Upholstery of metal and wooden entrance doors with leatherette, insulation. The choice of materials for insulation, options for decorative upholstery. Step by step instructions.

Reasons for the popularity of dermantin

Dermantin (the correct name is “dermatin”) was invented and began to be used at the beginning of the 20th century to replace genuine leather. In terms of strength, durability, and other indicators, it is comparable to it, but it costs 50-60% cheaper.

It is used in various fields: for upholstery of furniture and car interiors, tailoring and footwear. In construction and repair, it is used as a universal material for upholstery of doors, usually entrance doors. Facing with dermantine is done on both wooden and metal doors.

Recently, the traditional term "dermantine" has given way to the term "vinyl leather" or simply "vinyl".

Dermantin, used for upholstery of entrance doors, has such qualities as:

• durability (resistance to changes in humidity and temperature, exposure to sunlight);
• ease of operation (easy to care for, ordinary soap is enough);
• environmental friendliness (hypoallergenicity, immunity to microflora);
• economy (upholstery can be changed without significant costs and assistants);
• aesthetics (a wide choice of colors, textures, the possibility of embossing).

The disadvantages of the material include:

• specific smell (almost imperceptible, but not passing over time);
• low resistance to fire (relevant if the door falls into the field of view of hooligans);
• impossibility of repair (damage to dermantin cannot be repaired).

How to choose materials for door upholstery

In the vast majority of cases, simultaneously with the upholstery of the front door with leatherette, it is insulated and the level of sound insulation is increased. Therefore, in addition to choosing a fabric for door trim, you should pay attention to the insulation material, which simultaneously plays the role of a noise absorber.

The door decorated with dermantine will retain a presentable appearance for a long time.

In addition, visually dermantin is suitable for making the door beautiful and original not only with the help of the material itself, but also through decorative design: nails with caps matching the color of the upholstery, colored wire or cords. In this way, you can not only decorate the outer side of the door with traditional "diamonds", but even depict a certain composition.

The choice of dermantine for door upholstery

Modern leatherette is conditionally divided into 3 groups in terms of thickness: thin for haberdashery, thick for shoes, and medium for upholstery. For a door, a thickness of 0.45–0.7 mm is suitable. Color, texture (gloss, embossing) - at the choice of the buyer. As a rule, leatherette is sold in cuts 1.2–1.5 meters wide, enough for a door. High-quality leatherette slightly springy when stretched, painted evenly.

It is better to buy leatherette for upholstery in specialized stores by contacting the seller for advice.

The choice of material for door insulation

The range of materials for insulation and soundproofing doors today is able to satisfy the most demanding taste. Some of them are especially popular.

• Foamed polyurethane (mounting foam). Rarely used for insulation of doors in residential premises, it is usually used for insulation of garages, warehouses, industrial premises. Among the advantages is the ability to fill cracks and cavities that are not amenable to traditional heaters and the simplicity of the method. The downside is its price.

  Foamed polyurethane - an expensive but effective way to insulate doors and walls

• Felt. It is made from natural wool, so the moth considers it as a nutrient medium, mice and other rodents take it apart to warm their holes. Advantage - low cost in comparison with other heaters.

  Felt is cheap, but not the best option for insulating the front door

• Batting. Like felt, it is made from natural materials, the same disadvantages.
• Mineral wool. It accumulates moisture, deforms and falls into lumps. There is still debate about the carcinogenicity of this material.
• Styrofoam. Perhaps the most popular door insulation. High moisture resistance, low thermal conductivity, high sound insulation, low cost. Disadvantages: fragility, high flammability with the release of toxic substances in open fire.

  Styrofoam is used for insulation almost more often than any other material.

• Foam rubber. Advantages: ease of installation, attractive price. Disadvantages: low moisture resistance and high flammability. Fragility (crumbles after 2-3 seasons).
• Isolon (foamed polyethylene). Universal material with high performance, non-flammable. The foil layer provides the highest rate of heat and sound insulation compared to other heaters. The material is simply glued to the door tightly and covered with a second layer. Service life - up to 100 years. The disadvantages include the high cost.

  Izolon provides almost 100% heat retention

Sometimes multi-layer insulation is used. For example, first, an isolon is fixed on the inside of the door, foam rubber is placed on it. And since after a few years the foam rubber begins to “crumble”, the whole structure is covered from above with batting or similar material, and only then with dermantin.

Other cladding elements

To give the door individuality, decorative (usually brass) wire, a strong cord, suitable in color and texture, or ordinary fishing line are used. At the final stage of upholstery, they are passed through nails that are not completely driven into the upholstery, decorating the appearance of the door. Nails are wrapped in turn in a given order, from one to another, and then driven in completely.

With the help of a decorative screed on the door, you can depict a complex pattern

With the help of decorative nails, you can decorate the door with an image or even text.

Decorative (wallpaper) nails are matched to the color of the coating. Hats can be of any size, shape, color. You can pick up nails, the caps of which will be covered with the same material as the coating. Or, on the contrary, they will be in harmony with the fittings: door handle, locks, peephole.

The choice of decorative nails for upholstery of doors is almost limitless.

Facing the door involves working not only with the door leaf. The door should be placed in a doorway designed in the same style or in harmony with it. This applies to platbands and door slopes.

Preparation for sheathing the front door with dermantine

Before starting work, you should make sure that the door is not skewed and that the seal is functioning effectively. If the door is skewed, then you first need to solve the problem, and then proceed to the sheathing. The seal is usually changed every 2-3 seasons (depending on how actively the door is used).

It will not be superfluous to prepare a sketch of the skin, in the form of a drawing with calculations or a rough sketch of how the door should look.

