My gut feeling is that engineered wood should be more stable for an
exterior door than solid timber. The existing Victorian front door is
only being replaced because the bottom rail is ****ed, creating a gap
that varies with the seasons, and making any sort of draught exclusion
impossible.
Also, I'm not totally convinced that an extra £55 for mortice and tenon
joints is really worth it.
The door will be painted, and is part protected by a porch. Aside from
the pros and cons (which I'm sure are exhaustive), has anyone actually
gone for dowelled, engineered hardwood and then regretted it?

Stuart Noble wrote:
My gut feeling is that engineered wood should be more stable for an
exterior door than solid timber. The existing Victorian front door is
only being replaced because the bottom rail is ****ed, creating a gap
that varies with the seasons, and making any sort of draught exclusion
impossible.

Solve that by taking it off and thoroughly sealing it. And protect
against driving rain..



Also, I'm not totally convinced that an extra £55 for mortice and tenon
joints is really worth it.
The door will be painted, and is part protected by a porch. Aside from
the pros and cons (which I'm sure are exhaustive), has anyone actually
gone for dowelled, engineered hardwood and then regretted it?

If you mean simply using machined painted marine plywood, should be good
if well sealed.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
My gut feeling is that engineered wood should be more stable for an
exterior door than solid timber. The existing Victorian front door is
only being replaced because the bottom rail is ****ed, creating a gap
that varies with the seasons, and making any sort of draught exclusion
impossible.

Solve that by taking it off and thoroughly sealing it. And protect
against driving rain..

I've been "solving" it on and off for the last 20 years and now I'm
determined to have a straight door like normal people :-)




Also, I'm not totally convinced that an extra £55 for mortice and
tenon joints is really worth it.
The door will be painted, and is part protected by a porch. Aside from
the pros and cons (which I'm sure are exhaustive), has anyone actually
gone for dowelled, engineered hardwood and then regretted it?

If you mean simply using machined painted marine plywood, should be good
if well sealed.

This sort of thing

"These doors are manufactured using LVL (Laminated Veneered Lumber). LVL
or more commonly known as “engineered timber ” is a modern method of
construction that is economical with the use of natural timber
resources. The main parts & rails of the door are constructed using
solid strips/blocks of timber, which are glued and then clamped
together. They are then faced with a veneer and edged with a solid
timber “lipping”. The benefits of using engineered construction doors
over more traditional methods are; The door has a much more uniform look
(no mismatched colours/panels, everything matches), It is far more
unlikely to twist, split (we do not get problems with panels splitting)
and possibly the most important reason is that it is much more Eco
friendly!"

"These doors are manufactured...

...They are then faced with a veneer..."

Which will be prone to damage over the years.

Solid hardwood generally just takes on "character" with the knocks and
scrapes of life.

On Aug 21, 12:20*pm, RubberBiker wrote:
"These doors are manufactured...
...They are then faced with a veneer..."

Which will be prone to damage over the years.

Solid hardwood generally just takes on "character" with the knocks and
scrapes of life.

I have to second that.


NT