It’s that time of year when everybody wants to be outside to enjoy the sunshine. That is also when people notice the repairs needed on their house. When wood is used on the exterior of your home, it needs protection. Most wood is painted on houses, that blocks all of the uv light that is so harsh on wood. If you have stained wood outside you probably know first hand what happens if you don’t maintain it. Everybody seems to look to the boating industry for the “secrets” of how to maintain wood in the harshest environment. Most people don’t realize that those boats do use the best materials, but still need to be maintained every year. That means your front door will need a maintenance schedule depending on how much sun the door receives, and what type of finish coating it has.
Front doors come in a few different options besides wood, but each wood door is unique and they look great! We have started using water-based finishes on wooden exterior doors and we are getting great results! Some doors are 3 years old and still look good. So, instead of every 1-2 years you can possibly go 3-5 years before the door needs to be cleaned, scuffed and another coat applied. That saves you money, and it makes using wood on the exterior of your home that much more affordable.
Some other ways to save money on maintaining your front door:
1. Don’t wait until the door is warping and cracking. Repair work will add to the cost of refurbishing the door.
2. Make sure that if a stain is used, that it is an exterior stain. No matter what finish is used, the UV light will fade it. Exterior stains are made to last longer than other stains and dyes. (regular stains and dyes could fade in less than 2 months!)
3. Ask for the top and bottom of the door to be sealed with several coats of finish when the door is maintained.
4. Ask for an invoice that specifies the stain and finish used on your door. That way the next craftsman could possibly keep the cost down by refurbishing with the same materials, or referring you to someone who can.
I recently worked on a house where we refinished the front doors with water-based finish, but the garage doors were refurbished using the last finish used. That saved a large sum of money from not having to refinish the doors. The last few front doors I have worked on were in Savannah, Counce, and Jackson, TN.
