Choosing & Purchasing Doors
What ever your door requirements Made To Measure can offer a quality
service. We can install
doors, supplied by ourselves or can provide a door installation
only, the choice is yours. We also offer a bespoke door joinery service, and
can make any style of door
Considerations
- When choosing & purchasing doors you should base your decisions firstly on the following. Access, Weather Protection, Security, Light Admission, Appearance, Fire Protection
- Is your home a listed building, in the UK listed buildings need permission before changes are made. If in doubt contact you local local planning dept
- Are your door frame sizes standard (See door size chart here to check), if they are not you have some of choices to make, adapt the existing frames to a standard size or have purpose made doors. Made To Measure can help you regardless what you decide.
- Aesthetic considerations, there are many styles of timber doors to choose from, and it as important to take into account the type of property the door is going to be fitted to. Here in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England where Made to Measure is based, we have a lot of houses built in the Georgian or Victorian period, and a small number have even earlier origins. If you really want change the period doors in your house to a modern design. then why not store the old period doors correctly, so the option will always be there to have them reinstalled, when the style comes back around again. Or to be able offer the option to potential buyers of your home if you are selling, you never no it might make the difference to whether you sell your home or not.
- What functions does the door need to meet Providing privacy? Soundproofing? Creating ventilation? Covering up storage space?
- Is the glass in the door toughened for safety? The glass in the door should be rated to BS6206, this is the standard for toughened glass in the UK.
- Does it need to comply with any building regulations, an example of this is you have just had a loft conversion done & you should have fire doors fitted to comply with the regs
- Doors with large timber panels are more adversely affected by direct sunlight than those with smaller panels. Doors with wide panels require 100% protection from the sun. If your door receives direct sunlight, select a door with smaller panels
- Quality of the door, have you ever heard the saying " you get what you pay for" well if you decide to purchase the cheapest pine doors at your local diy stores, then expect exactly that . These door tend to be poorly made, and prone to having knots in inappropriate areas, and also require a lot of preparation to get a satisfactory finish on them.
- How has the door been stored prior to purchase, if they have not been stored correctly then the chances are it will be bowed.
- Who will be visiting or occupying your home? people with impaired vision may not recognise fully glazed doors and may walk into them
- Do not assume all interior doors in your house are the same size or thickness, check them all before ordering.
- Light Admission, do need clear or obscured glass, do you need to see through the door to check if anyone is on the other side before opening it?
- Do you have pets? do you want a cat flap installed, then the door needs to be able to accommodate without compromising the structural integrity of the door.
- Condition of existing door frames , if your door frame is bowed & you do not wish to replace the frame, then the door must have enough lipping (Lippings are the edges of the door) on each side of the door, so it can be planed down to take into account the bow without affecting the doors structural integrity.
- Will the door & frame need to be a non standard size, so it is accessible to wheelchairs ect.
Q. I am still confused with all the to choices I need to make , what can I do?
A. Then please contact us, we would be delighted to assist.