TIMBER FRENCH DOORS IN LONDON & SURREY

Whether you choose a hardwood, redwood or a combination of the two for your timber French doors, the best option for longevity and minimal warping or twisting is a cross grain laminated timber.

Cross grain laminated timber is created by sawing the timber into strips, and then bonding it back together with the grains facing opposite directions.

When the strips try to twist in opposite directions, they simply counter each other and the frame doesn’t twist or warp.

The lifespan of a quality sliding doors is decades rather than years. The longest lasting and most dynamically stable timber is a specially-treated redwood called Accoya.

Teknos, a world-leading timber paint manufacturer (and our preferred), has conducted extensive research on the lifespan of timber doors and windows.

This research has proven that where timber french doors are sealed, painted and glazed in a factory (known as factory-finished), they will last up to 30% longer and require less maintenance than doors that are glazed or painted on site.

Choose from either a first fix or fully-finished installation.

First fix gives you the flexibility of having your French doors installed into the opening, ready for your own builder to seal in and complete the finishing touches to the interior.

Opt for the fully-finished installation, however, and our approved installers will do it all for you, including making good the internal plasterwork, installing and painting any internal tread board, trims and period architraves.

Extend your painting cycles by applying 3-8 coats (or three thicker coats) of timber microporous paint at the start. We’ve found that, compared to standard painting cycles of 2-4 years, this additional step can extend your painting cycles to 8–12 years.

This technologically advanced microporous paint allows the timber to breathe and prevents any flaking that you might see with oil-based paints. It essentially acts as a sun screen, preventing the sun’s harmful UV rays from damaging the timber underneath the paintwork. As UV rays are so harmful, south-facing doors will require more frequent repainting than north-facing ones.

You can protect and extend the painting cycles by washing the polluted dust from the external faces with a sponge and water twice a year. And, when it comes to repainting, ensure you use the same water-based microporous paint which can be applied straight on after a light sanding and without burning off the old paint as you’d ordinarily do with oil-based paints.

When buying quality laminated timber French doors, it is important to use only the best hinges, handles and locking system for many decades of trouble-free use.

Our approved suppliers only use heavy duty ironmongery and hinges which are designed and tested to operate through tens of thousands of opening cycles. Quality hardware ensures that your new French doors will open and close with precision.

Dynamically stable engineered French doors, combined with modern draught-proof seals will keep your doors draught-free in the most severe of climates.

The cross grain laminated timber frames are 30% stronger than standard frames and wont twist or warp like normal timbers giving you an airtight frame all year round. The seals used are of the highest quality from world leading manufacturers such as Schlegel.

The best double glazing, for maximising heat retention, will be coated with an invisible metallic low-emissivity soft coat. This is up to 33% more efficient at preventing heat loss than the industry standard ‘hard coat’ low-e alternatives.

We recommend soft coat double-glazed units with warm edge spacer bars and gas-filled cavities for ultimate performance.