Front door quote

jcw91

Hello,

I just have bought my first property and our front door is in dire need of replacing.

I have got a quote from B&Q Homefit Made to Measure service. I liked the idea of having an all in one service as I am very new to this and the idea of measuring the door, buying it separately and getting a fitter to come in was a bit daunting - I don't want to buy the wrong size door!

The quote is:
6 panel 2 lite composite door Starting from £928
Moondust grey £65 per side
Letterbox £20
Total £1078

As far as I am aware this does include fitting and the door frame (but I have emailed them to double check and am waiting for a reply) I have also asked for a few different paint options and glass options to see the difference in price (£130 for grey paint seems a lot)

But as a general ballpark for a composite door and fitting service what does everyone think?
Oh and I am in West London if that makes a difference

Thanks!

Furts

Why do you want grey on both sides of the door? What colour scheme do you have in the hall?

Having been quoted that price for the door, it is taking the pee to have to pay an additional sum for a letterbox.

You have not mentioned a knocker, or a handle, or a spy hole, or a number(s), or a chain, or the locking mechanism, or the guarantees on all the components, or the security, or the glazing type, or the insulation value. or the threshold detail, or...I will stop there!

What about the quality and who is the manufacturer? You do not want to be paying that much and then receive complete cr-p that has been shipped in from China.

With regards the price, who can say without knowing what you are really getting for your money. As a guide the list price in my area is £849 for a door, but this could be negotiated on.

jcw91

Thanks for replying!

Thanks for the heads up about the grey on both sides, I don't know why they put that in - as we have a white hallway!

Yes I totally agree about the letterbox fee, but every company I have looked at that does made to measure doors and fitting and installation also charges for letterboxes, knockers and spyholes (not the handle though)

I raised some of the things you mentioned and the door has a ten year guarantee on it and the fitters are FENSA registered, which ensures they meet the building regulation standards for insulation and they say it is 6x more thermally efficient than traditional wood. The door is made to measure and steel reinforced and the handle has a multi locking point system. The glass is double glazed.

Marmaduke123

Best thing is to get at least one other quote for comparison, ideally two.

We were pleased with Valuedoors who offer a complete service and come to measure up and look at the job before you commit.

Andypandyboy

We have just had a composite door fitted by a local firm who do windows and conservatories too. Total for door and fitting, with all door furniture and a glass panel above was £750. Ten year guarantee.

Furts

jcw91 wrote: »

Thanks for replying!

Thanks for the heads up about the grey on both sides, I don't know why they put that in - as we have a white hallway!

Yes I totally agree about the letterbox fee, but every company I have looked at that does made to measure doors and fitting and installation also charges for letterboxes, knockers and spyholes (not the handle though)

I raised some of the things you mentioned and the door has a ten year guarantee on it and the fitters are FENSA registered, which ensures they meet the building regulation standards for insulation and they say it is 6x more thermally efficient than traditional wood. The door is made to measure and steel reinforced and the handle has a multi locking point system. The glass is double glazed.

It is your choice but saying it has a ten year guarantee is almost pointless. There are countless defective composite doors, and countless defective installations. As an example, only yesterday a neighbour accepted a bodged new front door - it has been made too narrow to fit the opening so has dark brown cover beads vertically up each side of the white frame. It looks appalling, but they have paid for it.

The old door had a step up and over the cill of 185mm. Fair enough as that original door pre-dates any notion of part M of the Buildings Regulations. We are now more enlightened about access and guess what? The new composite door has a 300mm step up. Again a total bodge, but the neighbour has happily paid for this.

I have not checked out the door, but with this standard of work, I would not be surprised if it is a sub standard, cut price, Chinese import.

Please check out exactly what B&Q are offering you!

jcw91

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes I will definitely try Value Doors and get a quote from them.

Yeah I know that you can get a lot of bodge jobs with these types of things. I guess that is what is making me a bit cautious about going with B&Q, cause I don't want to commit and it turns out awfully.

I can't see anything about where the doors are made, but I will definitely ask. I guess it's difficult to tell about how good the job will be, other than just relying on what the company tells you and doing your research. But I'll ask some more questions and definitely get some other quotes!

Thanks!

robatwork

Have spent quite a while investigating doors. £1000 total is about right for a composite.

coolagarry

I've just had a back door (no letter box) fitted and am really pleased with it. It was done by a firm that makes conservatories etc and was the best of three quotes. It cost £600 and is a quality product and fitting. Your quote seems expensive, even for London.

Furts

coolagarry wrote: »

I've just had a back door (no letter box) fitted and am really pleased with it. It was done by a firm that makes conservatories etc and was the best of three quotes. It cost £600 and is a quality product and fitting. Your quote seems expensive, even for London.

That is a very keen price. Nobody around me quotes a composite door at less than £849, but I accept there will be some negotiation to try to get the figure lower than this.

I know what I paid for a trade purchase for my composite door. With fitting this would represent £600 leaving no profit, and nothing for call backs and guarantee work.

Vomityspice

We have recently has 3 Rockdoors fitted to our house from Very Secure Doors. The total price was £3326 (or approx £1100 each). They were all the Ultimate range.

Door1 - Ultimate Jacobean Apollo
Door2 - Ultimate Stable door View Light
Door 3 - Ultimate Windsor

They appear to be based in Derby (address on invoice), but I found them on the web.