Many homeowners in Cornwall are often afraid of choosing hardwood as a suitable material for their wooden doors due to the maintenance involved in keeping the wood looking beautiful and lasting a long time.

This is certainly a valid point but the positives of opting for hardwood over other materials definitely outweigh the negative considerations. Here are a few facts to make your decision a little bit easier:

• Hardwood can outperform natural materials including steel if it is properly maintained and given the love, care and attention it deserves.
  
  
• Lacquered hardwood doors can last up to six years with no maintenance at all. The only factor you need to consider is opting for a lacquer which contains a minimum UV protection and has some sort of porch to protect it from weather damage.

• If constructed properly, a hardwood door can be left to go grey in colour. Opting for a vertical rather than horizontal boarding and combining this with an anti-fungal oil so it does not develop black patching, aging, grey hardwood doors can still be very pleasing to the eye. Many Cornwall properties choose to let their hardwood doors gracefully age to give a distressed and rustic feel and it looks fabulous, so why not?!

• The positioning of the hardwood door is also very important and it is important to consider what direction the door faces- north or south- as this will affect the maintenance required and also how the door looks over the years. Depending on these factors, hardwood doors can last longer without maintenance or in the right wood.