Reclaimed or New door

[YohY]

Is it better to have an old Victorian/reclaimed door restored or brand new one made in similar style for Victorian house??

You can get exact replicas made but make sure it is hardwood. It will rot very quickly otherwise.

Personally I would restore the old one if possible. I just did front and back in our house. It took several days for both including installing new but exact period door furniture. It wasn't chap either.

chap = cheap

Thanks for the reply

So external door go for hardwood- I would probably try to get a reclaimed hardwood one of possible

I also need a vestibule door that can be pine as it is not subjected to outside?

Thanks

I have a friend who had a replica Victorian door made and rotted in 3 years so definitely hardwood or a really well seasoned old door. You will need it chemical stripping and a really competent carpenter fit it to your existing door jamb though. If it is an old house it will not be square and neither will the reclaimed door!

Inside again go for reclaimed so it fits the period of your house. Modern internal doors are fine but just look very wrong.

Get some good period door fittings too - they make a lot of difference to the final look.

An original Victorian door will almost certainly be painted pine or other softwood. Very rarely an ostentatious house will have unpainted oak. Mid and late Victorian doors in towns and cities were probably machine-made in a factory.

Properly painted, especially the top and bottom which are usually neglected and let water in, and preferably protected from most rain by at least an open porch, a wooden door will easily last a couple of hundred years.

You can get effective wood preservers now, which I like for outdoor timber although many people don't bother.

A good joiner can take apart an old door and rebuild it better than new, but it is labour-intensive.