Forum
« House Inspection Painting vs. Thuraseal on the back of our house »
March 30, 2008
Front doors and type of wood i should buy
I am buying a pair of new front doors. The woodworker has offered me 3 types of wood. Sugar pine I really don't like this one because i feel with nyc winters it will warp over time. Mahogony but these are to expensive for me. The last type is spanish cedar wood. Has anyone used this for front doors? any opinions on this wood?
Comments
Artistic woodcrafts, right?
Posted by: guest at March 30, 2008 12:43 AM
No i tried them but they wanted $25k for Mahogony. They are crazy with there prices. What do you think?
Posted by: guest at March 30, 2008 2:04 AM
are you staining or painting the doors?who is making them for you ?
Posted by: guest at March 30, 2008 10:15 AM
what is the cost?
Posted by: guest at March 30, 2008 10:16 AM
I am going to have them stained. They are being made by a woodworker in Boruem hill. They will cost around $11k with the doors from top to bottom and the moulding around the doors.
Posted by: guest at March 30, 2008 11:52 AM
Is this a single family house or will several tenants be using the door?
If the answer is the latter - the "sugar pine" would be too soft. There ARE harder pines out there but, sugar pine is just the softest of all pines- very easy to work with and your tools never dull.
Spanish cedar looks like mahogany and has great rot resistance but it also is softer.
Mahogany is an excellent choice, but the cost may be prohibitive. Most mahogany sold today is not genuine Honduras mahogany- it is African mahogany(khaya), Santos, sapele, Philippino, or any other reddish brown tropical hardwood.
Reclaimed lumber makes great doors as it is very stable and has tighter growth rings than most wood available today.
A door will not warp if it is staved.
Posted by: southslope at March 31, 2008 10:22 AM
Do you know where to find reclaimed lumber for doors?
Posted by: nching at March 31, 2008 3:44 PM
On my lumber rack.
Actually there is a whole profession dedicated to reclaiming lumber. Long leaf yellow pine comes from warehouses, redwood was used for wine tanks, and wormy chestnut from the siding on barns. When these structures are being torn down- trained professionals will dismantle them, de-nail the wood, and mill it into a usable product that is both beautiful and environmentally responsible.
try woodwood.com
Posted by: southslope at March 31, 2008 5:41 PM
I had two paneled doors made up from Spanish Cedar, and they are gorgeous. We had to put 10 coats of oil-based urethane on to get a good luster.
They will need a cleaning and recoating every two years. Sorry, but that's the price of gorgeous.
Jim Illingworth, (some place up-state) made them, and he delivered them down to Brooklyn. This was 5 years ago, i hope he's still around. We had the old doors, we sent him photos and dimensions. I believe he could have made the frame - but we didn't need the frame. We paid 2K, but that was 5 years ago.
If you need more info, you can contact me at bruce(at)jerseydata.net
Posted by: brucef at April 1, 2008 12:41 AM
test
Posted by: johnife at May 1, 2008 10:29 PM

Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.