Need front door sizing help - fitter says new door must be 6" narrower!

silvercar

themonkeybutler said:

fenwick458 said:

maybe it does? i had a PVC door in the last house with side windows both sides, would not reccomend it to anyone theres too much flex in the side where the door closes too, meant it would just bounce and the door wouldn't latch, unless you slammed it. 
in the new house, I got a wall built up to 1m, then just had a window at the top. means the door closes onto something solid.
anyway, back to your door, I'd like the front door to be 900mm at least, would make getting stuff in & out much easier.  how about just one side window?

Can't sadly, as one side of my hall right up against the door is the gas cupboard on one side and the electric on the other. 

Seems dumb that i have to have a really narrow door because ive such a wide total doorway area. 

Move the meters, or make the door outward opening.

Norman_Castle

GDB2222 said:

Apodemus said:

You might be better getting a local joiner to quote for a replacement wooden door!

It does sound as though sticking with wood might be a better idea.

I prefer wooden doors. I'd certainly get quotes for a wooden door plus any frame repairs or possibly a new frame.

FreeBear

Just looked up a datasheet from Solidor - For a single door, including frame, the maximum size is 1013mm which would give you a door opening of ~900mm. A quick scan of other composite/uPVC door suppliers suggest that the Solidor numbers are typical. For wider openings, the "standard" option is filler panels (either glazed, or solid).

If you want to go the custom route, there are plenty of suppliers that can make a door to fit. Anything from a solid hardwood door through to high security steel door with multipoint locking. I had a security door from Lathams a while back (a standard size) that was pretty cheap, and I was impressed with the solid locking system. A custom door isn't going to be cheap, but then it sounds like your opening will take an "off the shelf" standard size with minimal infill trims.

themonkeybutler

FreeBear said:

Just looked up a datasheet from Solidor - For a single door, including frame, the maximum size is 1013mm which would give you a door opening of ~900mm. A quick scan of other composite/uPVC door suppliers suggest that the Solidor numbers are typical. For wider openings, the "standard" option is filler panels (either glazed, or solid).

If you want to go the custom route, there are plenty of suppliers that can make a door to fit. Anything from a solid hardwood door through to high security steel door with multipoint locking. I had a security door from Lathams a while back (a standard size) that was pretty cheap, and I was impressed with the solid locking system. A custom door isn't going to be cheap, but then it sounds like your opening will take an "off the shelf" standard size with minimal infill trims.

Thing is it would be a custom build anyway. Theyre all made to measure, not off the shelf. So i just don't know. Might see if solidor can do better sizes. Hopefully at not too much higher a cost....

GDB2222

Years ago, I discussed this with an architect, and he said that the sections used for UPVC windows are much thicker than for wood. I guess that's because the plastic is quite weak, and it has to have room for metal strengtheners and insulation.

So, the side panels currently might have a 3cm wooden frame and a 10 cm pane of glass. Making that out of UPVC may mean having frames that are 6 cms, say, leaving virtually no room for the pane of glass. So, the salesman wants to make the side panels bigger, so there'll still be a reasonable amount of  glass showing, and the door correspondingly smaller.  

That's why I suggested looking at timber. It's clearly not what you want, but ...

themonkeybutler

Update. Solidor could only offer an additional 2cm width, for an additional £1100 (£2700 total). Needless to say, it looks like im stuck with getting a cat flap for a door...