# Best type of Wood for painted doors, skirting and architrave



## BMD (5 Jun 2011)

Hi,

I am approaching the second fix of a new build and I am intending to have all doors, skirting and architrave painted white. I want to enquire what the best type of wood is for this.

For the doors I want a good heavy sturdy door that is suitable for painting.

For the skirting and architrave someone has suggested that MDF might be the best option as it paints well and doesn't move overtime.

Any advice would be appreciated


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## onq (5 Jun 2011)

Depending on the style of house and interior decoration, there is a huge  irony in the history of the use of MDF, timber, plaster and stone,  which I give below in a simplified form

Nowadays people look down on MDF because its perceived to be a "cheaper" alternative to timber.
They forget that timber itself was once an easily worked "cheaper" alternative to stonework and plasterwork.
And plaster, so beloved of the Georgian Society, was a far cheaper alternative to paying someone to produce stone carvings!

Many details of interior trims around openings and at the base of walls derive from classical detailing.
These were done first in these islands in stone, in castles, for noblemen and in great country seats and merchants guild halls.
They were based on the Orders of Classical Columns and associated details.
These Orders themselves were refinements over hundreds of years of Greek Temple buildings.
Which originally derived from the simple forms of house built - in timber!

To zero in on one detail, the skirting -

The details of skirtings can be seen to echo the bases of columns and  pilasters, in which use the "base" was actually loadbearing.
Skirtings however are fixed to timber grounds to cover up the end  between the wall plaster and the floor - they are non-load bearing!
So things change over the years.

Another irony is that timber for interior trim was originally chosen to be painted over, not for the raw timber to be seen.
The importance of timber was that it could offer finely work details  with ease of working and relative mass-production - far quicker than  stone.
You needed "smooth" timber for this, free from knots and defects, which could be painted over for the perfect modelled finish.

Contrast this with the look at some of the "arts and crafts" style houses in Irish estates.
The bricks are uneven ("rolled" bricks) BE DESIGN - to give a bit of Ye Olde Charactere.
The timbering in such houses may be varnished, unpainted, and chosen  for the fact that its riddled with knots.
This gives visual interest to  the material, often to the detriment of the shapes of the moulding, the forms of which cannot be followed as easily as painted timbering.
So in one sense, that of a mass produced, moulded, painted component,  MDF actually harks back to the first use of timber, affordable modelled  surfaces intended to be painted over.

Now my take on this is one that spans over two thousand years in a brief  post.
Others may give you chapter on verse on specific derivations of  details and how you should treat them.
I'm giving you my  two-thousand-year-stare. 

=======================================

Back to your question.
In terms of your interior, I think you may be looking at this from the wrong angle.
For me. the choice of timber can only be selected after you decide on a  strategy for the interior design, otherwise you will be letting a  component guide your Master Plan.
Choosing a component before the plan you could end up with a very fussy  interior, full of details yet ultimately unsatisfying because it has no  overall colour and materials strategy and uses too many different elements which may or may not work well together.

=======================================

As one example, classical house design - 
You might use a patterned carpet,  with curtains in a similar or complementary pattern and shade and a  lighter shade again on the walls and ceiling but not the ceiling rose or  cornice(s) (if you have such these are normally white).
The strategy for the doors, architraves and skirtings should also be  white, in a classical house - these look best with smooth timber  substrate, properly sanded and filled, to allow the mouldings, not the  patternation of the timber, to be emphasized.

=======================================

Another example, arts-and-crafts/ dormer bungalow house design - 
You might use sanded- and-sealed floorboards with plain curtains and buff walls - here the  timbers may be expressed freely, with staining or clear varnish to  express their natural imperfections and even the joinery may be more  "rough-and-ready" to support that "rustic" feeling.

=======================================

Its the overall look of the house  and the ambience of the interior that should lead to the timber choice  and even whether its filled and painted over or expressed naturally.
My best advice is that you should consider talking to design professionals like interior designers to  guide you on your overall strategy.
After this the part your painted  (or varnished, or stained) timbers should play in that strategy may  become clearer.

If you just wanted to dip your toe into this world for a nominal amount  you could do worse that sit down with someone like Eva Byrne of   for an afternoon.
Eva is a colleague of mine with whom I studied  Architecture at Bolton Street, otherwise, no connection. Houseology is also on Facebook.

You asked a  deceptively simple question because for me its one of the hardest ones to  answer well.

ONQ.

          [broken link removed]

          All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be         relied                      upon                                                                                                             as   a                 defence       or                support   -           in               and       of                    itself    -                               should                           legal                            action                  be                            taken.
          Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to                  advise        in                                                                                                                    Real          Life          with               rights      to                    inspect             and                   issue                           reports             on                the                                         matters            at                           hand.


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## BMD (5 Jun 2011)

ONQ,

Thank you for such a brilliant response, very enjoyable reading. The look I am going for is exactly as you have described (i.e, classical house).

From you post it sounds like MDF might be a good option for the skirtings and architraves as it wont take away from the design.

I guess on the doors I will also be trying to achieve this look but the choice of material to achieve this is my dilemma.

Thanks again


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## samm (5 Jun 2011)

a good timber to use for painting is poplar,much the same price as deal but takes paint much better(no grain or knots come through).mdf is cheaper but solid will look better


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## onq (7 Jun 2011)

I forgot to say that with MDF the "corners" can look "rounded".
Timber mouldings tend to have "sharp" corners, crisp edges.
It can ruin the final look so check this out.

Also that when you're painting MDF the paint tends to "soak in".
So you really need to undercoat the MDF boards.
Talk to a good supplier about paints.

ONQ.


[broken link removed]

           All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be           relied                      upon                                                                                                                 as   a                 defence       or                support    -            in               and       of                    itself     -                                should                           legal                              action                  be                              taken.
           Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to                    advise        in                                                                                                                        Real          Life          with               rights      to                      inspect             and                   issue                             reports             on                the                                           matters            at                             hand.


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