Many before starting repairs do not take into account one important point. Namely: Murphy's basic law works always and everywhere. Let me remind you how it sounds. “If something can go wrong, it will definitely go wrong.” Even if the door trim looks like a breeze, it will probably take twice as long as planned.

Tools for sheathing the front door with dermantine:

• scissors;
• screwdrivers;
• pliers;
• a hammer;
• nails (for 1 m² of area you will need 50 g of construction nails, and 75 g of decorative ones);
• glue, brush, roller;
• roulette;
• pencil;
• wire (cord, fishing line);
• Styrofoam;
• assembly foam.

The list of tools does not include door paint, surface degreasers. Painting the door is desirable, but not required. You can add sandpaper (sanding machine) to it to clean metal doors from corrosion and sand wood.

Standard items like gloves or goggles are used for any work with wood or metal.

Simple ways to upholster and insulate a door

If you simplify the process as much as possible, you can do without rollers. However, it is usually an integral part of an insulated door.

Roller - an element of insulation, located along the edges of the door leaf or on the jambs of the door frame. Its task is to ensure the tightness of the structure at the points of contact between the ends of the door and the door frame. The future roller is a leatherette tape as long as the part of the door where it is located, 10–15 centimeters wide. Inside the tape, the remnants of insulation or factory material, sold in specialized stores, are laid.

Factory made polyethylene foam roller

Depending on whether the door opens outward or inward, the rollers are attached to the corresponding side. If the door opens inward, the rollers are attached to it from 4 sides, if it opens outward - from above, below and from the side of the handle.

The roller can be attached with glue, a construction stapler or nails

The edges of the leatherette tape are wrapped lengthwise, the resulting roller is attached with nails or glue. The distance between the nails should be 10-15 centimeters. A gap is left on the side of the handle for the lock.

Metal door, paneling on the outside

When sheathing the outer side of the door, in addition to the aesthetic aspect, it is necessary to take into account the impact of an aggressive environment. And not only the weather, but also aggressive people. Therefore, the costs of the outer skin of the door must be compared with the risks. Dermantin is not repaired, it can only be changed completely.

I understand that if you do everything wisely, then the door for cladding must be removed, put on chairs or a table. Surely then it will be more convenient to work. But from personal experience I can say that it is not very convenient on our landings. It's easier to do everything without removing the door from the hinges. In my opinion, this does not complicate the work very much. I'm talking about the door of an ordinary city apartment. You can find a place in the country.

Metal door, paneling from the inside

1. A decorative panel is removed from the inside of the door (usually this is a hardboard sheet).
2. Wooden slats are screwed onto the inner ribs (before this, the ribs of the door leaf and the slats are drilled through).

   Wooden slats are required for mounting insulation on the inside of the door

3. The gaps between the rails and the metal frame are filled with mounting foam.
4. Pieces of insulation (polystyrene, felt, foam rubber, etc.) cut to size are inserted into the resulting cavities.

   Mounting foam is needed for sealing

5. The resulting layer of insulation is covered with a sheet of plywood (hardboard). The location of the wooden slats is pre-marked on the sheet. The sheet is attached only to the rails in the middle of the door, dermantin will be wound from the sides under it.
6. On top of the sheet, you can put another layer of insulation, it depends on the outside temperature. In the northern regions, this is justified. Leatherette is placed on top of the second layer of insulation, its edges are tucked under a sheet of plywood (hardboard). At the corners, edges and in the middle of the sheet, dermantine and plywood sheet are screwed to the wooden frame with self-tapping screws, the heads of which are sunk into the sheet. You can hide these places later with decorative nails.

   Professionals do not consider batting an ideal material, but it is used often.

7. It is important that while nailing to the door leaf, the dermantine is constantly stretched. Then it is nailed around the perimeter with the same decorative nails.
8. In the resulting structure, holes for fittings are cut (drilled).

Wooden door, cladding inside and out

Differences from a metal door in the outer skin are not fundamental. The difference is that nails and a construction stapler are used to attach the insulation and topcoat, rather than glue.

Fastening with nails of dermantine begins from the central vertical row (from top to bottom), while the sheathing material must constantly be stretched. After fixing the leatherette from above and below, both edges of the coating are nailed. Nails around the perimeter of the door leaf can be hidden under the rollers.

The principles of door trim from the inside are the same as for exterior design.

As of the summer of 2017, it cost me 1,600 rubles to sheathe a wooden door in a summer house in the country with dermantin. It could have been cheaper, but I took a set for 600 rubles: foam rubber 0.7x2.1 m, thickness 10 mm, leatherette 1.05x2.1 m, 50 nails and 10 meters of fishing line. Another 1000 rubles - birch plywood 1.22x2.44, thickness 9 mm. We managed with a neighbor in about five hours (with smoke breaks, lunch and afternoon rest).

Decorative door upholstery

Facing the front door with dermantine allows you to decorate it additionally with the help of a decorative banner. It can be done by stretching a wire or cord between decorative nails, or you can use furniture buttons. They consist of two parts - a metal base with a thread and a decorative cap.

Along with the buttons, you will need one-sided frame profiles to stretch the leatherette fabric on the door. The profiles are cut according to the dimensions of the door leaf.

This method of upholstery is called "carriage screed".

1. Markings are made on the door leaf: with the help of a square and a tape measure, the canvas is divided into 4 parts, the places where the buttons will be attached are marked.
2. One-sided frame profiles are being prepared, into which dermantine will be filled.

