosing a door. Whether you are looking for an interior or exterior door, a few popular styles to consider are arched, sliding, swinging, and French.
The arched door is a classic style which dates back to Roman and medieval Europe. Therefore, an arched door can add a historical look to your home and make it feel quite rustic, fitting in with Victorian, Tudor, or French Country styles and adding charm.
Sliding doors can be incorporated inside or out in the classic barn door style. These doors not only provide a unique look but save space too. Custom wood sliding barn doors fit best in traditional and farmhouse-style builds.
Paneled or stile-and-rail doors add texture and high-quality definition to your home and can be laid out depending on the look you are aiming for. These can be designed as single or double doors and incorporate windows or paneling to match any architecture. Add swinging doors to your business or home entryway, or to separate a kitchen or bathroom from a more public area. While they are all traditional in style, Dutch swinging doors can be added if you want a more rustic appeal, or if you are building an event space that mimics a traditional barn.
French doors can be used as interior or exterior entryways to help add light or to get a large amount of fresh air into a room. They can have a grand effect on a room as well, particularly if they include large windows. Get that instant Parisian feel by adding these to a living room or sunroom space.
Don’t Forget the Windows
Other than matching your door to your architectural style, the sun can help you decide whether to use a solid door versus large-window paned French or double doors. Sunbeams streaming through your door windows may impact life inside your building, depending on where the sun is rising or falling. Any windows on either side of where the doors will be located should also be considered.
Always Consult with an Expert
While the decision of style is ultimately in your hands, you can rely on expert craftsmen who know which door styles work best for your type of building. Next time you consider purchasing a custom wood door, remember the variety of factors above that play into your decision before choosing a door style. Contact us to learn more and to start your next custom door project.
Pro tip: Planning on a new front door? Enhance its appearance and add protection by building an overhang with timber frame trusses. This timber frame touch can be added to your entryway to complete the look, protect the wood, and keep you and your guests dry!
Oct 30, 2020 | Custom Doors, General Interest
Purchasing standard, ready-made wooden doors seems like the easy way to go in any building project. However, investing in custom wood doors for the interior or exterior of a custom commercial or residential project has its benefits, including increased strength, durability, and energy efficiency.
Every one of our custom wooden doors is designed with kiln-dried, quarter-sawn wood and uses engineered side stiles for durability and strength. When our custom doors are compared to traditional solid wood construction, they have fewer points of weakness, less chance of warping, and provide better thermal insulation.
Our exterior wooden doors in particular can offer a substantial return on your investment. A custom wood front door will not only “wow” people when they first see your property, you’ll enjoy lower maintenance costs and increased energy efficiency and curb appeal.
Sliding Barn Door
One type of door that has proven popular for both interior and exterior use is the sliding barn door.
This type of door is beneficial for creating a large entrance when you don’t have the space for (or just don’t like the look of) outward-swinging doors. The track-and-trolley technique allows you to create the perfect-sized sliding barn doors for your specs.
Doors of this style can be used to connect an inside recreational space to an outside patio or garden. They are also popular for bathrooms or other places where space may be tight. For a truly unique look, add accents like hand-carved detail, door lights — which can add an abundance of natural light — and custom hardware.
A custom wood door can also be a more environmentally-friendly choice when you use reclaimed wood. Reclaimed wood doors give existing wood from old barns and other structures new life. Choosing reclaimed white oak or reclaimed hemlock enhances both the strength and the visual interest of doors. Other popular reclaimed wood choices for entry doors include mahogany, western red cedar, knotty alder, and Douglas fir. These species are suitable for a custom front door, interior door, barn door, and even garage doors. Stain can be added to further enhance the beauty of the wood and suit your personal taste. Reclaimed wood doors of the quality we provide are hard to find on today’s market.
Skilled Craftsmanship
Interested in investing in custom wood doors but don’t know where to begin? Whether you are overseeing a residential or commercial project yourself or working with an architect, our team works with you every step of the way. First, we collaborate with you to realize your vision of the perfect custom door. Then, we handle all of the specification, ordering, and installation. Thanks to our in-house millwork shop, the same team that drafts your design also builds your finished piece, so you can be sure that the design you approve is what you’ll receive in the end.
If you are interested in working with Vintage Millwork and Restoration, contact us to set up a meeting with you, your general contractor, builder, or architect. We will work together to create the best custom wood doors, reclaimed doors, sliding barn doors, or whatever you need for your next project!
Contact us for more information!
