Timber V Upvc front door and frame !

dyrniboy

Hi, Would be grateful for advice please. My front door and frame is softwood, about 1500 wide and 2.100 high. The door is half panelled and half glazed in single paned glass. The two panels to the side if the door are both single glazed. In terms of greater savings to be made heating wise, should I just put double glazed units in the side panels and buy a new solid front door and try to draughtproof as best as possible ? or should I just ask a UPVc company to install a new front door and frame ? Which would have the better U value ?

Barneysmom

We've just had ours done in pvc. Front door with 2 panels either side, plus 2 panels all glass at right angles to the side panels. A nice cosy porch. It was £1200, in white.
Itwould have been over £200 more to have coloured like oak panels.
It was better for us to have someone else come and fit it, in a day, as we have comeback if things go wrong.

dander

A lot of it will depend on what look you prefer. Modern timber doors are usually double or even triple glazed and come in a far wider range of designs than upvc, which tends to look like plastic and almost exclusively comes in white. There are also composite doors which are often available through the usual window companies - they are more expensive, but look much less plasticky and have a better range of colours.

If you like what you've got now, but are simply worried about drafts and heat loss, then there are basic options like secondary glazing, which will never be as good as proper sealed units, but will really help. And of course putting a big curtain up across the door is an old-fashioned, but effective way of stopping loss of cold and drafts.

sodamnfunky

I would go for upvc. I dont care what anyone says, you CANNOT make a door and frame to be as effecient as an upvc one. Wood moves too much.

woodbutcher_2

Well i disagree with you.I fit both and wouldn't have a uPVC one.They are far too flimsy and when they start to look bad there's not a lot you can do with them.A good quality timber door and frame,properly fitted,is far better IMO and looks a whole lot nicer.

thebaldwindowfitter

woodbutcher wrote: »

Well i disagree with you.I fit both and wouldn't have a uPVC one.They are far too flimsy and when they start to look bad there's not a lot you can do with them.A good quality timber door and frame,properly fitted,is far better IMO and looks a whole lot nicer.

the doors we fit are far from flimsy i dont know whos product you use our frames and panels are fully reinforced making them solid as oppose to cheaper types .we also fit rockdoor composite doors which as stated are far better but cost a lot more.as a joiner by trade i have fitted many timber doors and frames and i do not think you can get a timber door as draught proof as a good quality upvc door .i have fitted timber doors for kelloggs on there factories which were far better quality than doors from many builders/door suppliers they would shrink and warp with the heat from the factory and the cold and wet from outside .they started using upvc for both sound and weather insulation

Barneysmom

I was dead set on having wood, pure snobbery really.
But the pvc one, DH's choice, is like a steel plate covered in pvc. It's very strong, I think it would be hard to break through.
We got it fitted as the wooden front door was so draughty, even with excluder strips.
But the truth will tell over the next few years on a couple of points, the first being will it retain heat and save a few quid on the bill, and secondly will it still look tidy in a couple of years (I think it will- if I can figure out something decent to keep it clean with).

sodamnfunky

woodbutcher wrote: »

Well i disagree with you.I fit both and wouldn't have a uPVC one.They are far too flimsy and when they start to look bad there's not a lot you can do with them.A good quality timber door and frame,properly fitted,is far better IMO and looks a whole lot nicer.

Im a joiner and have over 20 years experience of making wooden doors and frames, in hardwood and softwood, and fitting them. There is no possible way you can make a wooden door out perform a decent upvc door and frame.

I agree a nice hardwood door looks far far better.

[Deleted User]

I hate the look of UPVC doors. I'll get my coat....

coolagarry

I have a lovely wooden door at the rear of my house but I have to admit that every winter it sticks a little and I don't want to skim it because that means it will be even looser in the summer. Afraid plastic does the job better and needs little or no maintenance but doesn't look as good