To many people, having an antique door adds character to their home and provides a real conversation starter for anyone coming to their house. Antique doors, particularly the old Craftsman doors and more ornate country estate types of doors popular with the Victoria and French provincial styles of design, are beautiful but also not the best option for many homes.

Recreation of the Classics

At Nick’s Building Supply, we have worked to recreate these popular styles in our new wood exterior doors. We offer the classic styles of the Craftsman doors and the beautiful and sleek lines of the traditional Shaker and Mission doors. To add to our collection, we offer some amazing looks in rustic doors, round-top doors and classic French doors that are all clearly designed in a specific style but also incorporate all the technology and engineering that makes today’s wood doors a superior
choice.

Solid Doors and Engineered Core Doors

One of the biggest challenges with antique wood exterior doors is the way these doors were constructed. They were literally made from thick planks of wood, which gave a solid, sturdy and long-lasting door, as evidenced by the fact that they are still around up to a century or more after construction.

However, rain, humidity, dry heat, direct sun and even the cold temperatures of winter have all taken their toll on these doors. Since they are solid wood, any expansion or contraction of one side of the door, such as moisture on the outside, causes the entire solid plank or board to twist.

To add to the problem, in days gone by there were no sealants available for the wood. This allowed moisture and the sun’s UV rays to continually damage the surface of the wood, particularly on the exterior side of the door.

Today, we offer engineered cores in all of our exterior doors. This is a specially designed solid core that allows for the natural expansion and contraction of the wood without any stress or strain. This prevents the twisting and warping of the old school solid board doors and virtually ensures the doors will stay straight for a lifetime of use.

Additionally, when you buy our custom-designed and handcrafted exterior doors we will custom stain the doors to your color choice. Our team of craftsmen will use a UV protectant stain and sealant, preventing moisture and damaging UV rays from fading or harming your door’s surface even with years of exposure to the elements.