The good news is that there are a number of simple, practical steps you can take to counteract the colder climate and keep your wooden doors in tip top condition throughout winter.

Sealing:

If gaps start appearing around your wooden doors, you will need to ensure they are properly sealed.

This is an easy job that can be done with sealing strips that sit around the edges of the door or with acrylic sealing paste. Both work by collapsing slightly whenever the door is closed, squeezing to fill any gaps.

As well as preserving the look of your door, sealing will also prevent cold air passing through into your home and provide additional soundproofing.

Finishing:

We should make sure the wood itself is given the best protection against the effects of moisture drainage.

This could be done with a coat of wax which will act almost like a moisturiser for your door – soaking into the wood and creating a barrier between the moisture within the door and the surrounding dry air.

Doors can also be given an added layer of protection with durable paint that also acts as a barrier against the elements. At Wooden Luxury, we offer a wide range of paint shade and stains, including RAL colours and shades complementary to those from the Farrow & Ball, Fired Earth and Osmo ranges.

Before applying a coat of finish, ensure your door is as clean as possible and free from blemishes. Do this by running a damp cloth over the wood and removing all visible pieces of dirt as you don’t want to be sealing these under a coat of finish.

Make sure you let the wood dry completely before adding wax or paint because trapping excess moisture inside will create more problems for your doors.

Tightening:

You’ll want to make sure that your door is as securely attached to the frame as possible for it to do its job properly over the colder months.

You’ll need to do this by tightening the hinges, which will loosen over time in response to warping.

It is important that tightening is performed slowly and manually with a screwdriver rather than a drill. This is to prevent you going too far and twisting the screw further than necessary which can strip the socket and render the screw ineffective.

Humidifier:

It may be worth investing in a humidifier to ensure the air in your home is maintained at an ideal moisture level – preferably one with a sensor that automatically adjusts the humidity.

Maintaining humidity will help to expand the lifespan of your wooden doors as well as other wooden furniture in your home. But be sure not to over-humidify as this will do more harm than good.

Insulating:

As well as trying to prevent cold air from travelling through the gaps at the side of your doors, we also need to prevent heat energy from escaping.

Insulating your doors using draught excluders – or even something as simple as a rolled up towel – will prevent heat escaping, keeping your rooms warm and keeping down your energy bills.

Buy quality:

If you are opting for a new door, quality will always be key. All of our doors are solid oak, which keep in more heat than hollow centred doors, whilst being finished with durable products to ensure they are best prepared for the cold winter months.

Here’s a few reasons why you should choose a solid oak front door:

• Solid oak doors stand the test of time
• Outstanding insulation properties of oak – an estimated 0.16k (the ‘k’ value is measured in W/m2/K and the lower the figure the better)
• Treated properly, external oak doors can withstand even the harshest of elements and pressures – keeping the bad weather out and the warmth inside
• Oak has unrivalled natural beauty
• Doors can be tailored to fit perfectly with any architectural style or age of home – and can be embellished with individual glass panelling, handles or latches to create a more modern, period or traditional look depending on your requirement
• Oak is decay-resistant and resists moisture well – an important factor to consider given the Great British weather 
• Unrivalled natural security for your home