Draughty rockdoor

Andrea15

Jimbo007 wrote: »

Had a Rockdoor fitted in April 2017 and we are having problems the door is very clearly bowed when you line up the door with the frame.when you just open the door the centre is out by about 4- 6 mm where it meets the lock (in the middle)
After reading this thread it seems like we should be requesting a new door?
We have the top model ultimate and we went for the reinforcement casing.
There are slight drafts at the locks.

I remembered reading about "reinforcement" on this thread and here it is. I wonder whatever happened to Jimbo007.

Andrea15

My new door (#3) was delivered somewhere over three weeks ago, but as they (as in my original installer and GAP) cannot agree on who should pay for the installation, I am left waiting and nobody is really interested in making a move.

Andrea15

HoleInOne wrote: »

My Rockdoor is a couple of months old and I have already had the fitter back out twice. Gaps on the hinge side and draught at lock. I asked why it does not compress when I pull the handle up and was told they dont???
I shall be contacting them again to sort it out as the draught coming in is unacceptable for a £1200 door.

I paid a simile amount, but guess how much it costs to buy such a door if you are an installer. I saw an invoice which I am sure was not meant for my eyes. The cost is less than £450...

Furts

Andrea15 wrote: »

I paid a simile amount, but guess how much does it cost to buy such a door if you are an installer. I saw an invoice which I am sure was not meant for my eyes. The cost is less than £450...

I suspect the figure is pre VAT, so to a retail consumer this would be circa £520. This then excludes surveying, fitting, aftersales, overheads and profit.

The reality is composite doors are a fad - a current trendy way to make a good living from consumers who tend not to be discerning. The quality is dire, the back up almost non existant and the sales spin is outright cow dung. However, when the market place offers no real alternative to composite doors we are all stuffed. Which is why I have a composite front door, just like millions of other consumers!

Andrea15

Furts wrote: »

I suspect the figure is pre VAT, so to a retail consumer this would be circa £520. This then excludes surveying, fitting, aftersales, overheads and profit.

The reality is composite doors are a fad - a current trendy way to make a good living from consumers who tend not to be discerning. The quality is dire, the back up almost non existant and the sales spin is outright cow dung. However, when the market place offers no real alternative to composite doors we are all stuffed. Which is why I have a composite front door, just like millions of other consumers!

I have just checked. £350 ex VAT. £420 inc. VAT.

It might be a fad, but are the alternatives? Just like you, I don't really know any.

Furts

Andrea15 wrote: »

I have just checked. £350 ex VAT. £420 inc. VAT.

It might be a fad, but are the alternatives? Just like you, I don't really know any.

You can now step back and do some pondering, though it is almost a certainty that with all your door problems you will have done much deep pondering. Your door fitter has marked up the basic material by around 200%. For a quick visit to measure up - say 30 minutes maximum, then a couple of hours on a subsequent visit for fitting and they have received around £800. With a stress free, gentile, lifestyle fitting just two a day that gives £1600 per day. Not a bad income by anybody's standard!

Now the rub - outright greed and incompetence steps in. Despite the profits many installers cannot be bothered to measure up correctly, others cannot be bothered to advice and specify correctly ( glazing? security? Buildings Regulations? low thresholds? colour choice versus durability and so on) and many cannot be bothered to install correctly.

This means a bodge and scarper attitude exists aided and abetted by the door manufacturers. They know what happens so their response is that of the classical ostrich - bury their heads in the sand and pretend all is well. There is no technical support, there is no quality control, and there is nobody accountable. All this responsibilty they bounce back onto the fitters (who they know are often incompetent) and blame them for the failings of their manufacturing process. The installers and the manufacturers depend on each other as scapegoats for their respective incompetence.

I have been batting a game on the folly of composite doors for years. I accept all the inherent defects and flaws because that is life. However unlike you no way would i have paid £1200 for the product

Unfortunately this is all much as you have found out to your cost. If there was true consumer power all the doors would be boycotted and the price then driven down to reasonable levels coupled with reasonable all round standards. To achieve this one first has to offer education because knowledge is power. Hence my words on this forum!

Andrea15

Furts, your words are wise indeed, but unfortunately a poor consumer like me finds out all there is to find out WAAAAY too late.
Anyway, don't know if you have read the whole thread, in my case there is something fundamentally wrong with my doorS and quite frankly I doubt No. 3 will make any difference at all.

missile

Andrea15 wrote: »

..... It might be a fad, but are the alternatives? Just like you, I don't really know any.

I have a solid oak door with three point locking. Closes easily, with no drafts / bowing or warping after 10+ years. :beer:

Furts

Andrea15 wrote: »

Furts, your words are wise indeed, but unfortunately a poor consumer like me finds out all there is to find out WAAAAY too late.
Anyway, don't know if you have read the whole thread, in my case there is something fundamentally wrong with my doorS and quite frankly I doubt No. 3 will make any difference at all.

I have read the thread and you are making the same point as me but worded in a different way. There is nothing particularly wrong with your door - it is par for the course. Which is exactly the point I am trying to make - thousands of composite doors leave factories every day and they are dross. You happen to keep getting these dross doors.

If the manufacturers, the supply chain and the fitters had any sense of decency matters would be rectified. But all parties are incompetent and you end up in your situation.

Incompetence is one issue but when you factor in the huge profits being made by all you could argue there is more than enough money for everybody involve to give satisfactory quality control and after sales service. But this does not happen - greed and indifference gets coupled with the incompetence.

HoleInOne

Well I'm on visit no.4 since December. Still gaps everywhere and don't think it's an adjustment that will help now. Let's see what happens after my next visit. The door is sealed up against the gasket on the outside but I can still see light coming through the hinges and sides and bottom. When I pull the handle up the door does NOT compress to make a better seal?