   "Carriage coupler" of the door requires a large amount of consumables

3. Mounting glue is applied to those places where the buttons will be located. Threaded button details are attached to it.
4. Profiles are glued around the perimeter of the door.
5. Holes are cut out in the sheet of insulation and dermantin, corresponding to the buttons glued to the door leaf.

   The holes in the seals must match the markings on the door leaf

6. The insulation is attached between the profiles, dermantin is pulled from above. Its edges are tucked under the profiles around the perimeter of the door.
7. The upper (decorative) parts of the buttons are screwed over the dermantine,

   Buttons must be fastened as securely as possible.

This upholstery option is suitable for both internal and external sides of the door.

The appearance of the door with a "carriage coupler"

This is a labor-intensive option and it is more expensive than a simple door trim, so the door itself with a “coach tie” should be, if not new, then well-preserved.

Video: variant of the "carriage coupler" of the door

This method involves planning the entire upholstery process and testing the method on a breadboard. That is, it is better for a beginner to simulate the entire sequence of actions on the “training ground” before upholstery: pieces of wood, insulation and leatherette.

Tiled door upholstery

Another option to decorate a door lined with dermantine is called tiled. The essence of the method is that the door is sheathed with pieces of leatherette traditionally in the form of rhombuses) of the same size. In this case, you can use a coating of different colors.

Marking is best done not with a felt-tip pen, but with a simple pencil.

But if you still don’t want to complicate the process, then quite decent results can be achieved without frills.

Video: a simple way to trim and insulate the front door

In conclusion, we can add that leatherette has not just been one of the main materials for door cladding for many years. It is economical, it is easy to use when facing and insulating doors, it is easy to replace if necessary.

The easiest and most popular way to give the door an attractive appearance is to upholster it with some kind of material. This can be done both from the premises and from the outside, you just have to use different materials and different technologies. But in any case, the process is called "door upholstery." About all the subtleties and nuances - below.

How can you beat the door

There are two types of door upholstery - soft and hard. Soft is made from two materials - leatherette (leatherette) and vinyl leather. Leatherette is a woven cotton base coated with a film of nitrocellulose. This material was popular in the 40-60s of the last century, as it was practical and inexpensive. A little later, vinyl artificial leather appeared.

A little bit about vinyl leather and leatherette

This material is made on different bases - woven and non-woven, stretching and not. Accordingly, artificial leather has different properties. A layer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC or PVC) is applied to the base. It is more durable, chemically neutral. It has only one significant drawback - it reacts poorly to ultraviolet rays - it loses elasticity, changes color, and may crack. Therefore, the upholstery of doors that go directly to the street is undesirable with vinyl leather. There is, however, a material with increased resistance to UV rays, but this is a special material and you should pay attention to this when buying.

Now about a little confusion in terminology. Dermantine in its pure form, as it was in the last century, has not been produced for quite a long time. Instead, there are different types of vinyl faux leather. There are also materials coated with other polymers, but not so many. Here they are, according to old memory, and are called dermantin or leatherette (although it is correct, by the way, to say “dermatin” without “n”). So seeing this name, it is necessary to clarify what kind of material is meant, since the properties and prices differ significantly.

Despite the fact that the material is essentially the same, it has different characteristics and appearance. There are elastic types that stretch well, there are hard ones that are difficult to stretch. In addition, modern artificial leather has many colors and shades, it can have a different surface structure:

So the choice of soft upholstery materials for the door is extensive. Apparently, this is the determining factor in the popularity of this type of door upholstery.

Rigid upholstery for the door

There are more hard upholstery materials for doors, although they are used less often:

• MDF panels with a thickness of 8 mm to 18 mm;
• natural wood - fragments, solid wood;
• veneer;
• laminate;
• plastic;
• postforming.

From this list, most often the doors are trimmed with MDF overlays / panels. Such upholstery is especially popular for decorating metal doors, including home-made ones. The panels are made according to the dimensions of a particular door leaf, after which they are installed on glue or mounting foam in fixed starting strips. In this case, and makes sense.

From the catalog - options for MDF overlays, and all this is still in different colors ...

In practice, the door trim is also covered with other materials - laminate, plastic, postforming. Starting profiles are installed along the perimeter of the door, into which fragments of trim trimmed “to size” are inserted. Everything is simple, if you have basic skills in working with a drill, saw and hammer, you can do it yourself in a few hours.

Door upholstery with dermantine

The most popular way to trim a door is with artificial leather. Such a department allows, simultaneously with improving the appearance, to increase the indicators of heat and sound insulation. But this type of door upholstery also has disadvantages - this is the most complex technological process that requires at least general ideas about the procedure.

Upholstery methods

We will talk about the technology of upholstery of doors with dermantine. You can attach it in two ways: with a roller around the perimeter of the door leaf and without it. Depending on this, the order of actions changes (more on that later).

Upholstery of doors with dermantine - with and without a roller

For banners, you can use the same material that upholstered the doors. It is cut into strips 2.5-3 cm wide, attached to the upper nails, and then pulled and fixed by the next nails, a pattern is formed. To secure the strip, it can be wrapped around a nail that is not completely driven in, which is then hammered. But this option is suitable if the decorative nails have large hats. If the hats are small, the strips are nailed.

Also, a pattern can be formed using a thin metal flexible cable, but it is more difficult to fix it - it bends worse.

How and how to attach leatherette to the door leaf

If upholstery of a wooden door is necessary, there are usually no questions - they are fastened with staples from a stapler, then nailed along the contour with decorative nails. Only here there are nuances: the staples should be with a wide back (at least 1 mm), and the nails should be wallpaper, with a wide hat. Fastener installation step - from 2.5 to 7 cm, as desired.

