UPVC or Composite front door?

Asl77c

Looking for advice as to why i would choose one over the other. The price difference on the quotes i have got are not massively different so i'm not worried about the potential cost. We are looking at a grey door in either case. I have read some older threads on the topic but there appear to be more options nowadays for UPVC so i just am looking for any advice or assistance in which to choose and why.

Many thanks to all

RedFraggle

I'd go composite every time. They look so much nicer.

VfM4meplse

Forget UPVC, from a security perspective composite wins hands down.

Windows I can understand, but why would anyone want a UPVC front door?

Furts

Rockdoor sales claim their doors are brilliant and say this is because of the upvc skin. Personal choice here, but there is no great reason to think this is any better than typical composite doors. Which leaves most upvc doors available only in white. Here they look vastly dated and cry out "poor quality yesterday's fashion".

However a white upvc door is fine for a back door and most people do not see this door. I suggest a upvc can be vastly better for security than a composite door and that is what is fitted for my back door. Composite door manufacturers, door installers and fashion trends say I am bonkers for having this stance!

VfM4meplse

My comments come from vicarious experience: apart from being ugly (a secondary consideration) I know of several people who have been burgled, and access has been gained by gemmying the UPVC front door open in plain sight.

Furts wrote: »

Composite door manufacturers, door installers and fashion trends say I am bonkers for having this stance!

What of metal doors? I feel completely secure behind them.

Furts

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Forget UPVC, from a security perspective composite wins hands down.

Windows I can understand, but why would anyone want a UPVC front door?

Accepted wisdom is a composite is better. The reality may not be this. Composite doors are absolutely dire for security. However now for the rub - I am not going to list all the defects and weaknesses. To do so would be folly and just encourage disreputables to try breaking into homes. However this does raise deep issues. The composite door industry wants to con people into believing the doors are secure, and better than upvc. This keeps up sales and profits. In turn, nobody in the industry is openly questioning this. Why would they? Turkeys do not vote for Christmas is one scenario, but there are others.

You will see from my adjacent reply that I do not have a composite back door. No way was this going to be a composite even though I could have sourced one at a reasonable cost. I value the weight, the substance, the quality and the security of my upvc door here!

VfM4meplse

Furts wrote: »

Accepted wisdom is a composite is better. The reality may not be this. Composite doors are absolutely dire for security. However now for the rub - I am not going to list all the defects and weaknesses. To do so would be folly and just encourage disreputables to try breaking into homes. However this does raise deep issues. The composite door industry wants to con people into believing the doors are secure, and better than upvc. This keeps up sales and profits. In turn, nobody in the industry is openly questioning this. Why would they? Turkeys do not vote for Christmas is one scenario, but there are others.

You will see from my adjacent reply that I do not have a composite back door. No way was this going to be a composite even though I could have sourced one at a reasonable cost. I value the weight, the substance, the quality and the security of my upvc door here!

Yet do I fear thy nature, it is too full o' th' milk of common sense and experience.

Furts

VfM4meplse wrote: »

My comments come from vicarious experience: apart from being ugly (a secondary consideration) I know of several people who have been burgled, and access has been gained by gemmying the UPVC front door open in plain sight. What of metal doors? I feel completely secure behind them.

A composite can be jemmied - no different to a upvc door here. If you want a metal door then that is fine by me, but you have to stipulate what frame it is mounted into and how this is fixed to the walls.

Composite doors are a strange product with a strange history. They started out as metal doors, but they were flawed in at least two key ways, So they evolved into the fibreglass doors we see today. This rectified one issue, but it is debatable if security improved - here it is down to the burglar knowing what the weakness is with both.

VfM4meplse

Furts wrote: »

A composite can be jemmied - no different to a upvc door here. If you want a metal door then that is fine by me, but you have to stipulate what frame it is mounted into and how this is fixed to the walls.

As if I have a clue about this....

Thankfully am learning fast!

Furts

VfM4meplse wrote: »

As if I have a clue about this....

Thankfully am learning fast!

You have mentioned doors being jemmied to break in. Here you have a dislike of upvc and say they are weak. A valid observation but think about a steel door. If this is a door with hinges fixed to a hollow upvc profile then there will be little difference. The door could resist the nailbar, or wrecking bar, but the frame will give way. The result is then an entry just like the upvc door.

If it is a steel door and a steel frame then fine, but if it is fixed in place with expanding foam then it will not be difficult to gain entry.

These are just a few observations but there is a wider issue. There will always be simple ways to get past a door, it is just the advertising and sales brochures are written to appeal to consumers who know little about how thieves can operate!

Spender£

I wouldn't be scared off by security hype around upvc doors, every house in my street has one as a front door, they are great for keeping out the weather, the fact is an intruder is not going to even try a front door when they can try the back without being seen, not to mention the noise that kicking in a upvc door would cause.
Although they can take a bit of maintaining, don't look past wooden doors, i've had mine for aroung 25 years and according to it's condition it might be good for another 25.