Hello, I’m normally over on CooksTalk, but we’re building a house and I have a question about wood entry doors: Is knotty alder a good idea? I’ve read conflicting opinions, but there sure are a lot of the doors available out there.
This door would be a 4′ x 8′ arch-top door, the main entry to the house, and located in a sheltered porch (8′ deep) on the east side of the house. We’re in Arkansas, with humid summers, and the house is being built near a lake.
It’s a timberframe home faced with SIPS, and we’re going for a moderately rustic look that the knotty alder suits very well.
The other 2 exterior doors (on the west side of the house) will be fiberglass doors from the Therma-Tru classic craft Rustic line (http://www.therma-tru.com/products/cc-rustic-intro.shtml model CCR205), but we would like the main entry door to be a little more special.
What’s ya’ll opinion?
Leigh
Replies
It really will depend on how exposed the door is.. for example will it be in direct sunlight or heavily exposed to rain? well then Alder is not very decay resistant and you will either have to do a lot of maintinance (fresh coat of varnish every other year or so) or accept a shorter lifespan..
Overhangs and shade will help no matter what your door is made of..
Fortunately, the door will not be exposed to direct sunlight or rain--it is on the interior wall of an 8-foot deep porch of the east side of the house, on a wooded lot.
Leigh
If you want a rustic door, just get one in vertical grain douglas fir, and have it "distressed."
Knotty alder is a junk wood. You wouldn't believe how inexpensive it is for the door and cabinet plants to buy it, compared to all the other species they are offering.
To me, knotty would does not speak rustic. It just says that one couldn't afford a higher grade of lumber.
In the world of rustic, the introduction of the knotty alder species started a profit boon for manufacturers. Here was a wood that cost about 25 percent of most everything else they were buying, for which they could charge the same or even more.
Gene,
I think I was more diplomatic in that I told her it was not very decay resistant. When you tell someone the wood they selected is junk many people see it as an attack on them personally..
Thus they are reluctant to really listen and tend to tune you out..
I haven't seen the door, nor do I believe have you. It may have some unique figure or color and look very pleasing to someone... That may be all that person noted and when they feel attacked over their possible selection they could get all defensive.
Mind you I'm not saying that you are wrong just that there might have been a more diplomatic way to say what you said..
Finely, your last comment. Knotty does not mean rustic..
To some that's exactly what it means.. I remember my father selecting knotty pine boards for the basement den and he'd reject those that he felt were too plain. Too much straight grain he'd say might as well buy a print!
I feel the same way and if you ever visit my timberframe you'll find all sorts of Burls and grain and tigerstripe. What you won't find is straight grain anything.. I look at wood and put the most figure out, if that means I develop a big check on it's face, well then good, that is what I want and boring straight grain is either hid in a corner or cut into smaller pieces..
Thanks, Frenchy. We feel the same way about the way figuring, knots, etc. add character to the wood.
We have a timberframe shop, too (red and white oak), that was built before the house, and my favorite parts of the frame are those with the dark figuring. Considering how overbuilt the frame is, anyway, any loss in strength from that sort of wood "interest" isn't a concern, and the pleasure it gives me every time I see it is worth far more to me than the checking we may get from the additional movement of the wood.
I like the interest the knots give to the door, and the way they would let people know what to expect inside the house, which will have ceilings of #2 pine car siding, knots and all, and of course lots of exposed wood with the timberframe.
I do appreciate the feedback about the quality of the wood. We are quite familiar with pine, oak, hickory and pecan, but alder is not one we have any experience with.
Leigh
>>>I feel the same way and if you ever visit my timberframe you'll find all sorts of Burls and grain and tigerstripe.
To each their own, but to lump knots in the same class as burls and figure and tigerstripe is a bit of a stretch. I prize the latter very much, but to me knots are...(diplomatic mode ON) ...cheap.
To each his own is very true. As I told my mother-in-law recently after one too many criticisms of the new house plans, "Good thing you won't ever be living there, then, isn't it."
Fortunately, she took it well (I hope you do, too).
Leigh
I would look around for a door that was made of something besides Alder. I like the knotty look myself but I think for an exterior door I would get a better quality wood.
Dave
Leigh
We built 6 or 7 french doors out of Alder, all leading to a large veranda.
They have held up fine. Obviously the trick is in the finish. They are in Iowa so they take a fair amount of abuse from mother nature. And like yours, they are under a good sized overhang without direct sunlight.
I'm not going to address the knotty wood look, I personally don't like the knots, but if your inclined to use them I don't think that they would compromise your door if its properly built and finished.
Doug
Edited 3/16/2005 10:55 pm ET by Doug@es
Here's a look in vertical grain douglas fir, wirebrush distressed, decorated with clavos. "Clavos" are the iron button decorations. There are many shapes of them.
View Image
It is from the door company Craftsmen In Wood, located in Phoenix. The owner of the company was president at Therma-Tru Doors when they developed the Classic Craft product line. I was there too, when that work was occurring, and was in charge of product development. Steve was my boss.
You can see the entire product line at Steve's company by going to http://www.ciwood.com
He'll be happy to sell you knotty alder if you want. Any door can be had in any species.
This company makes it doors, as many other firms do, by slicing thick "veneers," a little over 1/8" thick, from boards, then laminating them to a stave core stock, to make the stiles, rails, and panels of the doors they assemble. The same species is used as thick edge banding, so when you look at the door, all you are seeing is an almost seamless blend of the same species, everywhere.
With that type of construction, knotty alder would be an OK choice for the species.
But, knotty alder is a weed tree, fast growing, somewhat soft in its texture, and not known for any structural or dimensional stability integrity. Make sure that if you are choosing a knotty alder exterior door, it is made as I have described above.
Gene,
Thanks for the information on the door construction--it will be very helpful when selecting the doors--and the link to the company you mentioned. It's also useful to know your background in the business.
Rustic means different things to different people, I realize. By the way, the doors we've been considering do have clavos, dark strap hinges and speakeasy windows, which add considerably to the rustic feel of the door.
If you ever want advice on selecting and installing an entertainment system for a private jet, I'm your woman.
Leigh
sounds like youi have a good feel for what you want
nowadays a lot of furniture is made of alder - knotty alder maybe "knot"I use it frequently rather than poplar ( more better wood ) or fir ( very expensive ) for interior trim workkiln dried, well sealed everywhere and w/ the protection the porch affords you it's worth a go