More questions arise when it is necessary to cover an iron door with leatherette. There is only one way out - to put on glue. Glue is usually used "Moment", but you can use any other universal glue that can be used to glue both metal and leatherette. They lubricate the flashing from the inside (a bar that goes along the perimeter of the door and closes the junction of the canvas with the door frame). When fixing vinyl artificial leather, it is cut out with a margin of 15 cm, just for the hem from both sides to the wrong side.

Materials for heat and noise insulation

Most often, foam rubber is used to insulate the door. It is inexpensive, if desired, allows you to form a three-dimensional convex pattern. The most common case is two layers of foam rubber 1 cm each. This option is not the best - foam rubber has almost no effect on the soundproof properties of the door, and this is sometimes very important. In addition, after 3-4 years, it loses elasticity, begins to stick together, you have to re-upholster the door, although the appearance of the leatherette is still quite decent.

All this is true, but there are no worthy competitors for foam rubber yet. There are materials with certain properties that can be laid instead of one of the layers, and the second one will still be foam rubber. For example, to improve the soundproofing properties, you can use "Isoton". It is used for heat and sound insulation of cars. Sold in small sheets, the back side is coated with an adhesive, protected by a plastic film. So there will be no problems with installation. Of the minuses - the price and the rather large weight of the material. To avoid problems, it is worth replacing the loops with more powerful ones.

There are two other materials used in the automotive industry with similar properties. These are "Splen" and "Vibrofilter". All of them are made on an adhesive basis, can be used to improve the characteristics of the door.

How to beat a wooden door

It is more convenient to work on the removed door, but if this is a problem, you can upholster it right on the spot. First you need to remove all fittings from the door leaf - locks, latches, door peephole. If there is old upholstery, it is carefully removed. If a part of the door needs repair, the damaged fragments are removed and replaced with cut-to-size wooden ones. Slots can be covered with putty or foamed with mounting foam with a low coefficient of expansion.

If there was a pattern on the upholstery, and in principle it suits you, we drive ordinary nails into the places where the nails forming the pattern were driven in. We do not hammer them to the end, the hats should stick out by 1-1.5 cm. With their help, we will then break through the foam rubber and upholstery in the right places (just press with your fingers, all layers will push through). We will pull out ordinary nails, install decorative ones in their place, and with the help of tape we will form a pattern. The procedure is simple.

with roller

To make the end of the door look no worse than the rest of the plane, we start with it. If you are not going to finish one of the sides, skip this step, just paint the end with paint to match the finish on one or the other side. If we upholster the doors on both sides, we cut out a strip of material about 10 cm wide. More precisely, look at your door, since the thickness of the canvas is different. The strip should cover the end and go to one and the other side by 3-4 cm. Lay the strip, fasten along the edge with staples from a stapler (faster and easier) or nails with a large flat head.

To form a roller, a strip of material is also needed. Width - 10-15 cm, depending on how wide you want the roller. Next, there are two options:

The difference between these two methods is only in appearance: in the first case, the nails are nailed along the edge of the upholstery (in the photo on the right), in the second - along the edge of the roller (in the photo on the left). Choose whichever you like best. For example, it seems to me that the first option (on the right) looks better - more neat. But this is just a personal opinion.

What is this roller for? In order to cover possible gaps between the canvas and the jamb. Thus, we avoid the appearance of drafts and reduce heat loss. But you can make a roller only if the doors are upholstered from the opening side (the doors open into the apartment, so we upholster them from the inside). If, on the other hand, this focus does not pass, it will not close. Then you have to do without a roller.

In this case, everything is simple: the canvas is tucked evenly, fixed with nails or staples - as it suits you best.

Door upholstery process in photo format

To reduce the noise level, the doors are upholstered with one layer of sound insulation and one layer of foam rubber. The option with preliminary production of the roller is chosen. First, they removed the old fittings, cut in a new lock. The lining and handle were removed, the internal parts remained in place. Let's move on to the door trim.

We immediately form a roller - we put narrow foam rubber in a strip of leatherette, fasten it along the perimeter of the door. It is more convenient to do this with staples from a stapler.

The next step is to fix the soundproofing. It is on an adhesive basis, so there are no problems - they cut it to size, carefully removing the film and glued it. When gluing, we try to squeeze out all the air, for this we tear off the film gradually, ironing the material from edge to edge.

Now we fix foam rubber 1 cm thick. In this embodiment, the most convenient way is staples from a construction stapler. First, we fasten along the perimeter, then often - along the surface of the door, so that the foam rubber fits snugly.

The foam rubber is cut out with a small margin, after installation, the excess is cut off.

We tuck the upper edge by 2-3 cm, we begin to fasten from the upper left corner. There we hammer in the first nail, then we straighten the material and nail the second one at the top right. Then, in increments of 3-4 cm, we nail the upholstery from one edge to the other with finishing nails.

We fasten from the side of the loops, tucking the edge inward. Straighten evenly so that there are no creases at the top.

After the same operation is repeated from the side of the castle, then below. Actually, the upholstery of the doors is almost finished, it is only necessary to install the fittings in place.

Video tutorials on the topic

Vinyl leather for door upholstery is sold both by the meter and in sets. In some sets, the mounting method may be different: they have plastic profiles that are attached around the perimeter of the door leaf. These profiles have a fixation system similar to the one used in stretch ceilings.

The following video captures the process using roll material.

How to insulate and upholster the front door. The technique of forming a roller of the second type - it is nailed last.

How to upholster metal doors

The front part of metal doors is rarely upholstered - it already has a very attractive appearance. The inner part suffers more often. That's what we'll talk about.

