Blog · Stithians

Stithians: A Composite Door for the High, Windy Spine of West Cornwall

By Cornwall Composite Doors · 31 December 1969 · 4 min read

TR3's reservoir village sits exposed on granite high ground between Redruth, Truro and Falmouth — real wind exposure without the coast.

High ground without a sea view

Stithians sits up on the granite spine that runs through west Cornwall, best known locally for its reservoir and its showground, home to the Royal Cornwall Show for many years. It isn't a coastal village, but its elevation means it catches wind that villages down in the valleys around Redruth, Truro and Penryn simply don't get — driving rain here can be just as relentless as on the coast, minus the salt.

What that means for door failure

Because there's no salt corrosion to point to, timber and older uPVC doors in Stithians tend to fail through straightforward weather fatigue instead — swollen bottom rails, worn seals, and hinges that have simply been worked hard by years of wind pressure against the door rather than corroded. A composite door's solid core and multi-point lock handle that sustained pressure far better than a hollow leaf ever will.

A village of farmhouses, cottages and newer housing

Stithians' housing stock is a genuine mix — old farmhouses and stone cottages scattered around the parish, a village centre with more traditional terracing, and newer housing built up around the reservoir and showground over recent decades. We fit everything from heritage six-panel doors in muted colours on the older stone properties to contemporary grey and anthracite flush doors on the newer builds.

Reservoir-side humidity

Properties closest to Stithians Reservoir get a degree of localised humidity that timber doors don't cope well with over time, showing up as swelling and sticking well before the rest of the door shows wear. A composite door with a properly sealed core doesn't have that vulnerability, whatever the local humidity.

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  • Truro
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Illustrated map of Cornwall showing towns we cover for composite door installation — Bude, Bodmin, Padstow, Tintagel, Newquay, St Austell, Truro, Falmouth, St Ives, Land's End and Lizard Point.