Front doors and
internal doors
A door is handled more often than any other component of the house. So it has to do more than look right - it has to close cleanly for decades.
The front door: made to measure, not to a standard size
In an older building a stock door rarely fits. The opening is too tall, too wide or not square, the reveal has a profile of its own, and the old door carries details that give the house its character. We therefore make the door from a survey and fit it into the existing masonry, rather than adapting the masonry to the door.
A front door has to reconcile requirements that otherwise conflict: it should insulate, seal, be secure, look right, and carry a leaf that will not distort over the years. The layered construction, the choice of timber and properly seated ironmongery decide that more than any single feature on a specification sheet.
Historic doors and carving
Old doors often carry work that has become rare: moulded panels, carved fields, hand-forged ironmongery. We reproduce such doors and make good missing parts. The carvings for a well-known property in Maikammer were produced by hand in our workshop - there is no machine that takes that over.
Just as often the brief runs the other way: a deliberately modern door that sits well in old masonry without imitating it. We did exactly that for a private residence in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse.
Thinking about internal doors together
Internal doors rarely stand alone. They line up along a hallway, meet floors, linings and existing furniture, and are meant to belong together throughout the house. We therefore match timber, colour and finish across all the rooms - including where only some of the doors are new and the rest are staying.
Where doors have to meet existing joinery, matching tone and grain is our job, not yours. Bring a sample piece if in doubt.
Front doors
One-off manufacture from a survey, matched to facade and reveal - from a modern leaf to a faithful reproduction.
Internal doors
Doors and linings for the whole house, matched to one another and to what is already there.
Restoration
Overhauling old leaves, making good panels, reworking carving, keeping ironmongery rather than replacing it.
Frequently asked questions
Often yes. A large part of the loss goes not through the leaf but through leaking junctions and missing seals. New sealing lines, correctly adjusted ironmongery and, where appropriate, a lined inner face achieve a great deal without losing the external appearance. We look at what is possible on the actual building.
That depends on the work involved and on our workload, and cannot honestly be answered before the survey. A plain internal door is a different matter from a front door with carved panels. At the site visit we will give you a timescale you can rely on - not before.
That is one of our strengths. We match timber, colour and finish so that new doors sit with the existing ones, up to faithfully reproducing individual parts. In houses that have grown over time this is asked for more often than a complete new set.
Security comes from how leaf, lining, lock, hinges and fixing into the masonry work together - not from the material alone. A solid, correctly installed timber door with a good lock and multi-point locking is in no way inferior to one in another material. We match the specification to what you actually need.
Get in touch
Have a project in mind? We look forward to hearing from you.
Timber windows Restoration & heritage Furniture & fitted joinery Services