Rock doors vs Solidor

Annie1960

I've been planning on getting Rock doors for my new front door and porch.

I popped in to a door company this afternoon and asked to have a look at their Rock doors as they advertise these on their website. They said they have now stopped doing these as they have had a lot of problems with the doors distorting, so they no longer supply and fit them. They now do Solidors instead, and they showed me their brochure for these.

Does anyone know the difference in quality and price between these two companies?

Has anyone has good or bad experiences with Rock doors or Solidors?
Or is there another brand I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance for any information or suggestions.

Furts

I will get shot down for this comment but I believe all composite doors are dubious. Some may be better than others but we are talking not much here.

Any composite door probably in any colour other than white will be prone to warping, distortion, fading and not working correctly on many UK houses. This is not purely the fault of the doors - many houses have inadequate overhangs, inadequate porches, inadequate shade and get baked by the sun, hit by the rain and wacked by pollution, grit and grime. Add to this people slam and abuse them, do not engage the locking mechanisms, do not adjust and lubricate them...so they fail.

The manufacturers do not help matters by making the doors to ridiculous and unrealistic tolerances, and making them difficult to adjust. Hence the doors get ruined. Fitters frequently do inadequate cheap installations so the doors fail.

Composite doors are a current "must have" with countless average to mediocre fitting companies making huge profits from them. Most consumers could not care less about the quality or accreditation, or provenance, so the market reflects this. Also the manufacturers and fitters want cr-p doors so they can keep getting repeat work.

Mine is a DoorStop. It is not very good, but they are dirt cheap. My neighbours has been replaced three times (probably a cheap Phoenix Door knowing them), another neighbours is defective and needs replacing at under 12 months old (Dunraven - say no more!) and another neighbours has lasted 8 years and needs replacing (I cannot remember who made that one.) In general, a sorry tale on a cr-p product.

Annie1960

Thanks for your views.

I should mention my front is south-facing, and I know from previous experience that doors and windows on south walls tend not to last as long as other orientations.

Maybe I should look at other options, but the last time I bought a front door was 1992 so I'm very out of date!

theonlywayisup

I would take a local company over a national and good fitting over any brand.

Furts

Annie1960 wrote: »

Thanks for your views.

I should mention my front is south-facing, and I know from previous experience that doors and windows on south walls tend not to last as long as other orientations.

Maybe I should look at other options, but the last time I bought a front door was 1992 so I'm very out of date!

Being pragmatic they may be little alternative to a composite. In reality the UK made fantastic timber external doors at very good prices until perhaps the 1990s. These were off the shelf and way superior to most composites. Of course energy saving came along, but really it was peoples obsession with poor quality pvcu external doors that closed down the traditional factories.

Timber may be an option - you decide, but as guide I have a number of modern off the shelf doors fitted. The quality is dire and it staggers me that consumers accept them. However I use them internally - they would not last if used where they are supposed to be.

Premdor (ummm...) and Jeldwen do timber doors, the others are perhaps/probably suspect. Speak with a builders merchant or ask leveller2911 on this forum for guidance,

Annie1960

theonlywayisup wrote: »

I would take a local company over a national and good fitting over any brand.

I agree in principle. However, the difficulty in practice is knowing how to find someone who will fit it well. People like me don't buy doors very often, so do not have contacts.

The comfort provided by national companies and their guarantees is important, whereas a small local trader may disappear before the 10 year warranty is up.

Silver-Surfer_2

Annie1960 wrote: »

I agree in principle. However, the difficulty in practice is knowing how to find someone who will fit it well. People like me don't buy doors very often, so do not have contacts.

The comfort provided by national companies and their guarantees is important, whereas a small local trader may disappear before the 10 year warranty is up.

But then surely a 10 warranty is through the manufacturer and not the supplier?

Furts

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

But then surely a 10 warranty is through the manufacturer and not the supplier?

I hate to sound like a school teacher or lecturer but consumers really need to wise up on the "home improvement industry".

Double glazing, conservatories, composite doors...are all a con trick when it comes to warranties. Take perhaps the biggest double glazing manufacturer in the country with three huge factories. This is Masco, and one of the better ones. The warranty is purely to deliver replacement pieces to the consumer's address. It is not to remove the defective door, window, or conservatory, nor is it to repair it. Any labour is specifically excluded from the warranty. This becomes the responsibility of the consumer if the installer is not available or not helpful.

Take another example which I regard as truly shocking, and the Directors should be named and shamed. Door Stop Composite Doors are chuffed to bits with their ability to offer no technical advice nor have anybody, anywhere, capable of offering any help. They are proud of this, yet refuse to mention this anywhere in any sales literature...I wonder why? All that concerns Door stop is sales - they could not give a f--k about quality or After Sales.

Door Stop have successfully dumbed down levels of service to new lows yet consumers continue to follow like sheep and buy their doors!

Yes you may say I am having a rant, but it is a rant with a"wise up warning" behind it!

Smiley_Dan

In general, to get good joinery you need to go abroad really. Europe is the best place for timber and alu-clad.

There are a few smaller outfits in the UK making some good joinery, but I'd prefer the experience of the better European brands - Internorm, Rationel, Ideal Combi, Norrsken etc etc. Look at Polish Interior, they are a bit cheaper.

Annie1960

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

In general, to get good joinery you need to go abroad really. Europe is the best place for timber and alu-clad.

There are a few smaller outfits in the UK making some good joinery, but I'd prefer the experience of the better European brands - Internorm, Rationel, Ideal Combi, Norrsken etc etc. Look at Polish Interior, they are a bit cheaper.

This may be true but doesn't help me as i'm in Hertfordshire!

Furts

Annie1960 wrote: »

This may be true but doesn't help me as i'm in Hertfordshire!

But they will be available, and if the web does not come up with the goods try your local builders merchants. I would not be a fan of the web and would be doing the latter. The web could be offering damaged, seconds, no after sales, and all the usual issues that go with materials sourcing there.

If you are out of your comfort zone take on a carpenter who has confidence to source what you want.

But also bear in mind you could end up deciding on a composite door. This is what everybody wants at the moment. The problem is so many of the doors are dreadful, and this applies to names that you may think are reputable. You have been warned!