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DOORS 101
— Wood Characteristics
Wood is cut from trees. Trees take
a long time grow. Trees grow in forests. There are people
that argue that utilizing products made from trees is
bad for the world because they take so long to grow.
All of the wood that we utilize comes from American
forests – all of which come from managed forests.
Managed forests own the land or have leases whereby
they control what they cut and what they plant. They
can accurately control what gets cut because they have
already planted in previous years. Forest Management
has been in place for over sixty years and we feel confident
that our sources will continue to use these methods
to insure that we have product to construct our doors
from for lots of years.
Wood is one of those natural products
that remind us that the world is not all plastic, metal,
and glass. Wood is a natural product of Mother Nature.
No two pieces of wood are alike and each will have it’s
own unique grain pattern, knots, and mineral deposits.
If you are wanting two exact doors to look exactly the
same – you do not want wood and should probably
be looking at fiberglass or metal doors. The unique
grain pattern is what makes each piece of wood –
each part of the door – an individual work of
art that cannot be duplicated.
Wood also has a certain feel to
it. Whether it’s just touching it or even just
the feel as it swings as a door – it’s a
good feeling. We don’t know if it makes us remember
our grandparents’ home with wood doors or if it’s
just a human nature element that takes us back to our
roots. Wood is one of the most versatile products in
the world and has been used for construction, tools,
weapons, boats, planes, and most importantly for us
– doors!
One of the best qualities of wood
is that it is repairable. Wood can be sanded, patched,
cut out or otherwise returned to its original state
with a little help. Simple sanding can remove scratches
and small dents. Even compressions or dents can be raised
back by applying steam to the affected area. The other
side of the coin is that wood can be made to look older
by distressing it or just from simple use. There is
a whole market that recycles wood from old barns and
fences to be made into other products while keeping
the weathered wood look. We have custom distressing
techniques available to make the doors appear older
than they are.
Not all wood doors are made from
solid wood. There are no standard definitions for what
constitutes “solid”.
Some doors utilize veneers. This
is where a door has just a thin layer of wood –
from 1/64” of an inch to 1⁄4” of an
inch. This veneered layer can be applied over other
solid woods or sometimes just over a hollow core of
cardboard or other materials. A problem with veneer
surfaces is that although they are wood, it’s
just a thin layer. Scratches, dents, compressions or
other wear and tear can go through the veneer surface.
This often is not repairable and no matter how much
you paid for the door, damages the potential beauty
of the door.
All of our doors are made from solid
wood. There are no veneers. If you order prehung units,
the jambs will also be made from the matching, solid
wood. You never have to worry about cutting into a veneered
product or a hollow core.
Wood continues to move – expand or contract as
it acclimates to its surroundings. Seasonal changes
sometimes make this movement more noticeable. Sometimes
in the winter when heaters are used or in the spring
when swamp coolers are used you will notice the movement.
With the floating panel construction, this movement
should not interfere with the integrity of your door.
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