Need to fit 10 new doors - should I go with mdf or soft wood casing?

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Simplez

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I am having every single internal door replaced - there are 10 in total plus a set of internal double doors. It's a stone terrace house.

The skirting is being replaced as well.

So can anyone recommend what material I should go for in the

skirting - primed mdf or pine/soft wood

Door lining /casings = soft wood or mdf

Double door opening = pine/soft wood or mdf

Are Howdens / Wickes doors good quality or should I try around local merchants instead?
 
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I am in a similar situation.
I'm using softwood for the skirtings etc. as to me MDF is a far crappier option, its also gonna require more expensive paint.
As for the doors, Howdens have been reccomended - I tried a local woodyard and they wanted my first borns appendages for each door.
I looked in B&Q but they are utter sheite albeit cheaper.

The guy that recommended Howdens suggested to ask when they are doing offers as sometimes they do things like a 2 for 1.

None of my doors are within standard sizes - the kitchen door needs a good 80mm cutting off the length and 20mm the width.
I may have to redo the (also not at 90 frame).
 
Fitted both MDF and Softwood on different jobs over the years.

My thoughts for Simplex are

Door Linings / Casings = Softwood (cut to size then soak in wood preserver (overnight?) before fixing). Get folding wedges cut and treated before fixing.

Skirting - If you can obtain skirting in Moisture Resistant then in your case that is better and the sizing is more likely to be appropriate for the house age. You can also get architrave to match.

Double door opening ? do you mean door lining/casing? then as above otherwise clarify.

As I've fitted customer purchased doors from DIY barns I'll suggest go to Howdens for the doors as the extra cost is a saving if the door has to be altered.
 
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It depends what colour you will have.
There's nothing wrong with mdf if you're white glossing it, in fact, i prefer it especially the primed one.
Door frames i would always use wood.
Soft wood is fine.
Doors: have a look in selco. I bought some very good doors from them and they're straight.
As for door size, most likely once you remove the old frames you'll be able to fit standard size and square.
 
mattylad said:
I am in a similar situation.
I'm using softwood for the skirtings etc. as to me MDF is a far crappier option, its also gonna require more expensive paint.
As for the doors, Howdens have been reccomended - I tried a local woodyard and they wanted my first borns appendages for each door.
I looked in B&Q but they are utter sheite albeit cheaper.

The guy that recommended Howdens suggested to ask when they are doing offers as sometimes they do things like a 2 for 1.

None of my doors are within standard sizes - the kitchen door needs a good 80mm cutting off the length and 20mm the width.
I may have to redo the (also not at 90 frame).
Click to expand...

I was thinking about primed mdf that is moisture resistant.

Looking online it seems softwood has a tendency to warp so the skirting becomes all bowed?
 
wgt52 said:
Fitted both MDF and Softwood on different jobs over the years.

My thoughts for Simplex are

Door Linings / Casings = Softwood (cut to size then soak in wood preserver (overnight?) before fixing). Get folding wedges cut and treated before fixing.

Skirting - If you can obtain skirting in Moisture Resistant then in your case that is better and the sizing is more likely to be appropriate for the house age. You can also get architrave to match.

Double door opening ? do you mean door lining/casing? then as above otherwise clarify.

As I've fitted customer purchased doors from DIY barns I'll suggest go to Howdens for the doors as the extra cost is a saving if the door has to be altered.
Click to expand...

Yes I meant a double door casing / lining.

Thanks for your suggestions - I was thinking of the primed moisture resistant mdf skirting boards from Wickes - but happy to get them from Howdens.

For Howdens don't I need a trade account?

Now should I buy door linings or door casings?

johnny2007 said:
It depends what colour you will have.
There's nothing wrong with mdf if you're white glossing it, in fact, i prefer it especially the primed one.
Door frames i would always use wood.
Soft wood is fine.
Doors: have a look in selco. I bought some very good doors from them and they're straight.
As for door size, most likely once you remove the old frames you'll be able to fit standard size and square.
Click to expand...

Yes my doors are all different widths currently. As I am having the frames and doors removed and everything replastered could I not then just buy the same size doors and casings and then fit them throughout?
 
Last edited:
It depends what opening you end up with.
You could even make the opening bigger or smaller without much trouble as you're replastering.
Don't buy the doors until you've taken the old frames off and gone to the bare wall.
Many times I have seen 27" doors fitted into 30" and even 32" openings and sides filled with all sorts.
 
johnny2007 said:
It depends what opening you end up with.
You could even make the opening bigger or smaller without much trouble as you're replastering.
Don't buy the doors until you've taken the old frames off and gone to the bare wall.
Many times I have seen 27" doors fitted into 30" and even 32" openings and sides filled with all sorts.
Click to expand...

I want to standardise the door size in the house - currently their width is varies from 70 to 78, the actual width of the doors 70.5, 75.75, 70, 78.5, 77.5, 78, 71,

The height varies less - 198 - 200.5

So a standard door is 78cm x 198cm ?

I just want to make fitting of the doors easier by standardising everything.
 
Personally, i would always for for softwood over MDF for skirtings and door casings. Its a much more robust material and exposed edges won't tear or dent in the same way that MDF does.
 
The 70cm will have to be of smaller size possibly.
I'm sure the others will be fine with a little shaving if needed either on the walls or the doors.
Height is fine, they will all end up at 198.5cm if my metric is correct.
The gap left will be filled.
 
mrrusty said:
primed MDF for skirtings. eg from https://www.skirting4u.co.uk/?gclid...mHDwynWj860JcsvcIxBsdOxU4slsTswxoCJ0gQAvD_BwE

softwood is generally carp these days IMHO for skirts and archs - shrinks in centrally heated houses, knots, shakes. MDF is consistent size, easy to paint finish and unless you are sloshing water around or have damp issues the moisture resistance is irrelevant. Softwood for casings though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice.

For internal doors, should I go for casings or linings?
 
Simplez said:
For internal doors, should I go for casings or linings?
Click to expand...

Probably start a bunfight but these terms get interchanged frequently. In my book a "lining" is a plain timber where the door stop is separate and fitted afterwards, and a casing is a frame with a pre-machined stop. There are advantages and disadvantages with both. If you have nice straight walls and everything is square, use casings - fewer joints. If you have slightly wonky walls etc, using linings allows you to adjust the stop to suit, and gives a bit more flexibility. Personally, I usually just use pre-formed casings from the merchants e.g. https://www.cwberry.com/Building-Ma...ternal-Standard-Door-Casing-Set_M01090381.htm
 
johnny2007 said:
There's nothing wrong with mdf if you're white glossing it, in fact, i prefer it especially the primed one.
Click to expand...

As a decorator I absolutely hate pre-primed MDF. The primer normally needs so much sanding that I end up having to pretty much sand it back to the bare MDF, particularly on routed edges.

MDF architraves in areas of high traffic are far less forgiving than timber. If the owner/tenant is fairly clumsy, MDF will be more difficult to re-fill and sand.
 
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