Beautiful wooden doors can really add to the external visual appeal of your home and , although they do require some maintenance , there are a few preventative measures that you can take not only to minimise the maintenance required , but also increase overall longevity .
TECHNICAL TALK
Unlocking the value of wooden doors
Beautiful wooden doors can really add to the external visual appeal of your home and , although they do require some maintenance , there are a few preventative measures that you can take not only to minimise the maintenance required , but also increase overall longevity .
By Cobus Lourens , Swartland
It is important to understand that wood is a natural material , and it expands and contracts . This is because in nature , microscopic cells within a tree expand and absorb moisture from its environment , or as water flows through the wood to nourish and sustain the life of the tree .
These cells contract , or shrink , when the water evaporates . Even after being cut down and processed , timber will continue to expand and contract as it absorbs moisture from its environment during the wet season , and loses moisture during the dry season . For this reason , it is important to not only seal the timber correctly to minimise moisture intake , but also to take various preventative measures to protect the wood from exposure to the elements as much as possible .
It is perfectly normal for wooden doors to take a while to adjust to the specific ‘ micro-climate ’ of their location : it takes a while for any timber door to adapt to the equilibrium moisture content ( EMC ) of the area . EMC is a term used to explain the amount of moisture in the air that all natural products will adapt to when exposed to a particular ‘ microclimate ’. For example , in Hout Bay in the Western Cape , there is a very high EMC averaging 15 %, while the average EMC for South Africa is 8 %.
As newly installed doors come into balance with the EMC of the area and the orientation of its installation , it will swell slightly during the wet season and shrink slightly in the dry season . As a general rule of thumb , wooden doors will settle after two seasonal changes – after which , the doors may need slight adjustment .
RAY BANS
To protect your wooden doors , you need to protect them from exposure to excess rain , as well as from the sun ’ s harmful UV rays , which can dry out the timber and cause it to shrink . You can protect your wooden doors by planting fast growing , evergreen trees that will offer them access to natural shade . This will prevent your door from being exposed to UV rays for any extended periods of time and offer the bonus of some well appreciated greenery around the entrance .
The colour of the door you choose can also help . Choosing a door in a light colour will help it to cope better with UV rays ,
COBUS LOURENS compared to a darker colour . This is because light colours reflect the heat , while dark colours absorb it .
HAVE YOU GOT IT COVERED ?
Aside from regular maintenance , probably the best preventative measure to increase your wooden door ’ s longevity is to include an awning or canopy over it . The best long-term solution for protecting your wooden
Cobus Lourens from Swartland . door is to install some kind of an overhang .
The overhang should extend the same distance as half the length of the space between the base of the door and the bottom of the overhang . The advantage of this solution is that it keeps the rain and the sun from coming in direct contact with the door .
Aside from protecting your wooden doors however , the added bonus is that these overhangs , awnings or canopies also help reduce the energy required to cool your house down during the hot summer months , as they regulate the amount of direct sunlight entering the home .
Adding an overhang to an existing house is pretty straightforward but blending it into the existing roof can be a bit tricky . For this reason , if you are renovating or building a new home , it is something that needs to be considered during the architectural design phase of the project .
Including roof overhangs into the design of your home is worth the investment – they not only protect your wooden windows and doors , but they help to keep your home cooler and will protect your interior soft furnishings , window treatments and carpets from over exposure to UV rays as well .
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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018