On the inside of the iron door there is a frame. In some models it is metal, in others it is wooden. Thermal insulation material is laid between the slats of the frame. It can be foam or mineral wool boards. They are attached to mounting foam, which has a very small coefficient of expansion (mandatory!). From above, everything is closed with a sheet of plywood or OSB. This is the standard option. If the planks are wooden, everything is fine, there are no problems - the doors will not freeze through. But if the frame inside the door is metal, in good frosts everything will freeze through - through cold bridges, which are metal ribs. To prevent this from happening, a layer of "Isoton" or "Splen" is again laid on top of the foam / mineral wool, and plywood is already on them.

The remaining processes for upholstery of a metal door are very similar to those described above. All the difference is in the method of fixation: the upholstery is glued to a suitable high-quality glue. The excess is immediately cut off at the junction using a sharp wallpaper knife.

This is where the classic mistake was made - there is no layer that cuts off the bridges of cold. Everything else is shown well.

Leatherette is a finishing material with special qualities. It does not wrinkle, does not fade from exposure to sunlight, has a structural pattern, looks elegant and beautiful. In the features of the material, its strengths can be distinguished:

• Durability. Leatherette is able to retain its properties for 7-10 years.
• Ease of maintenance. To make the upholstery look pleasing to the eye, you can simply wash it with water and lubricate it with cream from time to time.
• Moisture resistance. The material is water repellent. This reduces the risk of damage to the insulation and waterproofing of the door structure.
• Frost resistance. Leatherette retains its technical qualities and decorative properties even at low winter temperatures.
• Variety of colors. The material goes on sale in a large number of options for its shade. Therefore, a fairly wide choice of colors for the future upholstery of the door is available to customers, ranging from black to light shades of the material.
• Antiseptic properties. Leatherette does not rot, mold and does not promote the reproduction of insects.
• Chemical resistance. Leatherette is resistant to chemicals. Therefore, it can be washed using various household products.
• Democratic price. The cost of upholstery with dermantine does not exceed the available limits. This circumstance makes the material popular for most owners of apartments, cottages and private houses.

When decorating wooden and metal doors with dermantine with your own hands, another important problem is solved: heat and sound insulation of the room. Leatherette upholstery delays the penetration of street noise and cold outside air into the housing.

The disadvantages of this material are much less:

• Flammability. Door upholstery with dermantine is prone to fire. Exposure to an open flame is especially dangerous for her.
• Inconvenience in repair. Cuts in leatherette are almost impossible to mask so that they do not spoil the appearance of the upholstery. The best solution would be to replace it completely.
• Material strength. To tear or cut leatherette upholstery, no special effort is required. Therefore, it must be handled carefully and not make enemies for yourself in order to avoid wrecking on their part.

What is required for work

To do the upholstery of the front door with dermantin with your own hands, you need to stock up on the necessary materials and a simple tool. Their list includes:

• screwdrivers;
• a hammer;
• construction knife and scissors;
• brush for applying glue;
• roulette;
• construction stapler;
• leatherette;
• lining material (foam rubber or batting);
• polymer glue;
• decorative braid (it beautifully fixes the upholstery on the door leaf area).

In addition to the above materials and tools, decorative nails will be required to sheathe the door. They must be selected in accordance with the design of the upholstery and in harmony with the fittings of the front door. The caps of these carnations look beautiful and have a different color or plastic coating. Fasteners are sold by weight or in packs of 100 or 200 pieces each.

Leatherette upholstery technology

Finishing the door with dermantine can be done on both sides, from the inside or outside. The work instruction includes several steps.

Preparatory work

Preparing the door for upholstery with dermantine is done as follows:

Roller device

Leatherette rollers are necessary for high-quality insulation of the doorway. Before making them with your own hands, you need to consider the direction of opening the door. If it opens outward, four rollers will be required for each side of the door leaf, if inward, three will be enough.

To make one roller with your own hands, you need a strip of leatherette 10-15 cm wide and a piece of lining material. One of the edges of the strip is attached along the side of the door face down. Then the lining is folded with a roller and wrapped around the other edge of the leatherette strip. Fixing the rollers on the door leaf is carried out with a stapler, carnations or glue when finishing its metal surface.

Installing the backing material

When upholstering a door, the lining material plays the role of thermal insulation and noise absorption from the street or stairwell. The use of foam rubber as a lining is not as effective as the use of batting or isolon - more modern heaters. Therefore, it is recommended to perform insulation with these materials. The lining material must completely cover the entire leaf of an iron or wooden door. When it is opened from the outside, a small gap must be left near the door hinges.

When working with a wooden door leaf with your own hands, the lining is fixed with a stapler. Its brackets are placed along the perimeter of the door at a distance of 15-20cm from each other. If you need to properly sheathe an iron door, its canvas is smeared with glue, and the lining material is evenly laid on top and slightly pressed.

Covering the door with leatherette

For a neat do-it-yourself tightening of a metal door, you need to tuck the edges of the leatherette and fix them from the inside with the help of staples. Then you should glue the edge of the lining material with glue, hem and press the upholstery. Work is performed with gradual movement in one direction.

It is easier to upholster a wooden door leaf with dermantine. The edges of the material must be tucked up and nailed with furniture studs with a step of 10-15 cm.

When doing the tightening with your own hands, you need to pay attention to the fact that the attachment points of the rollers do not peek out from under the edge of the leatherette. In addition, when upholstering, leave a few millimeters from the edge of the door so that the new cover does not interfere with the movement of the door leaf.

