Here we have much to consider...and I will probably fail in keeping it short and to the point.
Still, allow me to briefly assist you with this exciting but sometimes daunting commission of choosing a new wooden front door.
The limits.
The design of the house, the budget, the architect, the natural elements and the spouse off course are initial influences to keep in mind.
But limits is a good tool for making things simpler.
If the spouse and architect has given you free reign you are off to a good start. Now the style of the house and the opening size is the next turn to navigate. Armed with this knowledge you have permission to browse for door designs.
The two obvious terrains on which to do this are Pinterest and our beautiful Grapedoor website.
Imagining the façade of the house while all the while unravelling your creative boundaries, you can picture your new door in its place. I recommend not more than three designs to forward to your Custom Door Supplier. You should provide as much relevant information as you can think of as an effective guidance toward a proper quote.
Inching carefully toward the budget now.
Herewith a list (as we are in calculation mode) of the determining components.
- Size of Opening
- Custom Design of Door
- Type of Wood
As general entrance opening sizes across South Africa varies considerably I will only name a few as examples.
For double doors standard opening sizes are roughly 1400 x 2100 or 1600 x 2100 or 1800 x 2100. Pivot door standard sizes range between 1200 x 2100 to 1500 x 2100.
If you looking for anything taller or wider, smaller or thicker the Custom Door Supplier is your next destination.
As is the case with Grapedoor, here you will experience personal attention and an earnest engagement with your specifications as a priority.
Wood. Where does one start?
The last and very important point I would like to devote time to is the type of wood to compare.
To keep things uncomplicated, although they are not, I will again make use of the tried and proven list. This time of the most commonly used hardwood types we deal with, from the most cost effective to the most expensive. This is not an exhaustive directory of available wood types.
This index however is not all and necessarily telling of the quality or usefulness of the wood. The cost of wood is influenced greatly by availability, workability, certain qualities and even sentiment:
Saligna
Meranti
Melunak (Mahogany)
Oak Comsel
Rhodesian Teak
Kiaat
African Mahogany
Ash
Oak Prime
Iroko
African Walnut
American Walnut
Currently a Classic 812 x 2032 two panel Saligna Door with raised panels and dual mouldings would cost R5 451.00 whereas an American Walnut door of the same size works out to R21 187.00
This then a revealing example of alternatives and options when it comes to choosing the type of wood for your door.
A good Custom Door Design Company must be able and competent to facilitate your journey with the information given to them. It does help a lot nevertheless if the client bears knowledge of aspects of his or her order.
For this reason I have great pleasure in sharing my grasp on Choosing a New Entrance Door.
We have all seen action thrillers where the special ops guys are deployed and then with god-like skill achieve the impossible.
So it is when the installation team headed by Ryno drives out of our gates with a door that has been dreamt into life, saved for, planned around and even argued about.
I feel like saluting them as one would the brave Special Forces Soldiers on a perilous mission.
It is not that the installation team’s life is in danger, all the time, but just that they do carry quite a load of responsibility with them. The thing is, they know it.
These photos tells a short story of a door leaving the factory to be displayed at its designated spot. The opening that was awaiting its completion. A house that could not be called a house without it.
Here we see only moments of what actually took two days to complete.
A few people can appreciate the amount of ingenuity and character required to install and finish off the doors we manufacture here at Grapedoor. One has to perform this crucial duty day in and day out.
This post then, as a tribute and a thank you to Ryno and his team. We trust no one else with our doors for they are...The Boys.
