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

[Simplez]

I am more confused than ever now - primed MDF or soft wood skirting and architrave?

 

[SFK]

Simplex
You might be doomed on this question.
We all have or preferences on this one.
They all work, and none are better or worse than another.
Comes down to personal preference.
Mine is MDF skirting, wood doorliner, with extra wood packing where hinges are.
Sfk

 

[Simplez]

Simplex
You might be doomed on this question.
We all have or preferences on this one.
They all work, and none are better or worse than another.
Comes down to personal preference.
Mine is MDF skirting, wood doorliner, with extra wood packing where hinges are.
Sfk

Thanks. Well my dad was saying leave the old stuff in - he is a lover of old Edwardian and Victorian homes. They don't make them like they used to- but this house was caked in gharish gloss and all the doors were a bit wonky - but there was no structural issues. I was just trying to modernise the look and decor. Perhaps I should have bought a newer build.

 

[opps]

I am more confused than ever now - primed MDF or soft wood skirting and architrave?

Sorry, I didn't mean to muddy the waters.

Personally, I would prefer to have a wardrobe built with MDF because large sections of MDF are more structurally sound ( less likely to warp or split) but I would rather have timber for trims such as skirting and architraves.. but as SFX says in many cases either product is interchangeable (with minor caveats).

One (other) thing I would say is that when using MDF architrave, pre-drill the holes for the pins and use round wire pins rather than the oval pins. The fibres in real timber will "move" out of the way to accept oval pins, MDF will just swell and bulge where you fire them in if you don't pre-drill first. That said, pre-drilling timber when nailing will always provide a stronger fix.

With MDF you don't have to worry about knots or grain, but decent quality timber shouldn't be full of knots in the first place. Poor quality MDF is probably better than poor quality timber in that respect, Allow a 2 or 3mm gap under the skirting to minimise the risk of wet carpets swelling the MDF, additionally it will make it easier to lift floor boards if you need to.

Best of luck.