Composite doors?

House_Hunter

So, composite doors...What makes a 'good' composite door good?

Likewsie, what makes a 'bad' composite door, bad?

Have seen a nice door I like, has a 3point-lock system (is that normal - I thought 5?)....

All thoughts appreciatedd.

Cheers!

laxeylady

On our old Edwardian property we had a black composite door fitted with leaded glass panels. It was beautiful and received many compliments (especially off the spate of neighbours who started getting them fitted too). It was so solid feeling and had lots of security features. We paid nearly £1500 for it but it was a very big door with a window on top too. In our new house we decided to replace the rotten wooden door with composite too but this time went through a chap at hubby's work who does it as a sideline. He orders his stuff from rehau but has no office etc so fewer overheads. Our new door was £800. Apparantly its all about the construction of what he calls the slab, and the quality of the pvc coating. The new door is every bit as gorgeous as our last, solid feeling and heavy. Very different to upvc alone. Now there are many people who think its a travesty putting something plastic on an older property. I'm quite fussy about somethings (HATE vertical blinds with a passion) but have been very happy with how these doors look. My advice though would be to only go with someone who has done a door you have seen with your own eyes i.e. through a personal recommendation.

House_Hunter

Cheers....very good advice.

Quick question, how many "points" locking system did your doors have?

Did the "locking side" of door overlap the frame (like uPVC doors do) or be flush like a traditional wooden door?

laxeylady

Its got a five point locking system. The door closes behind the frame all the way round and rests against a rubber seal. I love it - its so nice to get rid of the puddles of water in the porch although I do feel a bit guilty about all the homeless woodlice that followed the rotten frame into the skip.

House_Hunter

closes behind the frame you say...As in covers it (from inside) or goes into the rebate?

Does that make sense?

SarahJH_2

A good composite door should have the following:-

A standard high security lock has a 3 hook 1 latch system with an anti bump lock cylinder.

A good quality door should be made from a 44 mm minimum thickness slab with a steel reinforced internal framework and should have a regulation U Value test certificate.

A nice extra is if the door has a replaceable glazing unit just in case of accidents.

Check out some online suppliers as well as the local ones, Abacas Doors were very helpful

Hope this helps

laxeylady

Covers it from inside. Regarding door glass - my first one had triple glazed panels so even though we had a leaded bevelled fancy piece of glass you could not touch it, it was sandwiched between a plain sheet (outside) and a patterned piece inside. This new one is double glazed so you can touch the lead. The fitter told us sometimes you get marks on the glass once the lead starts to weather.

rachelandgromit

I have a black composite door and I had it from http://www.solidor.co.uk/ a company in Stoke on Trent. I'm not associated with them, but I just wanted to say how impressed I was with it. You can get a really good picture of my door on google maps! I'm not sure how it compares to others mentioned on here already, but I'm sure someone will answer the question.

House_Hunter

Many thanks for the responses to date...

Any more people have composite doors out there? What lock set-up does yours have?

Does yours 'overlap' the frame on the inside or simply go into the rebate like a traditional wooden door?

House_Hunter

To try to make it a bit easier...have made a couple pictures...

"typical" uPVC style arrangement:


Alternative arrangement seen on some wooden and composite doors:



What are peoples thought on what is the best solution for a nice tight seal?

Assume in both its a multi-point locking system, with multi hooks and bolts.

Bit confused as some websites suggest 2nd option is better, but others that 1st is better??

Thoughts appreciated.

gavinp

We have a Veka composite front door which was fitted about six months ago for just over £800:

http://networkveka.co.uk/glazing/composite-doors.html

Our door comes with a multipoint mortice lock (no euro cylinder!).

Very pleased with ours.

Thanks

Gavin