Front door painting in Cambridge for wooden doors
A front door takes rain, sun, slamming and keys every day, and it's the part of the house visitors look at most closely. Our decorators carry out front door painting on timber doors across Cambridge, from Victorian four-panel doors with stained glass to modern hardwood doors, along with the frame, sill and any fanlight. It's part of our exterior house painting work.
This page is about wooden doors. uPVC and composite doors need a different coating system, which we cover on our uPVC door spraying page.
Graham looks at the door before quoting. He'll check the bottom rail and the joints for soft timber, the putty or beads around any glass, and how well the old paint is holding on.
Front door restoration: repairs come first
Most front doors fail at the bottom, where rain runs down and sits on the bottom rail and sill. If the timber there is soft or the joints have opened, paint only hides the problem for a season. Small areas of decay can be cut out and filled with a wood repair filler; anything larger, a split panel or a loose joint goes to our carpenter.
If the whole door is rotten or badly warped, a new door is the honest answer, and Graham will tell you so. On a door worth saving, the weatherboard along the bottom gets checked too, since it's what throws water clear of the gap.
How we prepare and paint a front door
- Knocker, letterbox, numbers and handles removed or masked, and keyholes protected
- Loose and flaking paint scraped off, and the door sanded to a sound, keyed surface
- Bare timber primed with an exterior primer, with knots sealed
- Open joints, dents and gaps around the glazing filled with exterior filler
- Undercoat, then finish coats in exterior gloss or satin
- Edges sealed against moisture, including the top and bottom where they can be reached
- Frame, threshold and sill painted to match
Glazed and stained-glass doors
These take longer, because every bead and glazing bar is cut in by hand. Failed putty is replaced before painting so water can't get behind the glass.
Keeping the house secure while the paint dries
Unlike an internal door, a front door has to be shut and locked at the end of the day. The usual approach is to plan so the last coat goes on early enough to be touch-dry by evening, and to pick a dry spell rather than risk rain on fresh paint. Paint stays soft for a while after it feels dry, so the door is closed gently and the draught seals checked so they don't stick to the new coat.
Doors are normally painted in place on their hinges. Taking a front door off leaves the house open, so we'd only do that as part of a planned repair.
Colour, finish and conservation areas
Navy, black and deep green are popular on front doors, but dark colours absorb heat. On a south-facing door that can soften the paint and make the timber move more, so a good-quality exterior paint matters more than usual. Gloss is the traditional choice and sheds water well; satin gives a quieter, more modern look. We can paint a sample so you see the colour against your brickwork in daylight.
In a conservation area, or if your house is listed, check with the council before changing the colour or fitting new door furniture. Some streets have extra planning controls on front doors, and listed buildings may need consent. We can't give planning advice, but Graham will mention it if he thinks it could apply.
If you'd rather keep the wood showing on an oak or hardwood door, it can be stained, oiled or varnished instead; see our staining and varnishing service.
Old paint on period front doors
Many front doors on Cambridge's Victorian terraces still carry paint from well before the 1960s, and that paint may contain lead. It should be tested before the door is sanded. If lead is found, the door is prepared with wet, low-dust methods and the debris bagged, never dry sanded or burnt off on the doorstep, where dust can blow straight back into the house.
What decides the cost of painting a front door
- The condition of the timber and how much repair it needs
- Whether the old paint can be sanded or has to be stripped
- Glazing, stained glass and fanlights to cut in
- A colour change that needs extra coats to cover
- The frame, sill, porch or matching windows included
- Lead testing and lead-safe preparation, if needed
Your written quotation
Graham lists each of these in the quotation he sends after his visit, so you can see what's included.
Booking your front door in
Call, WhatsApp or fill in the form and Graham will arrange to call round. Front doors are often done with the exterior windows or the garage door so the colours match and the front is finished in one go. One Houzz reviewer, eno_thereska, had their external windows and doors decorated and described it as “very meticulous work”.
If the rest of the house front needs attention, our exterior restoration case study shows a mould-affected Cambridge exterior jet-washed with an anti-fungal wash and repainted.
The quotation usually comes by email, and Belinda agrees a date with you with an eye on the forecast. When the door is finished and the furniture is back on, Graham checks it with you, and you don't pay until you're happy with the finished work. We're based in Landbeach, about four miles from Chesterton, and paint front doors right across the city.