Hardware installation

At the last stage of work, the upholstered door is equipped with the necessary fittings. To do this, at the locations of the technical holes in the door leaf, you yourself need to make small cuts in the upholstery. Holes can be felt through the lining and leatherette. Then the lock, door handle and peephole must be installed in their original places. Using decorative nails, you can make some nice pattern on the upholstery of the door leaf. After that, it remains only to hang the door on the hinges and enjoy the work done.

When you start talking about upholstery of front doors with leatherette (it’s more correct to say leatherette, but this is the case when erroneous spelling and pronunciation prevailed over the correct one), then in response you can hear that this is a solution from the last century, the material is ugly and impractical. But this can only be said by those who do not know that manufacturers of building materials have developed and introduced to the market a whole line of dermantine canvases with a beautiful texture under the skin of various color shades.

As a result, new upholstery materials are gaining more and more popularity every year - do-it-yourself upholstery of doors with dermantine has become fashionable again. This is due to the beautiful appearance of the doors, wear resistance and low cost of materials.

General description of new leatherette fabrics

The classic definition of leatherette says that it is a roll material based on a woven fabric made of cotton thread, on the surface of which a layer of colored nitrocellulose is applied. Material manufacturers took into account the previous shortcomings and decided to replace the woven base with a porous film of polyvinyl chloride.

The surface was coated with polyester, polyurethane or a mixture of leather fibers with latex chips. In the first two cases, new leatherettes were called eco-leather, and in the last version, using a mixture, they were called recycled leather.

As a result, practically new materials were obtained, which differ in:

• elasticity;
• wear resistance;
• breathability;
• strength;
• affordable cost.

Tactile sensations make it almost impossible to distinguish synthetic materials from well-crafted genuine leather. But the main aesthetic advantage of the new leatherettes lies in the possibility of dyeing in any color and creating a beautiful surface texture. The price of the canvas depends on the constituent components and ranges from 500 to 1500 rubles / m 2.

Pros and cons of dermantin

The consumer properties of new rolled materials for fitting entrance doors and other household purposes even surpass natural leather in a number of indicators. Among them, experts include:

• affordability for most consumers;
• resistance to moisture, microorganisms and decay;
• very high tensile and tensile strength;
• wear resistance and durability;
• operation in the temperature range from -40°C to +60°C;
• service life - at least 20 years;
• high heat and sound insulation qualities;
• immunity to solar ultraviolet;
• a wide variety of textures with a wide range of colors;
• easy care and the possibility of using chemically active detergents.

There are only two drawbacks, but they are quite significant:

• the impossibility of repair in case of mechanical damage or cuts - a complete hauling of the entire coating will be required;
• all types of new leatherettes are capable of sustaining fire and belong to the G2 combustibility group.

These disadvantages are not critical and, given the large number of advantages, can be considered insignificant.

Materials and tools for door upholstery with dermantine

If you strictly follow the order of work, prepare all the necessary tools and use high-quality materials, then any man can properly upholster the door with dermantine on his own. For upholstery you will need the following:

• rolled leatherette;
• insulation in the form of thin sheet foam rubber or isolon;
• decorative nails for wooden doors, and self-tapping screws for metal doors;

• polymer glue and brush for one-time use;
• thin braided brass wire or decorative polymer cord;
• tape measure, ruler and pencil;
• a hammer;
• furniture stapler;
• sharp knife and scissors.

For metal upholstery, you will need a screwdriver, without which it is impossible to tighten the screws.

Door upholstery instructions

The full scope of work on sheathing the front door with dermantine includes the following steps:

• preparatory activities;
• production and fastening of the roller;
• upholstery surface;
• decoration;
• finishing work.

The total duration, even for a non-professional, usually does not exceed 8 hours.

Preparatory stage

Before upholstering the door with dermantine, preparatory work is carried out, which includes:

1. dismantling of locks, handles and peephole;
2. removing the door leaf from the hinges, laying it on the stand;
3. revision inspection of the condition of the box and repair if necessary;
4. removal of old upholstery, if any;
5. inspection of the door for its integrity and checking the geometry;
6. cleaning and degreasing the door leaf on both sides;
7. painting or coating with a protective composition;
8. cutting insulation according to the size of the door;
9. cutting leatherette with an overlap of 100-150 mm;
10. development of a patterned decor scheme;
11. laying leatherette and fixing it;
12. roller manufacturing.

Rollers are called dermantine tubes with insulation located along the edge, which cover the gap between the canvas and the box, and also serve as a decorative element. Depending on the direction of opening the door, they can be fixed on the box or door leaf.

Manufacturing and installation of the roller

The number of rollers depends on the type of door hinges installed. With an open design, 6 tubes are required, and for a hidden one, 4 are enough. The fact is that the outer loops are not covered by this decor.

For the manufacture of a roller, strips of dermantine 100-150 mm wide are required. They can be taken from scraps that remain after cutting the main material. The length of the bead should take into account the possibility of a slight overlap to form beautiful corners.

Nail or screw the prepared strips along the edge of the door or door leaf with the front side away from you with self-tapping screws. Lay the insulation on the strip, cover it with leatherette and connect the seam with a quick-drying polymer adhesive.

As a result, the fixed roller should protrude beyond the edge of the door leaf or box by no more than 30 mm.

Classic upholstery technology

This is the easiest way to sheathe a door with dermantine with your own hands. The design of the canvas can be wooden or metal. This factor implies significant differences in performance.

To finish a wooden door leaf:

• lay insulation between the stuffed rollers and fix it with a stapler or glue it;
• tuck the leatherette fabric around the edges and spread it on the surface so that it goes under the rollers;
• fasten leatherette with decorative nails along one long side, at a distance of 5-7 mm from the edge of the roller, with a fastening step of 100-120 mm;
• after that, at the same distances, drive nails along the top and bottom side, and then along the remaining edge.

