I've always loved front doors, especially solid wood ones, because they are like a promise of what you're about to discover inside. When made of wood and crafted with care, doors, whether full-size or monumental, draw attention and give personality to the home. The condition is that they are an integral part of the architecture and close off the exterior of the house in a unified way. To achieve the desired result, specialists are needed for both design and execution. One such specialist is Holze. Rebuilding doors and windows of old houses, the specific shutters of the Adriatic coasts or arched windows in the style of old Romanian houses, are compelling projects featured in the magazine.
Natural textures, atypical sizes, unique pattern, intelligent closing-opening system
Holze always uses the highest quality wood for joinery. The designs are tailored to the house and manage to meet the most special requirements. Rebuild doors of old houses in the original design or make new doors, adapted to the architecture of the house, starting from the project.
One of the original works is a door for a house in Constanta. The owner wanted an imposing, arched door with stained-glass windows, which would match the architecture of the house and combine classical appearance with modern technology. The door is biometric, with an intelligent opening system that recognises fingerprints at the touch of the bronze handles (finger print) or with the use of a phone.
The door was first designed and after receiving the customer's agreement, it was made, transported and installed. Each side of the door has a load-bearing weight of over 100 kg and yet can be moved with great ease, closing without weight. It is what makes such a luxury product - it looks classic, it inspires massiveness, but it moves easily, just by the touch of a finger. Four very strong hinges are used to fix it solidly to the wall. The profile of the door is 90 mm, larger than standard doors, which are 68-70 mm.
The door was fitted 8 years ago and is still in excellent condition, works perfectly and the customer is happy. In order to get a quality product he did not force things, he called in the specialists, waited for the time needed for execution and paid the right price.
Elements that determine the quality of a door
Even simple doors can be imposing if the design and woodwork are well chosen and carefully crafted. But there are several elements that together determine the quality of a door. Here are some of them:
- Wood used. For a quality entrance door, choose wood that is strong on the outside but also beautifully designed. Oak, walnut and ash, among the local species, or meranti, as an exotic species, are among the most used for such works;
- Resistant hardware. A solid wood door is very heavy. If proper support systems are not found it will give way. The hardware you choose must not only be strong but also look good, because it contributes to the overall appearance of the door;
- Durable finishes with a natural look. Without a weatherproof finish on the outside, the door will not stand up to weather and solar radiation. But the finish should not cover up the beauty of the fibre.
- Well-trained and valued workers. Daniel Rotaru from Holze says a cheap worker works cheaply, and a fairly valued worker works valuably. This is Holze's "secret" to maintaining the quality of its work.
- Technicians with knowledge of architectural details. Architectural knowledge is the secret to matching the door to the style of the house.
- Machinery and equipment in the factory to allow fine machining.
All this makes a quality door not cheap. We're talking about a fair price, which involves quality work and materials. There was once a drawing of a horse circulating on a specialist website, half of which was the perfect image of the horse and the other half as drawn by a child, and the explanation of the drawing was "when the customer asks for it fast and cheap". It's the same with quality doors.
A quality solid wood door isn't cheap and doesn't come off well in everyone's hands
The particulars of the solid wood, the pattern, size and weight of the door, the framing in the facade of the house are all important and the wrong approach can lead to a disastrous result. Solid wood varies dimensionally with the variation of air humidity and choosing the wrong pattern, incorrect drying of the wood, wrong jointing of the door elements will result in the door deteriorating in just a few months.
I had the opportunity to see such a door, which became totally non-functional after just one winter. The team renovating a friend's house was attracted by the low price offered by a craftsman and ordered the solid oak front door from him. The door was atypical without being monumental. Immediately after installation in the fall, it looked great. In the spring, however, the door was warped, discolored and had cracks in both the wood and the glue line through which you could see into the house. It was virtually unusable and unfixable and had to be replaced. It was obvious that the wood had not dried properly, the glue was not the right one, and the finish had not protected at all.
The desire to have a special entrance door can be achieved provided we understand that such a door is not cheap and cannot be made by just anyone. Only those who work with solid wood and know how heavy such a door can be and how their own weight can lead to warping, who have demonstrated over time that they know their trade and have completed projects to prove it are able to carry out such work to a high standard.
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