Internal doors - engineered oak

So I'm looking at replacing 11 internal doors, and having looked at some pre-finished solid white doors I prefer the engineered oak finish.

I guess my question is, is it worth paying for pre-finished ones?

Or as an alternative, will a joiner that is fitting the doors offer a finishing service, or would that need an interior decorator?

The premium on a finished door is about £40 or £50, I have the feeling that having someone do it onsite will cost more, and be a messier job...

And given the number of doors, and risk of damage to the carpet/wood floor, I don't fancy doing it myself. The last time I undercoated and glossed a door it took me about 3 days in total (just doing it in the evenings and leaving to dry between), multiply that up by 11 doors and it's going to take me about a month, or every evening, all evening for a fortnight.

Edit - to be clear, I'm not talking about glossing these doors, that would be silly, but they still require a finish, typically varnish or oil, and the amount of effort and risk to the floor is the same as undercoating and glossing a door.

Why would you want to paint oak doors?

They're engineered wood, so it's just a thin slither of oak on normal wood composite material.

So I'm looking at replacing 11 internal doors, and having looked at some pre-finished solid white doors I prefer the engineered oak finish.

 

I guess my question is, is it worth paying for pre-finished ones?

 

Or as an alternative, will a joiner that is fitting the doors offer a finishing service, or would that need an interior decorator?

 

The premium on a finished door is about £40 or £50, I have the feeling that having someone do it onsite will cost more, and be a messier job...

And given the number of doors, and risk of damage to the carpet/wood floor, I don't fancy doing it myself. The last time I undercoated and glossed a door it took me about 3 days in total (just doing it in the evenings and leaving to dry between), multiply that up by 11 doors and it's going to take me about a month, or every evening, all evening for a fortnight.

Don't make the same mistake a friend of mine did..had new carpets fitted so had to plane a bit off the door..he planed the right amount off but he still couldn't shut the door...unfortunately he'd planed from the top of the door, not the bottom..

They're engineered wood, so it's just a thin slither of oak on normal wood composite material.

Then why not just a man made finish rather than oak? The extra expense of engineered Oak is wasted by over-painting..it would seem.

Why would you want to paint oak doors?

Varnish, oil or otherwise finish them.

I wouldn't want to paint them, sorry if I implied that.

---------- Post added 21-10-2014 at 13:36 ----------

They're engineered wood, so it's just a thin slither of oak on normal wood composite material.

Yes, I'm aware of that. I didn't ask how they were made. The veneer is still unfinished and needs varnish, oil, or some other finish.

---------- Post added 21-10-2014 at 13:36 ----------

Don't make the same mistake a friend of mine did..had new carpets fitted so had to pane a bit off the door..he planed the right amount off but he still couldn't shut the door...unfortunately he'd planed from the top of the door, not the bottom..

I won't be fitting the doors, so no danger of that.

---------- Post added 21-10-2014 at 13:38 ----------

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I have edited the OP to make it clear that the reference to gloss was for comparative effort, not because I'd be painting an oak door.

Varnish, oil or otherwise finish them..

Get a finishing quote cyclone then weigh up the cost of finished doors. Even if it's marginally costlier I'd personally go for the later, saving time and inconvenience.

A lot of the places you can buy from do offer a finishing service. At £75 a door it makes it cheaper to buy a pre-finished one.

I guess hiring someone to finish the doors on site might be cheaper, but not a huge amount (and I could be wrong, maybe it's actually more costly due to not having savings due to scale)...

Time and convenience is pretty important, and also reducing the risk of damage to a new floor or carpet.

So I suppose the only information I'm really missing is how much a decorator/joiner charges to finish a door in situ (or in the garage I suppose after it's trimmed to fit).

The best thing to do is ask the Joiner if they offer a finishing service some do some don't then you can know if you need a decorator to finish them or not

I'd buy pre-finished doors. A sprayed satin finish two-part lacquer will pretty much replicate an oil finish, with the added bonus of not getting ingrained with dirt round the handles as well as being stain proof. Easy to wipe down. If the doors were solid oak it'd be a different matter.

Don't make the same mistake a friend of mine did..had new carpets fitted so had to pane a bit off the door..he planed the right amount off but he still couldn't shut the door...unfortunately he'd planed from the top of the door, not the bottom..

What difference does it make, didn't it fit?

What difference does it make, didn't it fit?

have a think about it... remember the hinges are still fixed in the same position as they were before the door was taken off...