Doors from the 40s/50s, keep or replace?

[Isabelle Norén]

Hello!

I'm trying to decide between replacing all our interior doors with new ones and trying to make them fit the openings we have (house from 1948), or buying matching doors for the new walls we've built. It seems difficult to change the existing openings due to load-bearing functions, etc.

The doors are heavy (!) and seem to have a wooden frame with a masonite panel, but how soundproof are they? The reason I want to replace them is to make the house more uniform and soundproof, but maybe those old doors are still the best on the market?

What advice/tips do you have?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BirgitS]

In regular stores, you can hardly find doors that fit the old frames. You either have to custom order new doors at a carpentry shop or replace the frames as well, which means the door openings need to be raised, widened, or narrowed to work with the new frames.

Heavy doors are usually more soundproof than light doors.

When it comes to soundproofing, you also need to consider the ventilation in the house. Openings above, below, or beside the doors are usually needed for the ventilation to function.

 

[jawen]

The doors are heavy

I would never replace the quality doors from the 40s.
Have them repainted in chosen color.....(perhaps 2 colors that go well together for the doors and windows)

A heavy door is good from the perspective of soundproofing & sound transmission (carrying vibrations).
Then you can add a thinner interior door frame of good quality & even better sound insulation.

New doors with decent quality start at about 7,000 SEK & I personally like the Swedish manufacturer GK-doors.
Here is the door I chose for all the rooms, then I chose the two doors for the bathrooms with 30 cm window with frosted glass.

https://www.gkdoor.se/sv/products?category=1&product=15

https://www.gkdoor.se/products?category=2&product=48 (but with gray window frame)

Best regards, Jawen

 

[JohanLun]

Would never replace quality doors from the 1940s.
Take them for repainting in the chosen color.....(maybe 2 colors that go well together for the doors+windows)

Agree. Veneer doors from the 40s-50s feel a bit of a shame to paint, but if they are worn and the alternative is to throw them away, then absolutely, repaint them... The quality is most likely much higher than newer doors.

I notice that everything in our house, which is more than 100 years old, gets worse the newer it is. What was installed in the 40s may not always be so suitable in a turn-of-the-century house, but of better quality than what was installed in the 60s. What was replaced in the 80s-90s is just rubbish. So everything from the 60s and older should be well taken care of and not replaced unnecessarily, they built with solid materials and good timber at that time! Properly maintained, I believe most things from that time will last several generations! (or do you say hens or mens generations? )

 

[Testarn]

I agree. Veneer doors from the 40s-50s feel a bit unfortunate to paint, but if they are worn and the alternative is to throw them out, then absolutely, repaint them... The quality is most likely much higher than newer doors.

I notice that everything in our more than 100-year-old house gets worse the newer it is. What was installed in the 40s may not always be suitable for a turn-of-the-century house, but of better quality than what was installed in the 60s. What was replaced in the 80s-90s is just junk. So everything from the 60s and earlier should be taken care of and not replaced unnecessarily; they built with solid materials and good timber back then! Properly maintained, I believe most things from that era will last several generations! (or do you say hens or mens generations? )

Maybe the gender-neutral generations?

I agree that the quality of the timber has generally deteriorated since the 60s, even though there are those who make, for example, windows and custom woodwork that maintain quality.

I agree that it becomes difficult to find new doors that fit in the old frames unless you go to a workshop that makes them. Previously, rebated doors were made, and nowadays, the door leaves are without rebates/profiles.
We made the choice to try to find older rebated plywood doors for our extension, but since we needed so many, we had to settle for a new door in the right dimensions (accessibility adaptation in the bathroom) on the ground floor that matches the existing doors and buy newly produced ones for the upper floor. It turned out OK but definitely not the same feel as if we could have found older doors (or could/would spend the extra money on bespoke manufacturing).

What do the doors look like that you have, and where have you looked for new/replacement doors? There are companies that take care of older house details and sell them.

There are newly manufactured doors that can provide as good soundproofing as older doors, but they are expensive and will (probably) not match your existing doors.

 

[Isabelle Norén]

Thanks for the response!! I can attach pictures of the doors, I don't think they've been in Gabon but have always been painted 🤓

I'm probably getting more and more comfortable and excited about the idea of keeping them, painting them in the color I want, since they already have frames in place. What started my thought of replacing them was because we built a new wall that will have two doors, and made the opening in current dimensions and then I thought I might as well replace all of them. However, I also realized that if you want good doors, you really have to pay, and I'd rather spend that money on other things 😆 We've removed some frames for a change in the plan layout and that's when the farm's name was revealed on them, so it's a bit of a shame if they get replaced ☺️

So it leans towards keeping them!

 

[Isabelle Norén]

Pictures of the doors!

 

[jawen]

Pictures of the doors!

The doors you show in your pictures don't "feel" 40s, but they look sturdy enough to keep.

You can also decorate them with custom moldings or create door panels on them for relatively little money. They will look great if you decorate them & have them professionally painted. Some examples in links:

https://husohem.se/artiklar/20181210/sa-har-gor-du-din-egen-spegeldorr/

https://gds.se/fonster-och-dorrar/dorrar/den-morka-slata-dorren-forvandlas-till-en-vit-spegeldorr

https://www.sekelskifte.com/product/list-fransk-spegellist-utan-urfrasning

https://www.temu.com/kuiper/dn9.htm...03_1ABpm07UrFXbQy9BuD-4ztsmKHJ3hoC6ZMQAvD_BwE

https://www.d-cor.se/produkter/hoer...1sxNuA-Jsla_gzB1TCUjhv9PUDKndj8RoCZWIQAvD_BwE

Only your imagination sets the limits!

Best regards, Jawen

 

[ylven]

I would keep them, have lived with such doors. New doors don't really fit into an older house either.

 

[Isabelle Norén]

The doors you show in your pictures don't "feel" like the 1940s, but they look sturdy enough to keep.

You can also decorate them with customized moldings or create door panels on them for relatively little money.
Those will look great if you decorate them and have them professionally painted.
Some examples in links:

[link]

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[link]

[link]

Only your imagination sets the limits!

Best regards, Jawen

Maybe they aren't from the 1940s, I just assumed so because they sit in frames that in turn "sit" naturally in the house's construction 😅👌🏻 Could they have been replaced a few decades later maybe?🧐