Suppose you just invested in a high-quality wooden door that you expect to have for many years. The last thing anyone wants is to quickly notice the luster of their door fade within the first few years since it was installed. While wooden doors are sturdy and capable of lasting a long time, some extra maintenance is still good to know. It’s good to know how to take care of the surface of your doors, so they do not lose their luster too quickly. These are some tips on how to protect your wood exterior doors from sunlight.

The Threat of UV Rays

Before taking a deep dive into the specific methods to protect your wooden exterior doors, it’s good to know how they get damaged in the first place. Wooden doors are still made of an organic material that has some important components on a cellular level that it needs to stay healthy. Lignin is one specific component that is prone to get damaged when exposed to too many UV rays over a long period of time. This is why the coatings put on a door are full of colorants that absorb most of the UV rays that land on the door’s surface.

Doors that are not properly cared for when exposed to the sun are prone to experiencing fading in their color and gloss. Think about a brand-new door and how it seems to shine on its own. Those doors are well taken care of and full of healthy lignin and colorants to keep them looking elegant and clean. While certain woods are more resistant than others, it is good to know that any of them can live long lives with the proper precautions.

Reapply Finish

The finish on your wooden door is necessary to keep it protected and strong. Certain species of wood are great for resisting natural aspects of weather, but having a finish is a good defense in addition to its characteristics. Since wood is naturally porous to a certain degree, filling in cracks or holes with a finish helps prevent water from seeping in and rotting the material. The finish is good for keeping the look of your wood and increases its overall longevity.

While wood on its own is strong, the moment water begins to seep into it frequently, the more likely it becomes to warp eventually. Once the integrity of the wood begins to fail from the inside, maintaining it is more difficult moving forward. Finishes are almost like sunscreen for your door that allows them to mitigate the damage from the sun to keep them healthy. There are several kinds of finishes to choose from with different lasting benefits. Sometimes, the best type depends on the species of your wooden door as well.

Cover With Plants

Unlike interior wood doors, the ones on the outside are not able to evade the sunlight by using curtains to cover them up. Instead, consider placing plants in spots that give your door a little bit of shade. Whether the placement comes from hanging plants or trees is up to your preferences. The less they are exposed to the light, the better off they are in the long run. Any other types of obstacles that are able to better cover your door without becoming an obstacle or a hindrance are also great options.

For those who are willing to make a bigger renovation for their home and benefit their doors at the same time, building a walk-in porch is a good move to make. While this option is a bit more tedious, it is great for increasing the value of your home’s curb appeal and resale value. Smaller additions like an awning or a canopy are also good ways to give it shade without investing too much in the project.

Repaint Your Door

Sometimes paint is a decent option for protecting your door from sunlight. The trade-off with paint is that your door loses the natural pattern of the wood when painted. Depending on what you are looking for in your home’s aesthetic, this is sometimes a deal breaker when it comes to painting. If you do not mind losing the surface patterns or have a door that is on the more affordable end, paint is a good option if you are looking for a specific color or style to match other facets of your home.

Homes with a vibrant front door stand out from the others in the area and warmly welcome you and guests into the house. Doors are often the first impression people get before seeing what it is like inside. Much like the cover of a book, a vibrantly painted door gives people a nice introduction to what they are likely to see inside.

Re-Sand It

If a door has experienced extensive damage to its surface due to weather conditions such as heat, rain, or snow, then sanding down that exposed layer and re-finishing it is a good option to consider after sanding down the initial layer of the door and applying several coats of varnish and stain. The main thing to remember when applying the two is that a stain is mainly used for aesthetic purposes. Alternatively, varnish offers protection and sometimes helps with the door’s look. Stains normally soak into the wood upon application to help intensify its natural color and pattern. While this is good to look at, this does little to help the door resist future hazards.

The combination of these two is great for having a door that feels brand new. While the sanding process takes some time, it is a relatively simple method of clearing room for a door that looks better than before.

When looking for solid wood doors online, knowing the best ways to make them last in the future is good. Doors are a beautiful statement piece whose quality and visitors immediately notice craftmanship. Regardless of how much someone knows about wood and its smaller details, a good quality door does not go unnoticed. By considering how to protect your wood exterior doors from sunlight, you stand to make your investment last well into the future. Taking care of each part of your home is a great way to ensure it does not fade with time as you continue to upgrade your quality of life.