Easy fit oak veneer door linings, any good?

[preecy]

So the missus is on a mission to renovate the entire house and wants to start by replacing all the standard glossed white internal doors, skirting and architrave. She's wants to go with oak and has found some veneered doors at Howden's. I've been looking at real oak door linings, architrave and skirting but we're gona need a second mortgage to run it throughout the house. I've seen the laminate oak skirting etc in the DIY shed but they look a little too plastic IMO. Has anyone got/fitted real oak veneered door lining, skirting, etc and if so do you rate it?

Also, has anyone had any experience of this easy fit veneered stuff?

 

[foxhole]

The easy fit is for new installations, you ripping out all the linings?
Veneered doors often require good fit as they don't allow for much trimming, some none at all.

 

[preecy]

The doors she's chosen allows for 10mm trimming either side.
I was thinking of ripping out the old linings. I know if means more work but it would look better than oak doors with oak frames on white glossed linings.
Is there another easier option I don't know about?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Is there another easier option I don't know about?

Not easier, but certainly cheaper; have you considered learning how to grain and then graining the casings (and even possibly the doors, etc yourself?

 

[preecy]

just youtube'd that, very interesting but looks like a skilled job and not something i'd fancy taking on.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

just youtube'd that, very interesting but looks like a skilled job and not something i'd fancy taking on.

It takes time and practice, but it's one of those tasks, like drawing on a blackboard in chalk, where if you aren't happy with the results you can just wipe off the scumble and paint with a cloth soaked in white spiris and start again. I've seen pros do this more than a few times, too. If you do fancy having a go there are some good instructions in the late Jocasta Innes's book "Paint Magic" - available all over the place secondhand for a few quid - and even if you don't there's some excellent decorating gen in there.