Learn how to care for a wooden door.
Your front door has a huge impact on the design and appeal of your home. After all, it’s one of the first things you notice from the street. A beautiful wooden door can boost your curb appeal and contribute to your landscape and interior design. But a wooden exterior door is an investment, and as such it will need routine inspections and maintenance to ensure it stays in good shape and keeps adding to your home’s curb appeal into the future. If you are adding a wooden door to your home’s exterior, or just looking for door maintenance tips, use the following guide for maintaining your wooden door.
Inspect Your Doors
Regularly inspecting your wooden doors is important to making sure that they are well-maintained. When inspecting doors, look for cracks, dark streaks, and rough grain in the finish, as this may indicate that the door needs refinishing. Depending upon the exterior design of your house, your houses may be frequently exposed to the elements. Doors that are not protected by porches or roof overhang will weather more quickly than protected ones, so they should be inspected more frequently.
Clean Before Repairing
Be sure to thoroughly clean your doors before applying finish or paint. This will make sure that the coating looks flawless and lasts as long as possible. For simple paint touch-ups, a wooden door can be maintained while still in the frame after a thorough cleaning. Just be sure to consult a professional and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the touch-up paint.
Prepare Doors
For major refinishing and restoration on your exterior wooden doors, they will require more preparation than a thorough cleaning. Much of this work should be done with the door removed from its frame so that finish can be applied to all six sides of the door. When removing your wooden door from its frame, be sure to keep track of the hinges and other hardware so that you can replace it when the door has been refinished.
Finish
Before refinishing your door, remove all old finish using paint remover or finish stripper. That should be followed up by sanding any remaining finish off the door, sanding with the grain. Make sure the door has been wiped with a cleaning cloth damp with mineral spirits, and dried completely before applying the new finish. Priming the door is an extremely important step in exterior wooden door maintenance, as it will help your finish look its best, longer. Be sure to use high quality finish and follow manufacturer’s instructions to have your door looking excellent!
CALL MAHOGANY INC. TODAY
If you’re ready to see all the ways wood can revamp your business, Mahogany Inc. is here for you. We possess both the expertise and experience to handle whatever problem you need tackled. Call us with any questions at 410-727-0334 and a licensed professional will be sure to help. To see examples of our work and to gain inspiration for your next project, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.