Front door trims

There are a huge number of ways to decorate a door: paint treatment, lathing or laminating the door leaf. These methods are very time consuming and require professional work. Another situation is with the front door strips. Cover plates are one-piece products for door decoration, which you can make yourself. The result will pleasantly surprise you, even if you are not a professional builder or interior decorator.

The main features of the door trims are:

• Protective function of overlays (preventing scratches and bumps);
• Decoration element (with the help of such elements you can give the old door a beautiful look);
• Savings (door linings are cheaper than a new door);
• Refractory properties (linings are impregnated with a special composition).

A huge number of materials can be distinguished from which linings for external doors are made. This article covers the main types of door trims.

The most popular are MDF panels. You can see that such details are presented in a wide range of colors and curly options. You can always choose the right option for any door. They have a number of advantages:

• cheapness;
• strength and durability;
• guarantee heat and sound insulation;
• attractive;
• durable.

The strength of these parts is due to the special manufacturing technology. In the first step, the fibers are strongly compressed. In the second case, the parts are covered with a high quality film. The result is durable products that look like wood. Due to its tight fit to the door leaf, moisture does not get under the part.

Often MDF overlays are used when decorating interior doors, sometimes a combination of a plastic door and overlays imitating wood looks beautiful. For street metal doors, armored plates are ideal, they have special, anti-vandal properties.

Plastic is ideal for entrance doors. But it is necessary to remember when choosing such elements that only thick plastic will serve you for a long time. The plastic is waterproof, tolerates a range of temperatures, does not fade in the sun.

Plywood overlays are highly susceptible to moisture. In high humidity or water ingress, the corners of the plywood overlays will be rounded. Therefore, it is undesirable to choose plywood elements for entrance doors.

Wood parts are often used to decorate doors. Wooden lining must be varnished or painted. They are resistant to sunlight and are not afraid of moisture.

A fairly common option is entrance doors with a mirror. Any hallway should have a mirror, and often the solution is to mount a mirror on the door. This saves space in small apartments, and visually makes the corridor larger.

The overlay on the door decorates not only the door, but the whole room. It seemed that now the doors, even without overlays, are beautiful enough and have their own patterns. But there are situations when the issue of installing overlays is not only due to the update of the door's appearance:

• The old door is not pleasing to the eye, especially after renovation. But the canvas itself can last for many years;
• Panel facades are needed for additional thermal insulation;
• If the door is steel and welds are visible, then the pads will correct the situation.

In order for the overlay to fit the size of the door, it is necessary to correctly and carefully measure the size of the door leaf. Only after you are convinced that the dimensions are correct can you buy parts and then install them:

• The door leaf must be cleaned before installation. Sandpaper and a clean rag are used to clean the surface. Then you need to degrease the surface. To do this, we need either white spirit, or anti-silicone, or anti-static (if the door or part is plastic).
• The first step in the process of installing the door trim is to remove the door from the hinges. We put the door leaf on the floor and continue working.

• This is followed by the application of foam around the entire perimeter. Also, the foam must be applied in the central part and crosswise. After that, we press the decorative overlays to the canvas. The foam takes 30-45 minutes to dry. If necessary, after the foam hardens on one side, we carry out the same steps to install the parts on the other side, carefully turning the door leaf.
• The third stage - after the final curing of the foam, you put the door in a vertical position for several hours, the time depends on the weight of the linings and the amount of foam applied. On average, this time is 5-6 hours.
• The final stage of fitting is carried out with a jigsaw. It is advisable to choose and install the lining 0.5-1 cm more on each side than the door leaf itself. Next, holes are made for the lock and fittings.

The necessary holes must be made closer to the edge of the door, without spoiling the appearance. For aesthetics, you can use rubber seals, they will also save you from cold air and wind. Remember that the door, together with the overlays, has become 10-12 kilograms heavier than it was. This is taken into account when installing on old canopies.

There are also some tips, following which, you can do this job faster and more efficiently:

• The work should be done very carefully and carefully. Only the accuracy of the work can guarantee you an excellent result;
• You can rest assured that you will succeed. After all, today all the conditions have been created in order to do this work yourself;
• To carry out this work, you will need a tool such as a jigsaw or a milling machine along with a drill and screwdriver. If you don't have this tool, you can easily rent it;

• Remember to follow the step when installing self-tapping screws - 20-25 cm;
• Hardware caps must be covered with a decorative pad. This is necessary to keep out air and moisture.

Once you've installed panels on an old door, you don't have to think it's forever. The average life of the pads is about 12-15 years.

If this door is an entrance door, then it is exposed to many influences, which reduces the resource of the linings. In addition, overlays are installed on the entrance doors of private houses, where frequent temperature changes, moisture and ultraviolet rays reduce the service life by 2-3 times. Therefore, the question of replacing the linings will definitely appear over time.

You can replace MDF linings, like others, with your own hands. This process is simple, but requires careful attention:

• First, you need to decide if you will be installing other overlays. It depends on how carefully you need to remove everything from the old door leaf.
• Secondly, you need to decide if you will remove the door from its hinges. If, after removing the old linings, the installation of new ones follows, then it is better to immediately remove the door from the hinges. If the replacement will occur later or they will not be changed at all, then it is better to leave the door in an upright position so as not to remove the door from its hinges once again and not to install it back.

The process itself begins with the fact that you need to remove all the fittings and all the locks. After that, all the hardware is removed in order to carefully remove the old parts. It is advisable to remember how you installed these linings and where you screwed the screws.

In the process, you need to remember that when removing old panels, you must not damage the door leaf itself. It is also advisable to sketch or memorize the location of the screws in order to fix the new overlays in other places. Old holes from self-tapping screws will no longer hold the panel as necessary, and the panels will not hold on to one foam.

If you are replacing the linings, then you can take the dimensions from the old linings. This is only possible if there is no mechanical damage on the old parts. After removing the old panel, from it you can transfer all the holes to the new panel and make them in advance. This will save you a lot of time.

When replacing panels, remember that the thickness of the panels may vary. This is important at the moment when you buy hardware or think about replacing door hardware with a new look.

When installing door linings, you need to think not only about their functionality, but also about the beauty of the details. It is also necessary to think about whether the updated door will merge into the interior that has already been created before. In this matter, it all depends on your personal preference, but there are several aspects that must be taken into account.

For example, you can use powder paint. This option will allow you to perfectly match the color, hide scratches and abrasions. This method is rarely used due to the complexity of preparation and the high cost of equipment.

For example, doors with wooden elements will look good in a Scandinavian-style room, which is characterized by white and pastel colors. Also, in such an interior, a special place is given to the naturalness of materials, so wood lining is an ideal option.

Also, such linings will fit well into the interior, where there are a lot of wooden decor elements. In a style like kitsch, where the owner often experiments with material combinations, wood can look extremely beneficial.

MDF pads are less environmentally friendly, although they imitate a tree, but indifferent to moisture and temperature extremes, therefore, it is more often used not in the internal, but in the external decoration of doors. In private houses, this option is very common, especially if the door is in contact with the environment. Also in houses, such overlays give the effect of the weight of the door and create the effect of a wooden door.

You will see the process of replacing the lining with a mirror on the front door in the next video.