Description
Cardinal solid oak custom made doors are something really special. Hand made to a full 44mm thickness. Our skilled team make each door to your exact size requirements in our Sheffield factory. We use a mix of the latest CNC machining technology and experienced hand assembly.
Cardinal Manufacture
We manufacture the Cardinal doors to a 44mm thickness for a solid heavy door. Our professionals make the stiles and rails by laminating together two 22mm sections of solid oak. Laminating the sections in this way makes the door much more structurally stable than using a single piece of oak. We supply each door with a quality oak weather bar that you can fit on site.
We use super strong twin 16mm dowel joints, with a hydraulically pressed frame to make the mainframe of the door. On site, we scribe the joints using CNC profile tooling. Our specialist machine then internally beads the panels using solid oak profiled beading.
Here at Heritage, we make our Cardinal doors to meet BS644 standards. This is on the basis that an appropriate finishing system is used. We fit the door panels using a fully bedded system designed to meet BS6375. Each panel features weather gaskets to the outer face and correctly bevelled beading to help the door shed water.
Points to Note
- Oak is very sensitive to moisture variation and you must install and finish carefully to avoid problems. We recommend oak doors are fitted under a canopy or porch. For very exposed locations we strongly recommend you consider one of our Accoya doors.
- We make the doors stiles, rails and inner muntins from solid laminated oak. The central flat panels use an exterior grade cross laminated board with a prime oak veneer. The cross laminated board helps to ensure the door is more stable and has much more reduced risk of movement than inner panels made with 100% solid oak. Please contact our sales team for further details.
- We will only guarantee this door IF you choose to have the door factory finished by us. If you select unfinished, this will unfortunately mean we are unable to assist with doors that warp, twist, etc. due to moisture ingress. However, if a 3 stage end grain sealer system has been proven to be used, we will be able to assist further. A care leaflet will be provided with every door detailing the best way for the doors to be finished.
Need a frame as well? Why not try our door set option?
Timber Grades
We manufacture exterior Cardinal doors using a specially selected grade of oak. The oak is bought directly from a number of partner sawmill in central and northern France where the best quality slower grown oak is found. The centre panels are a prime oak veneer over a cross laminated core. This makes for a much more stable door
Most boards will be clear, some may have the occasional small knot emphasising the solid oak construction of these doors. There can be some colour variation within the boards as you find in any natural raw material.
All of our Oak is specially kiln dried to 10-12% for use as an exterior door and will exhibit minimum movement in use if finished appropriately. As with all timber its extremely important to use an the correct finishing system as soon as they are installed to prevent rapid moisture content changes that can lead to door swelling.
Never use a single stage finish, such as varnish or hardwax oil. In our experience these rarely perform adequately. You must use a multistage finish with a sealer base coat followed by multiple top coats.
Ideally consider our factory finished doors, as these are sprayed in a semi assembled state to ensure even hidden areas are thoroughly finished.
Standard and Custom Sizes
Cardinal external oak doors are manufactured to order to your exact size. We will make your door in any size up to 950mm x 2100mm for the same price. We can make larger doors but please call with your requirements for us to quote a price.
All the doors are made to a standard 44mm thick using laminated oak stiles and rails. To manufacture these we laminate 2 x 22mm oak sections in house.
We strongly recommend you specify the door a few mm oversize, and plane the door on site to suit unless you are absolutely sure that the door frame is 100% square. They rarely are! Your new oak door is custom made, and cannot be returned/refunded once manufactured so please consider these measurements carefully. We will confirm them back to you once you have let us know in an order confirmation so we both have a clear understanding of the size required
Please note that your new door is hand made and will take around 2-3 weeks to manufacture.
Finishing
Oak is a very popular and attractive timber, but it needs very careful finishing to ensure satisfactory service. We strongly recommend you consider our factory finishing option.
If you choose this option your door will go through a multi stage finishing system. Your door will first be sanded and degreased. After any chosen colour stain is applied, a special sealer is used to protect porous end grain. Following this multiple top coats are applied to a specified thickness. We use a specially designed highly thixotropic finish, applied by a very high pressure spray system, that allows us to build up a highly protective layer on your door. V joint sealer is applied where required between top coats, and the door is infrared cured and sanded between each coat.
This system provides your door with the best protection possible from the weather as well as creating a finish that looks much better than a brush applied finish.
If you choose to have your door unfinished, when you receive the door it should be checked for fit. We cannot overstate how important it is to properly finish timber external doors to provide satisfactory service. All timber will expand and contract as it gains and loses moisture. That's why your door can take on moisture and expand in winter weather. Thoroughly finishing the door will slow this movement to a minimum. It is extremely common to find timber doors that have not been finished properly, almost always in difficult to reach places such as underneath the door. If you prefer to finish your door onsite, each door is shipped with detailed finishing instructions (see download tab to view a copy) that explain how to create a weathertight finish to your door. You must follow these carefully to ensure satisfactory performance.
Even with thorough and correctly specified finishing, timber doors can occasionally require minor planing in the first couple of seasons. You should always follow a good maintenance programme with solid oak exterior doors, refinishing them as necessary.
Oak can discolour over time unless UV protection is given to it within the finishing system. This protection is within the pigment, and therefore it is not possible to give proper UV protection with a clear finish. As standard we recommend a medium oak finish. We can apply a clear finish however you should note that this cannot provide UV protection and your oak door may weather and the timber fade over time if this option is chosen.
We specify and use Teknos water based industrial finishes in our factory finishing facility.
PLEASE NOTE - Prefinished doors are hung in our spray facility to ensure full coverage and a top quality finish. This does mean there will be 2 small screw holes in the side of your door. Please be aware of this before ordering.
Delivery
We use multiple couriers to ensure your door is delivered safely and efficiently, lead times are as below
Please note, anything to Scotland, Cornwall, or the South Coast can take up to 4 weeks in transit. Please call us for an approximate lead time as time will be dependent on the quantity of doors you purchase
Handling Time
10-15 Working Days
Please add 5 working days for prefinishing/glass
Transit Time
1-7 Doors: 5-10 Working Days (Epic Logistics)
8+ Doors: 3 Working Days (Hallam Express)
We do not currently deliver to Scottish Highlands, Islands, or Ireland
Please give us a call if you are needing your order urgently, express options may be available on a case by case basis
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