In the laid and fixed canvas, cut holes for the elements of locks and fittings. Installation locations are easily determined by touch. The process of decorating the surface will be discussed later.

When tightening a metal sheet: nails cannot be hammered in and therefore special self-tapping screws are used, which are screwed in with a screwdriver or a low-speed drill. Moreover, they are twisted at the points marked on a pre-compiled scheme of the wire clamping decor.

But first, the insulation, and on top of it, the leatherette is temporarily fixed with glue. The decoration process completes the work and fixes the canvas completely.

Carriage upholstery method

The idea of ​​the carriage technology is that the insulation and leatherette upholstery are fixed on a plywood sheet with a thickness of at least 10 mm and exactly the same size as the door leaf.

Holes are drilled in the plywood sheet in accordance with the intended surface decor pattern. Usually this is a continuous division into diamonds or squares, although other finishes are allowed.

After that, a heater is glued to the surface of the plywood sheet, in which, using a special crown for soft materials, recesses are also selected that correspond to the markings in the holes in the wooden sheet.

The dermantine fabric is fixed (sewn) step by step with brass wire or cord, which are passed from both sides and attract the upholstery to the plywood sheet without nails. The plywood sheet itself is fixed with long self-tapping screws screwed on the back of the door leaf.

Upholstery decor options

On the surface of doors upholstered with leatherette, in most cases, decor is provided. There are a lot of decoration options and the choice depends only on your taste and imagination. The only thing to consider is that wire, cord or just decorative nails provide additional fastening of the canvas to the surface. Shown below are some of these finishes.

To complete the decor, markings are made, at the points of which nails are hammered into 1/3. After that, a wire or cord is pulled over them, the nails are finished to the end, creating a relief pattern by pulling the cord.

What else can be upholstered entrance doors

Answering the question of how to upholster the door instead of dermantin, then among the popular materials, you can specify:

• vinyl artificial leather - vinyl-based composition;
• natural leather;
• special upholstery fabrics, according to the type of materials for finishing passenger car interiors.

Metal doors are often trimmed with plastic and wood panels. However, it should be noted that all these materials are much more expensive than leatherette.

Further use of the upholstery

The surface of the upholstery, covered with polyester, polyurethane or a mixture of leather fibers with latex chips, is easy to clean with a soapy solution. It is allowed to use chemical detergents. However, to avoid discolouration, test the detergent composition on a piece of upholstery material first.

If wear occurs and the color of the material changes, these places can be easily tinted. The most important thing is to accurately guess the color shade. To do this, contact a specialized workshop and bring there a sample of the remaining and saved scraps.

Modern leatherette is a strong and durable material that usually does not require additional care, except for cleaning from dust and dirt.

Door trim is done for a variety of reasons. Among the main ones are the insulation of a wooden or metal entrance structure, as well as the creation of a new decorative coating. It should be noted that all the work can be done independently, but to get a really high-quality result, you need to make every effort and accuracy. If everything is done correctly, the result will be a coating that will not only protect against the penetration of cold from the outside, but also provide an excellent visual appearance.

It all starts with what needs to be decided: how to sheathe the front door. The most acceptable option is the use of dermatin. Many mistakenly believe that this material has a lot of disadvantages. Yes, they exist and lie in the fact that such a product is very difficult to restore, in addition, leatherette contributes to the spread of fire. But this material has much more advantages:

1. It is not attacked by microorganisms that can promote the formation of mold and rot.
2. It has excellent moisture resistance. That is, water does not penetrate into the inner layer, which does not lead to undesirable consequences.
3. Has good durability. With proper care - the service life is tens of years. Even now you can find options for metal doors that were covered several decades ago. However, they still have not lost their appearance.
4. It is not damaged when using household chemicals, it washes well.
5. Withstands low temperatures. This makes it possible to use the material for finishing from the outside. Naturally, quality options should be preferred.

On a note! Leatherette is a type of artificial leather. Such products are positioned as an excellent substitute for natural options.

To choose a really high-quality product, you should pay attention to a number of parameters. Namely:

• Wear resistance, which should be at least 30 - 35 thousand cycles.
• Flexibility. Artificial leather should stretch, and cracks and creases should not form.
• Imitation of natural material should be as plausible as possible.

There are many low-quality fakes on the market that lose their appearance in a very short time.

Preparatory work

Do-it-yourself sheathing of entrance doors requires a set of preparatory measures. They are as follows:

• A schematic drawing is being prepared if it is planned to give the structure a more presentable appearance.
• A list of materials that will be used in the work is compiled:
  • Leatherette. You should select the product in special stores, where there is a large selection of textures and colors. It must be borne in mind that these products are purchased with a margin.
  • Insulation, which is used for additional sound and heat insulation. To do this, you can choose felt, foam or synthetic winterizer. The thickness varies within 1 - 2 cm. It will depend on the pattern being created (tightening). In order to obtain beautiful sealing rollers, it is advisable to give preference to a heater that has a round, elongated shape.
  • Glue and decorative studs needed for fixing. The second option is selected depending on the type of hat that will play the role of a visual element.

It is difficult to imagine: how to sheathe the front door without the right tools. Therefore, the necessary set is being prepared:

1. A hammer with a small head but a comfortable handle for hammering nails.
2. Professional or semi-professional stapler. A set of brackets (8-10 mm) is purchased separately for it. This tool allows for preliminary and additional fixation.
3. A stationery knife or good scissors - for cutting out.
4. A screwdriver or a set of screwdrivers that will help dismantle and mount handles, as well as other elements.
5. Pliers to remove old trim or deformed nails.

