Product Care

Doors and floors are natural products, and how you finish, fit and clean them decides how they look in five years time. This page brings together the care advice for everything we sell, from an unfinished oak door that still needs sealing to a Karndean floor that has been down for a decade.

Finishing unfinished doors

An unfinished door leaves the factory as bare timber. It has no protection at all until you seal it, and that is the single most common cause of warping, swelling and grain lifting in a new door.

Seal all six faces

Every face has to be sealed before the door is hung: the front, the back and all four edges. Any cut outs you make for hinges, the latch, a lock or a letter plate must also be sealed, because bare end grain absorbs moisture far faster than a sealed face.

Which finish to use

Use an oil based varnish, a lacquer or a paint system suitable for interior joinery, and apply the number of coats the manufacturer states. Do not rely on wax or a penetrating oil as the only method of sealing, because neither forms a continuous barrier against moisture.

We list 84 unfinished internal doors. If you would rather skip this step altogether, 353 fully finished internal doors arrive sealed and ready to hang. Our guides on pre-finished, unfinished and primed doors and internal door finishes explain the difference in detail.

Caring for internal doors

Once a door is sealed, day to day care is simple. Dust it, wipe it with a barely damp cloth, and dry it straight away. Avoid all purpose sprays, solvent cleaners and abrasive pads, because these attack the finish rather than the dirt.

Re-coat the finish periodically rather than waiting for it to fail. Our guides cover cleaning and maintaining oak doors, looking after painted doors and painting an interior door properly. We list 292 internal oak doors and 710 internal doors in total.

Caring for external and front doors

An external door faces rain, frost and direct sun, so it needs a microporous, breathable finish that lets the timber move without the coating splitting. Dark colours absorb more heat and generally need re-coating more often than pale ones.

Check the finish every spring, pay particular attention to the bottom edge and the threshold, and re-coat before you can see bare timber. Read our guide on cleaning and maintaining a wooden front door. We list 96 external doors.

Storage before fitting

Most door problems start before the door is ever hung.

• Store doors flat, not on edge and not leaning against a wall
• Keep them in a cool, dry, well ventilated space
• Never store a door in a newly plastered or freshly screeded building
• Let the door acclimatise to the room for at least 48 hours before fitting

A new build or a recently plastered room holds a great deal of moisture. A door stored in that atmosphere will take it up, swell, and then shrink again once the building dries out.

Timber movement is normal

Timber is a natural material and it responds to temperature and humidity all year round. Minor variations in colour, grain and figure between leaves are characteristic of real wood, not a defect, and slight seasonal movement is expected.

If a door starts to bind, our guides on stopping doors swelling and sticking and planing a door explain what to do. For draughts, see how to deal with a draughty door.

Caring for door hardware

Handles and hinges take more physical contact than any other part of a door. Wipe them with a dry or barely damp cloth only, and never use metal polish on a lacquered finish, because the lacquer is what protects the metal underneath.

We list 2589 door handles and 358 door hinges. See our guides on cleaning and maintaining brass door handles, fixing a loose door handle and stopping a door squeaking.

Caring for flooring

Different floor types want different treatment, so start with the material rather than a general rule.

• Engineered and solid wood: sweep or vacuum, clean with a wood floor cleaner, never let water sit on the surface. See our engineered oak flooring guide.
• Parquet and herringbone: the same rules apply, but pay attention to the joints. See cleaning and maintaining parquet flooring.
• Luxury vinyl tile: the most forgiving of all. See what Karndean flooring is.
• Laminate: keep water to a minimum. See common laminate flooring mistakes.

Use felt pads under furniture, put a mat at every external door, and keep grit off the floor, because grit does more damage than anything else. We list 12 flooring products.

Caring for wall panelling

Panelling is finished joinery, so treat it like a door. Dust it, wipe it with a barely damp cloth, and re-coat painted panelling when the finish starts to dull. We list 15 wall panelling products, including 10 acoustic wall panels.

Getting it right from the start

Correct installation prevents most of the problems this page describes. Read our installation information before you begin, and check the door size guide so the door fits without excessive trimming.

If you have a question about a specific product, contact our team through the contact page and we will check the manufacturer guidance for you.