Solid Core Doors

Historically doors have always been primarily constructed from solid wood. Times have changed, and in recent years many doors are now supplied veneered with various types of composite cores.

SWD Bespoke began life selling hardwood doors only. We have since moved away from this method of construction. All of our internal doors are now veneered or MDF facing. There are two main reasons for this: consumer demand and fire regulations.

Consumer Demand

We have entered an era where many consider doors as contemporary pieces of furniture. For example, demand for completely flush doors has risen steadily over recent years. Pictured below is our model L505, which demonstrates that it is simply not possible to make a door like this from a single piece of wood because it would not be big enough.

To achieve a perfect gloss finish, a door has to be constructed with a solid core making it very stable. Without a solid core warping will happen, then cracks will appear in the beautiful mirror like coating.

Traditional hardwood doors often fall victim to warping over time, therefore making it difficult and uncomfortable to open and close doors that had become misaligned over the years.

It’s also worth noting that some people want a painted door with a perfectly smooth finish with no visible wood grain. MDF is the perfect material to enable this.

Our model L505

Pictured is a piece of painted hardwood, with the glossy paint having cracked over time.

Fire doors

Fire Regulations

Many local authority building regulations require fire doors to be fitted where there are three floors or more. For example, a basement, ground floor and first floor. Fire doors should be fitted to protect areas where the fire could easily spread such as hallways or kitchens.

A solid timber door cannot withstand a fire long enough, and in brief and would serve to feed the fire being made of wood. However, a veneered door with a specialist type of chipboard is treated with flame retardant chemical.

This will then provide a fire rating of over 30 or 60 minutes dependant on the thickness. For example, an FD30 rated door of  45mm thickness would provide protection from fire for a minimum of 30 minutes. An FD60 rated door of 55mm thick would offer protection in excess of 60 minutes.

The blog below highlights the materials we use in our fire doors.

What is Intumescent Material and Why is it Used for Fire Doors?

For further information on fire doors and building regulations visit BWFcertificate

Conclusion

Solid core doors have set a new standard. The advantages they offer have rendered timber doors obsolete. A walnut-veneered door looks identical to a timber equivalent.

Solid wood hasn’t been ditched altogether as our doors typically have 20-25mm thick lippings all around which is more generous than other doors on the market. This is important for screwing in locks and hinges as engineered wood is not ideal for this.

Our stunning external doors remain proudly engineered from solid wood. The high quality construction allows the necessary expansion and contraction in the joints.

Solid wood keeps our doors looking great,  functioning perfectly and able to withstand the Great British weather for many many years.

www.solidwoodendoors.com