Hardwood Roof Lantern Gallery
Below are examples from our hardwood roof lantern gallery. These are lanterns that have been designed and manufactured in our joinery and installed on customer properties.
Roof Lantern Gallery
Softwood vs Hardwood Roof Lantern
Categorising wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical make-up and build. It’s no surprise many people assume hardwoods are solid and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods.
Generally, this is true, however, there are exceptions, for example in the case of wood from yew trees, it’s a softwood that’s relatively hard and wood from balsa trees which is also a hardwood that’s softer than softwoods.
As a general rule however, hardwoods tend to be denser than softwoods and are typically tougher and more weather resistant.
What Types of Hardwoods Are There?
Our hardwoods are hand-picked for quality, to ensure that the product and its lifespan are extended as much as possible. Hardwoods come from broad-leaved, deciduous trees.
The main hardwood materials are:
- Ash
- Beech
- Birch
- Cherry
- Elm
- Iroko
- Mahogany
- Meranti
- Oak
- Obeche
- Sapele
- Teak
We manufacture roof lanterns in a variety of hardwoods, but mainly oak and timber. We can also manufacture softwoods such as pine.
How Much Are Roof Lanterns Made From Hardwood?
Hardwood is sometimes cheaper and chosen for its appearance and lifespan once treated.
However, with deforestation being excessive over the last decade, wood prices have increased, as such, many product manufacturers and joineries use veneers bonded to a core of softwood which reduces the level of hardwood required for manufacture.
Hardwood is a multipurpose group of woods, popular in manufacturing for furniture, structures, orangeries, conservatories and more.
Why Is Hardwood Suitable For Roof Lanterns?
Hardwood in numerous cases is now ‘engineered’, which means that it contains quite a few layers of timber fused together. As a result, this enhances solidity and strength.
Hardwood, such as Sapele, is perfect for roof lanterns, as it’s incredibly durable, resilient, not to mention dense in its makeup – and strong as a result.
We use Sapele for all our opaque-painted and dark coloured translucent-stained roof lanterns. For lighter stain colours, we use Idigbo hardwood. This is a hardwood which is lighter in colour and can look similar to oak when stained. We can also use Oak (at additional cost) if required.
Wooden Roof Lantern Process
We use the finest, high grade FSC sourced hardwoods to manufacture our lanterns. Each piece of wood goes through expert CNC machining and is finished off by a craftsman who ensures complete quality control. Each lantern then undergoes painting in our workshop using farrow & ball microporous paints. We supply lanterns in a standard white primer if no paint colour is chosen.
Our Hardwood Treatment Process
Our joinery treats the wood and paints it using microporous paints which allow the wood to breathe. The treatment process prevents the hardwood from allowing bacteria, microorganisms, spores and other life forms to grow.
The porous element of hardwood is typically what causes hardwood structures to rot and to require high levels of maintenance, however, it is today’s modern chemical treatment procedures that almost completely stop and prevent these issues. Please note that minor maintenance will be required when opting for these wooden roof lanterns.