IN THE FRAME

Marc Husband, project design lead at Leader Doors (leaderdoors.co.uk), advises on picking a door

Q What should you consider when buying? A

When purchasing a new door, you should first think about the material/finish you’re looking for – whether it’s oak, white, black, grey or something else. There is lots of choice so knowing exactly what you want will make the process much quicker. The design is just as important. Whether it’s contemporary, classic, shaker or cottage – again, having a clear idea of the look you want to achieve will help you narrow down your options. The size of your current doors/openings is hugely important. Not every door comes in every size, so you may be limited to what you can purchase.

Q Are there minimum or maximum sizes? A

Traditionally internal doors are as small as 78 inches tall and 18 inches wide and can go anywhere up to 80.3 inches tall and 36.4 inches wide, as standard. Most doors will be within this range. It is possible to go smaller and larger, though, depending on the product, as suppliers can offer bespoke made-to-measure ranges of doors.

Q Is it easy For a DIYER to fit a door? A

It’s easier than you’d imagine to fit your own internal door when replacing an existing one. It becomes harder if you’re creating a new opening from scratch. With all internal doors, you’ll need to create hinge cut-outs and cut-outs for the locks/latches and handles. Some doors come pre-finished and ready to hang, whereas others are unfinished or primed, meaning they will need one (primed) or two (unfinished) steps to finish the door first to protect it from humidity changes. Fitting it into an existing frame should be quite easy to install. If the door is too big for the opening you may need to trim it down, but be careful as this could jeopardise the style and design.