Are Oak Doors the Right Choice For You?

Oak doors are a popular choice for homes and commercial buildings across the UK, offering a brilliant natural look in a range of styles. Oak may come with a high price tag but it can offer stellar long-term performance in a range of settings. From solid external doors to veneered internal options, you’ll be able to choose from a huge range of designs.

Why Choose an Oak Door?

While a range of woods can be used to create doors, alongside metal, uPVC and more, Oak has remained a popular choice across both classic and contemporary homes, offering clear benefits to residents.

Durable

Solid oak doors can offer a fantastic level of durability, providing they are maintained as we’ll explain later. They are tough, offering great resistance to damage from both use and weather. Across the UK you’ll see many antique oak doors that are still in use today, with quality modern oak doors designed to support decades of use.

Acoustic and Thermal Insulation

Oak is an excellent insulator, offering resistance to both heat loss and noise passage. This can keep warm air within your property in the winter, and help to keep it cool in the summer. Noise insulation helps to keep out external noises, and also offers privacy within a house when installed internally.

Fantastic Natural Look

Oak looks fantastic, with most opting to install their oak doors varnished rather than paint them. They have a pleasing colour and grain, blending well within both older homes and minimalist modern buildings. There are different oaks used for doors, with Irish oak a popular choice, giving a soft tone.

Drawbacks of Oak Doors

There are a couple of drawbacks to keep in mind when deciding what type of door is right for your project. Oak doors will come with a higher price tag than both other materials like uPVC and other types of wood. While their benefits in terms of looks and performance could make this extra cost justifiable for you, they are seen as a premium item.

The other drawback is maintenance, which will be the same for all wooden doors. Real wood will need to be refinished every few years, particularly if installed externally. This is to keep the wood protected from moisture and warping, and will not be required for other door materials like uPVC and for composite doors.

What Types of Oak Doors Are Sold?

When looking to purchase oak doors, you’ll typically be looking at solid oak doors and doors built with oak veneers, which are used externally or internally. Oak doors will either be pre-finished or unfinished, with fully finished doors ready to be installed upon delivery.

Solid Oak Doors

Solid oak doors are made from one or several pieces of real oak, with no other materials used. They are most popularly used as external hardwood doors, or as the framing around patio-style doors, offering strength and durability against the elements.  

Oak Veneer Doors

Most internal wood doors will be made with veneers around a solid or hollow engineered wood frame. This is due to the reduced cost and suitable performance offered. Hollow cores will have honeycombed cardboard within their internal cavity, while solid core options will have an engineered wood board filling theirs. If you are looking for internal oak doors, you should check on the product listing whether you are selecting a solid or an oak veneered model. Hollow core internal oak veneer doors will be cheaper, but will lack the feel and strength of solid options.

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Composite Oak Doors

Composite doors are designed for external usage and can be made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic, metal, and insulation. While you will be able to buy “Oak” composite doors these will usually be plastic moulded to look like oak. Composite doors are a high-quality product, and their look may offer what you are looking for, but they are not true oak doors.

Internal and External Oak Door Designs

Oak doors can be produced in all of the popular designs, from standard-width doorsets to external front doors, to larger patio door styles. Both modern and traditional home looks can benefit from attractive oak doors.

• Oak Front Doors: A sturdy solid oak door can be a great choice for the entrance of a home or commercial property. A wide range of designs will be available, from classic panelled looks to sleek modern flush looks. Quality oak front doors will offer long-term performance providing they are adequately maintained.

• Oak Interior Doors:Whether painted or simply varnished for a great look, oak-veneered internal doors are a popular choice. You can opt for oak panel doors for an older home, or flush contemporary doors for a modern flat. These can be designed with glazed panels to allow light to pass through a home.

• Cottage Doors: Cottage doors are designed to be made from (or give the appearance of) a row of thin vertical beams, giving a sleek look to an interior. While these beams will typically span the whole of the door except for a border, these doors can also be designed with glass panels covering the top half.

• Kitchen Doors: Using real oak for the cabinets of your kitchen is a more traditional style, with decorative doors offering a homely feel that will persist over time.

• Bifold Doors: There are two types of oak bifold doors. Single bifold doors will be used as internal doors to rooms, built around a central hinge that will make their opening arc far smaller, allowing more space to be used in bathrooms and bedrooms. Larger bifold doors are used as patio doors on a home, with connected panels folding against a wall together along a track. These designs can also be used internally and will be made from large glass panels with oak framing used to bridge communal areas.

• Sliding Doors: Sliding doors are also used as patio doors or for connecting internal rooms like conservatories. They are large glass panes, allowing light to flood through a building.

• French Doors: Oak French doors are double-glazed doors, the size and design of which can vary wildly. These can be installed leading to a garden, or between communal areas in a house.

• Stable Doors:These external doors are designed with a split on the vertical centre, allowing one half of the door to be open while the other is left closed. These are a great choice for a back door when space is limited, allowing a great view of a garden and a large airflow.

Quality Wooden Doorsets Delivered to You Across the UK

Building Materials Nationwide has a wide range of doors designed for both internal and external usage for sale, including a range of oak and oak veneered designs. We work with professionals and skilled DIYers, aiming to offer everything needed for a building project, delivered at a great price. 

For those in the industry, we also offer trade accounts through our website. Our dedicated account managers can source you whatever products you need, oak doors and beyond, through our network of suppliers. We’ll save you time, effort, and money, sorting out everything you need and delivering it to you at a fantastic trade price.

Sign up for a trade account today.

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