Narrow front doors - is it always £££?

[Wildwood6]

Hi, we have a very narrow, very grotty front door that I'd love to replace. We'd need a door about 720mm, rather than the standard size. Is this always going to be a spendy custom door? Everyone I've spoken to so far has said I can't buy an off the peg door and will need to get a custom one made. Has anyone ever found a way to do this without spending thousands? TIA!

That's a 28" door, which is unusually small. You sometimes see them on Victorian cottages, as people used to be smaller. External doors are more often 32", but 30" and 36" are not unusual. Measure the brick-to-brick dimensions as well, because for best results you should fit a new frame as well.

I can't see one stocked by a big supplier, but a door specialist might have, or order, one.

I think you ought to start by asking around for a well-recommended and experienced local carpenter. She should know the local door specialists, by price and by quality.

Unless you choose to go to a boutique supplier, even a custom-made door need not cost thousands. There are colleges turning out joiners who will often have made a door from scratch during their training, the technology is not new or difficult. They can do it with nothing but a saw, a plane, a setsquare and some chisels, though it will be quicker with power tools. I had one made as a one-off about 18 months ago, the joiner told me he made it after work, in two evenings. He actually brought it as components he'd already prepared, and assembled in on my drive after measuring the frame and adjusting the fit. Assembly and fitting was finished by lunchtime.

There is a joinery works near me, they mostly do restoration work for the well-heeled owners of listed or period properties, but they whizzed up some wooden notice boards as a donation to a local charity, on a quiet day.

Hi PigletJohn, thank you so much for posting. Yes, spot on, it is indeed a Victorian cottage. My first port of call was a local carpenter, and although he seemed very good the quote came in at thousands, and I couldn’t really justify it. But maybe I need to spread the net a little further, thank you so much for the advice, it’s much appreciated.

I happened to see this ad

Although yours might originally have been a 4-panel or a bead-and-butt (which is a less posh design that a cottage might have had, without glass, and is a slightly smartened version of a Ledged, Braced and Framed door), and probably cheaper.

Victorian cottage doors might originally have been made of Baltic Pine or something, which is a good quality softwood, and were always painted. I don't think I've ever seen one that was originally intended to be varnished or oiled. If you can browse your local historical society you may find old photos of the original doors. They're probably on Facebook. They may also know a local supplier.

Remember to measure the brickwork opening before you order. The original frame may have been let in to the inner leaf of brickwork (showing less on the outside) which is good practice but no longer usual. A modern frame might accept a slightly different door size.

A builder might offer to cut the brickwork to a larger size. This is easy but dusty. A Victorian house will afterwards almost certainly need a new lintel though. There may have been a joggled arch on the outside and a now-rotted timber on the inside leaf.

The Victorian Society will also have pictures. People who make structural alterations to old houses are regarded with some disdain.

This is the inside view of a framed, ledged and braced door.

The frame is the thicker timber all round the perimeter {44mm), the ledges are the horizontal stiffener(s) and the braces are the diagonals that prevent it sagging.

On the outside, you see the frame and the vertical boards only, the front is flush.

This style was very common on back doors, it might have been used on the front of a cottage, especially rurally, depending on the social pretensions of the first owner.

Thanks so much PigletJohn, the first link you sent is actually very similar to an original larder door we have inside the house, so hopefully this might have been the sort of thing originally on the front house. What a great find, definitely the most reasonable I've seen for custom size door, its much appreciated!

This is a bit old now but as it still comes up, I had a composite small door made by Tinidor. They are in Coventry but have suppliers all over.