External Doors

The external oak door range

An external door has one of the hardest jobs in the house. It faces the weather every day, it is the first thing anyone sees of your home, and it has to feel secure. Wooden doors do all three with a warmth and character that manufactured doors only imitate, and oak is the best of them: a dense, hard-wearing hardwood with a depth of grain and colour that lasts. This is the hub for our whole range of wooden external doors, from the door itself to the frame, hardware and treatments that complete the opening.

Built to last outdoors

Oak earns its place outside on more than looks. It is dense and rigid, so a solid oak door is substantial and hard to force, and paired with a quality multi-point lock and external-rated hardware it makes a genuinely secure entrance. It copes with the damp, changeable British climate far better than softwoods or thin hollow doors, and because it is a natural wood it can be sanded back and refreshed years down the line rather than replaced, so a well-treated wooden door lasts for decades.

Wooden front doors and back doors

Every external oak door can serve at the front or the back of the house; the difference is the look you want and the opening it goes into. Our wooden front doors are chosen to make an entrance and a lasting first impression, while our back doors are the sturdy, everyday choice for garden, utility and side access. The same styles run across both, so you can match the look right around the house.

Solid oak or oak veneer

The main construction choice is between solid oak and an oak veneer over an engineered core. Our solid oak external doors are worked from grade-A oak right through, with traditional mortice-and-tenon joinery, the substantial and characterful option that can be re-oiled and enjoyed for decades. Our veneered external doors put a genuine oak face over a stable engineered core, which holds its shape well on a very wide or exposed opening. Both give a genuine oak finish; the right one depends on the opening and the look you are after.

Glazed, stable and French styles

Beyond the panelled classics, the range covers the styles that change how a door works. Glazed external doors bring daylight into a hallway or kitchen, from a single light to fully glazed. Stable doors split across the middle, so you can open the top for light and air while the bottom stays shut. And French and patio doors open a room up to the garden. Styles run from cottage, Suffolk and Victorian looks to cleaner contemporary designs, so there is a fit for a period cottage or a modern façade alike.

Finishing and weatherproofing

Some of our external doors arrive prefinished and ready to hang; others are supplied unfinished, ready for you to oil every face and edge before fitting. Either way a wooden door benefits from an exterior oil and periodic re-coating, never paint or varnish, which crack and peel and can void the warranty. Our external door treatments cover the oils we stock and how to keep a wooden door weather-tight, and an oak door is happiest under a porch or canopy where it takes less direct rain and sun.

Frames, hardware and the complete door

A door is only part of the opening. We supply matching oak door frames, cill included, to hang it in, and the right external door handles and hardware, from hinges and locks to letterplates and handles chosen for outdoor use. For everything in one place, browse the full external door range and filter by style, glazing and finish.