Need to replace my front door...

IvanDobskey · 18 Oct 2017 at 14:02

CaptainComedy said:
UPVC is bad quality, isn't secure, and looks a bit naff in comparison.

How secure does it need to be? If someone wants to get into your house badly enough, they will do no matter what front door you have.

I doubt even with the cheapest upvc door, anyone breaking in will do it round the back of the house and not through the front door.

Sunbed · 18 Oct 2017 at 14:35

UPVC sometimes doesn't suit the character of the house.

We've just had a Victorian style front door fitted. Got a bit carried away with stained glass etc and spent quite a bit but don't think it would be possible to do it much cheaper for the equivalent thing elsewhere.

Martynt74 · 18 Oct 2017 at 14:46

kinobestew123 said:
It would do with a big bunch of keys. That was one of my thoughts when I saw how it had been done but so far it's been ok.

I only have my car key and the key for this and a couple of other small ones so it's fine.

You don't get a choice of where the bar goes, it is a standard location from the factory.

Out of interest what did you pay and where from?

We're looking for a new front door at the moment

IvanDobskey · 18 Oct 2017 at 15:03

Sunbed said:
UPVC sometimes doesn't suit the character of the house.

We've just had a Victorian style front door fitted. Got a bit carried away with stained glass etc and spent quite a bit but don't think it would be possible to do it much cheaper for the equivalent thing elsewhere.

This is very true.

In this case a wooden door would definitely be preferable.

But even then you don't have to spend thousands.

Sunbed · 18 Oct 2017 at 15:18

IvanDobskey said:
This is very true.

In this case a wooden door would definitely be preferable.

But even then you don't have to spend thousands.

You're right, we used http://www.doordeals.co.uk. Not sure what their cheapest hardwood mortise and tenon door is but I'd guess it's around £600-£800. With some decent ERA deadlocks, I'd struggle to imagine how a burglar would get through that in a hurry.

IvanDobskey · 18 Oct 2017 at 16:01

Sunbed said:
You're right, we used http://www.doordeals.co.uk. Not sure what their cheapest hardwood mortise and tenon door is but I'd guess it's around £600-£800. With some decent ERA deadlocks, I'd struggle to imagine how a burglar would get through that in a hurry.

Some nice looking doors at fairly reasonable prices there.

kinobestew123 · 18 Oct 2017 at 16:22

Marvt74 said:
Out of interest what did you pay and where from?

We're looking for a new front door at the moment

I've sent you a trust so that I could add extra detail on who did it. It was £1,700.

Johno please? · 18 Oct 2017 at 19:27

CaptainComedy said:
UPVC is bad quality, isn't secureand looks a bit naff in comparison.

The first two points are non sense. If you just want a cheapish/secure front door you can get them fitted for around £500ish, a composite will be double that.

Firestar_3x · 19 Oct 2017 at 08:42

IvanDobskey said:
This is very true.

In this case a wooden door would definitely be preferable.

But even then you don't have to spend thousands.

Not a chance, having lived with wooden doors in the past they are a total and utter pain in the rear.

IvanDobskey · 19 Oct 2017 at 09:00

Firestar_3x said:
Not a chance, having lived with wooden doors in the past they are a total and utter pain in the rear.

Well I am perfectly happy with my 'naff looking' upvc door to be honest. It opens, closes and locks perfectly.

I know from hanging interior wooden doors that they are a pain. You get them to fit just right, then they expand and you have to refit them all over again.

psd99 · 19 Oct 2017 at 09:07

I'm looking for a door for the porch (yet to be built though)

how are the wooden doors doing when it heats up or gets extra cold?.
They look great but I'd be worried about them contracting and expanding hence not able to close properly.

panthro · 19 Oct 2017 at 13:31

I'm planning to buy a new front door as we are rebuilding our porch, but currently have no idea what to go for. I like the idea of solid wood but concerned that it would be a lot easier to break down than a uPVC or composite door, however I have no intention of spending >£1k on a door! When you guys buy your doors do they come with the whole frame and fitting included?

panthro · 19 Oct 2017 at 13:36

psd99 said:
I'm looking for a door for the porch (yet to be built though)

how are the wooden doors doing when it heats up or gets extra cold?.
They look great but I'd be worried about them contracting and expanding hence not able to close properly.

I think you need adequate shelter for a wood door, such as a protruding roof/soffit so it's not completely exposed to the elements on a constant basis. My parents had a solid wood door on their house for 30 years under the cover or a porch and it lasted the entire duration with no issues.

Mark A · 19 Oct 2017 at 20:31

CaptainComedy · 19 Oct 2017 at 23:08

panthro said:
I'm planning to buy a new front door as we are rebuilding our porch, but currently have no idea what to go for. I like the idea of solid wood but concerned that it would be a lot easier to break down than a uPVC or composite door, however I have no intention of spending >£1k on a door! When you guys buy your doors do they come with the whole frame and fitting included?

They come with the fitting - prebuilt, the majority of the cost for me was in the lock itself which is around 300.

Martynt74 · 20 Oct 2017 at 08:35

Well that was amusing. Had the guy out to quote on a new composite doorthat originally fitted our UPVC door and windows.

He's suggesting not using composite because he has to buy them in and because he couldn't fit the Yale smartlock he recommended against that too!