Timber iQ December 2018 - January 2019 // Issue: 41 | Page 56

TALKING TIMBER
Protect your wooden doors from exposure to rain and UV rays.
awning or canopy over it. “The best long-term solution for
protecting your wooden doors is to install some kind of an
overhang. The overhang should extend the same distance as
half the length of the space between the base of the door and
the bottom of the overhang. The advantage of this solution is
that it keeps the rain and the sun from coming into direct
contact with the door.”
Aside from protecting your wooden doors however, the
added bonus is that these overhangs, awnings or canopies
also help reduce the energy required to cool your house
down during the hot summer months, as they will regulate
the amount of direct sunlight entering the home.
54 DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019 //
Adding an overhang to an existing house is pretty
straightforward, but blending it into the existing roof can
be a bit tricky. For this reason, Lourens says that if you are
renovating or building a new home, it is something that
needs to be considered during the architectural design
phase of the project.
“Including roof overhangs into the design of your home
is worth the investment – they not only protect your
wooden windows and doors, but they will help keep your
home cooler, and will protect your interior soft furnishing,
window treatments and carpets from over exposure to UV
rays as well.”
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