Buying new internal doors should be fairly straight forward
You find a style you like, choose the right size and get them fitted. Then three words appear in the product description: prefinished, primed and unfinished.
If you have not bought doors before, it is perfectly reasonable to wonder what the difference actually is.
The finish you choose can affect how much work is required before your new doors are ready to use, how much flexibility you have over their final appearance and how easily they fit into your renovation plans.
Finewood has a huge range of internal doors covering different materials, colours, styles and finishes. Here is our straightforward guide to working out which option is right for you.
What is a prefinished internal door?
A prefinished door has already received its decorative finish during manufacture. In simple terms, much of the finishing work has been done for you.
This makes prefinished internal doors an excellent option when you want a consistent factory-applied appearance and would rather avoid the additional painting, staining or finishing associated with some other doors.
Oak is particularly well suited to this approach. A prefinished oak door allows the colour and character of the timber to become part of your interior without needing to choose a separate decorative finish.
Our Finewood Internal Oak Mexicano Door Prefinished is a great example. Its simple vertical design works in both contemporary and more traditional interiors, while the prefinished surface makes it a convenient option for a renovation.
You can explore the full range of oak internal doors online.
What does primed mean?
A primed door is slightly different.
Priming provides the base onto which your final decorative coats can be applied. This saves an important stage of preparation while still giving you control over the finished colour.
Finewood’s primed white doors are supplied ready for a final coat in your chosen colour. This makes them particularly useful when you have a very specific interior scheme in mind. Finewood describes the range as primed and ready for a chosen top coat.
You could keep things crisp and classic with white or use the door as an opportunity to introduce another colour into the room.
Primed doors are therefore a useful halfway point: some of the preparation has already been done, but you still have plenty of freedom over the final appearance.
What is an unfinished internal door?
An unfinished door gives you considerably more control over its final look.
It will need to be appropriately finished before use, but that also gives you the opportunity to choose a suitable paint, stain or other recommended finish depending on the particular door.
This can be a real advantage when you are trying to coordinate new doors with existing timber, furniture or another very specific interior finish.
For example, the Finewood Internal Hardwood Louis Door is supplied unfinished, allowing its final appearance to be incorporated into your wider interior scheme.
Finewood also has a range of hardwood internal doors, including both solid and glazed designs.
Always check the manufacturer’s finishing instructions for your chosen door before starting work, particularly regarding which surfaces and edges need treatment.
Is prefinished better than primed?
Not necessarily. It really comes down to what you want from the project. If speed and convenience are high on your list, prefinished doors can be an attractive choice because the decorative finish has already been applied.
If you want to choose the final paint colour yourself, a primed door provides a prepared starting point.
If you want greater control over the final treatment and appearance of the timber, an unfinished door may be the better choice.
There is no universally “best” option — only the one that suits your home and the finish you are trying to achieve.
Think about the whole house rather than one door
If you are replacing several doors, it pays to make your decision across the whole project. Finishing one door yourself is quite different from finishing ten or twelve doors as part of a full renovation. Choosing prefinished doors throughout a property can remove a substantial decorating job from your list and gives you a consistent appearance from room to room.
Finewood also stocks prefinished white internal doors if you like the clean look of white but would prefer a door that already has its decorative finish applied.
The JB Kind Internal White City Door Prefinished is one example currently available in the Finewood range.
Find the right finish at Finewood Doors
Choosing between prefinished, primed and unfinished doors becomes much easier once you know what each term means. The important thing is to think about the finished result as well as the door itself. Consider the amount of decorating you want to do, the look you are trying to achieve and whether you need to coordinate the doors with other elements of your interior.
You can browse internal doors online or visit Finewood Doors in Falkirk, home to Scotland’s largest selection of internal doors, to compare styles, colours and finishes in person. Finewood confirms its Falkirk showroom and extensive internal-door range on its website.
