Tips for choosing quality doors and locks

After investing a tidy sum of money building your property, it is only logical that you pay attention to the kind of doors and locks you use, to give it a desirable finishing. A door says a lot about the homeowner and besides offering protection, it adds to the general beauty and design of a home’s exterior.Added to that, doors serve key functional purposes to a building, thus selecting the right door becomes vital.

Samia Haleem, a sales representative for Timber Corner Limited, was able to give some information about different types of doors, their durability, functionality and prices to act as a guide for those wishing to purchase doors.

Courtesy of Mitchell Hartley 

HARDWOOD

One of the main functions of any door is to provide security therefore, the type of door one selects depends on where and how the door will be used.
For example, entry doors to homes and other buildings should be able to withstand different weather elements such as heat, rain and winds, while offering maximum security to the building. Such requirements are not necessary for doors that are used in the interior of buildings.

“When it comes to entry doors, wooden, solid hardwoods are the preferred materials as they are heavy and strong. These doors are made from pure wood such as mahogany, teak, mvule and so on, with majority favouring mahogany, as it is the most affordable among the hardwoods and has a unique colouring,” says Haleem. “Mahogany will serve the security function of keeping the home secure while adding to its general beauty,” she adds. On the other hand, softwood such as cypress or semi solid wood (wood that is hollow inside and lined with timber) all make appropriate doors for the house interior, as they are not too heavy.

DURABILITY

Another important factor to be considered when choosing a door is its durability. The ideal door should be one that serves with longevity, thus giving you value for money. “For example, Mahogany doors are solid enough to last a lifetime,” notes Haleem. “The door’s aesthetic may wear out over the years, but with a fresh coat of varnish the initial glow gets restored,” she offers, adding that while purchasing such doors might be expensive, they are worth the investment.

PRICE

The prices of different types of doors vary depending on the quality of the door, its style and design as well as the amount of labour put into its preparation. “The most common way to decorate a door is through the use of panels. Different doors can be designed and decorated with different panels on it. This eventually affects the door prices, because the more panels and designs a door has the more expensive it will be,” advices Haleem.

Common panel designs range from Ksh 29,000 up to Ksh 46,000 depending on the client’s budget. Of course, the type of material used for the door will affect the price as well. Doors made from pure solid wood will cost more than doors made from semi-solid wood or softwood, Haleem says. She adds that while steel and fibreglass doors may offer the most protection to houses, they cannot beat the aesthetic design wooden doors have to offer; thus more people are drawn to the wooden doors for their homes.

Courtesy of Sebastian Stam

HINGES

The type of hinge used on a door also determines durability. “Hinges that are thicker in centimetres are used on heavy doors that are made of solid hardwood. Lighter hinges can be used for semi-solid doors for support,” notes Haleem.

LOCKS

Of course, there is no point in getting a quality door if one does not get a quality lock to match it.

“Again, the lock that one chooses depends on the function they want it to play. While the obvious function of locks is security, different types of locks offer different levels of security,” the sales manager advises.

“The most popular lock in the market at the moment is the mortise cylinder lock. This lock comes in different types and designs dependent on the location of the door as well as customer preference.”Their estimate prices are [between] Ksh 8,000 and Ksh 9,000 for exterior locks and Ksh 6,000 to Ksh 7,000 for interior locks,” she notes.

Cylinder locks have different types of keys thus offering more security. Some go as far as having personalized smart cards that one uses to replace lost keys, which enhances safety.

It is advised that one would rather spend more money and buy worthwhile items for their homes rather than trying to spare money and ending up getting substandard products. “Some people choose cheap doors since they do not want to spend much money. However, they have to replace them from time to time which is more expensive in the long run,” says Haleem.