Before finishing the front door with dermantine, a number of preparatory procedures are performed:

• The doorway is freed from unnecessary details - handles, locks, peepholes, chains. It is much better to work if the canvas is not removed from the hinges. In the absence of proper experience, all measurements, circumcisions are performed with great care.
• If it is planned to beat a door that already has a decorative coating, then it is first removed.
• It often happens, especially with iron parts, that they are susceptible to rust. It should be cleaned up.

On a note! It is necessary to thoroughly clean all elements from any damage. Wooden elements may have cracks and chips, they are covered with a special putty.

Finishing events

Door trim with dermantin is performed on two sides: internal and external. Technologically, these two processes have some differences. There are also works that are performed when upholstering wooden and metal doors.

Working with wooden structures from the inside

All work begins with the fact that the scheme for opening the door is determined - to the apartment or entrance (to the street in a private house). The correct choice of the size and location of the sealing rollers depends on this.

Often, wooden canvases open inwards. Therefore, this option should be considered.

The technology is:

Installation of dermantin is carried out according to the following scheme:

• Fixation starts from the top. A small area is tucked under the insulation, decorative carnations make their way along the edge.
  

  On a note! The initial fastening is very difficult to perform. For this, a stapler is used, the staples of which are clogged in several places.

• The installation is checked for evenness. Make sure there are no distortions.
• Further, carnations make their way on the left, and then on the right side. All work is done carefully - by constantly stretching the canvas. Wrinkles must not be allowed.
• Lastly, the lower part is nailed.

At the end, marks are made for cutting holes for handles and an eyelet.

The door frame is considered complete. But only a direct coating is obtained. To get a picture, markup is performed. Points are marked on the canvas, which are located at regular intervals. Carnations are hammered on them. It is important to consider that the process starts from the center, excluding the strong tension of the leatherette.

Working with wooden structures outside

From the side of the street or entrance, work is carried out as follows:

1. The door closes. One centimeter recedes from the edge of the canvas.
   

   On a note! If the door does not have the necessary sound insulation, then a sticker of one or two layers of material should be provided. It is very convenient when the first layer has a self-adhesive side, the second one is attached to the brackets.

2. An insulating roller is fixed at the bottom. For this, a piece of leatherette is used, in which a piece of foam rubber is wrapped. It should be placed slightly higher than the bottom edge of the canvas. It is necessary to avoid displacement, otherwise, it will cling to the threshold. Many masters believe that this is an extra element, so it is advisable to proceed from a specific situation.
3. Upholstering the fabric with insulation starts from above, and then descends from both sides. It is important to consider that the material should not sag. If this is allowed, then further actions will turn out to be of poor quality.
4. At the last stage, the wooden door is sheathed with leatherette. It is fixed along the folded edges. If necessary, get a picture - breaks through the entire surface.

On a note! Many masters believe that it is at the final stage that the lower roller is formed. It is formed by bending leatherette lined with chopped foam rubber. That is, the roller turns out to be solid. Be sure to check that it does not cling to the threshold.

The upholstery is considered complete when the bolsters are installed around the perimeter of the box itself.

Work with a metal door - interior decoration

The situation is a little more complicated when it comes to how to sheathe an iron door. The methods of sheathing outside and inside are also different.

Currently, many manufacturers are trying to ensure that the interior decoration of the front door is carried out in production. For this, decorative inserts made of MDF are used. But it happens that cheaper options do not have such elements, then it becomes necessary to fit the doors with dermantine with your own hands.

Work is carried out according to a certain scheme:

The video will help you understand the intricacies of the process:

If required, a drawing is created. To make it more beautiful, you can use the remnants of artificial leather. The technology lies in the fact that one edge is nailed to the right place, then the strip is stretched and fixed again in the right area. It turns out a coating that has a more pronounced texture.

Working with a metal door - exterior decoration

If it is necessary to sheathe the entrance metal door from the outside, then a lining of small thickness is used.

The order of work is as follows:

• The synthetic winterizer or foam rubber is cut in size, which should be eight to ten millimeters smaller than the door leaf. The dermatin is immediately cut off. Its canvas should be equal to the size of the insulation plus 6-7 cm.
• The insulation is attached with glue, which is evenly applied around the entire perimeter of the iron door. You need to wait a while for the material to adhere well. If this is not done, then further work may be of poor quality. The finished area should have an even surface.
• Now a layer of dermatin is laid. It is evenly distributed over the entire surface. The edges are folded over the edge of the door leaf panels. The bent section must be fixed, for this, glue is used, which has a quick setting.

If you do everything carefully, then the front door trim will turn out to be very respectable. At the end, carefully install all additional elements (handles, locks).

Some details

Currently, dermatin refers to a whole range of materials. Therefore, if it is necessary to purchase, it should be borne in mind that there are types of coatings that can successfully replace it:

1. Eco-leather. Polyurethane coated fabric. This option is not suitable for rooms with high humidity.
2. Viniliskin. Its composition is very similar to natural leather. This variety has many excellent decorative solutions that are suitable for different situations.
3. Amidiskin. An excellent solution for ennobling the door with your own hands, because the material has good elasticity. Buying cheap varieties should be avoided.

There are many options for how to sheathe the door most effectively. All of them are described in the following article. However, leatherette upholstery, which flaunted on the front door in almost every Soviet house, has not lost its popularity to this day. And all because this is one of the few ways to finish the door leaf, which is easy to do with your own hands. Naturally, the main parameter will be accuracy and strict adherence to all stages.