New front door - composite or wood?

[Difficultyear2015]

Just completed on our 1st house. Its an end of terrace built 1905 and currently has a UPVC front door that desperately needs changing (doesnt open) which is our first job.

Should we be looking for Composite or Hardwood?

[BreezyThursday]

There are some great composite options nowadays in terms of style, colour and security, but I think they can still look out of place on an old house. What do the rest of the terrace have and do you like them?
I'd love a new wooden door for our Victorian house which currently has a nasty, nasty white PVC door (but at least it works).

[PigletJohn]

Does it have any weather protection, such as an open porch or canopy?

[Difficultyear2015]

There is no porch or canopy. Will be open to the elements.

[namechangedtoday15]

If its open to the elements I would go for composite. We have just got one (on a 1930s house) and I think it looks lovely (biased!). You can have a bespoke style - you pick the style, colour, stained glass, door furniture to get exactly what you want. It feels massively secure too which was hugely important to us. They are much more expensive than wood though so not the cheap option!

[jingscrivvens]

We got a composite door fitted last year to our 1950s house to replace a wood one that wouldn't open in the winter! Really impressed with it so far, no draughts and feels a lot more secure.
What swung it with me was the upkeep for wooden doors, I really couldn't be bothered with taking it off every year or so to revarnish it. I just clean the front every couple of months with a damp cloth. Quite door proud actually!

[Testificateman]

Composite. Less hassle, more secure.

[Difficultyear2015]

Thanks all. Here is a picture of the front of the house. We are looking at composite doors and there is a limited choice of colours. What colour would you choose ?

Colours we can choose from is Black, Blue, Green, Red, White or woodgrain

[Burntbum]

Have you looked at Rock Door? They do more colours than that. I think we had a choice of at least 12 if not more.

[Difficultyear2015]

I looked, but was concerned they looked too cheap. However, I haven't called them yet to make sure their construction is up to the standard of others.

[BreezyThursday]

Personally red, but any of those colours would match that beige (unless you have plans to repaint house...). Woodgrain might look a bit odd against the white woodwork.

[PigletJohn]

for some reason, red is prone to fading.

IMO the fake woodgrain always looks fake.

[Testificateman]

I see a red door and I want it painting black.

[Difficultyear2015]

Haha, thaks testificaterman

So I had a look into it, and it turns out the companies like Rockdoor and Solidor offer more colours as they are sprayed.

The colours they come in as standard are the Black, Blue, Green, White or Red and if going outside of these colours they are painted so prone to scratching and revealing the undercolour.

[namechangedtoday15]

Ours is a Solidor - they say its not just a finish so don't think there's much risk of it being scratched and colour coming through - if you go and visit the companies you're considering you can see how hard wearing the finish is.

[Wingedharpy]

I vote for black.
It would look smart and would match your house number and light.
We have had a black composite door for several years. It is exposed to the elements and stands in sun (when we have it) for most of the day.
It hasn't faded or warped or done anything to upset me(!) since we had it fitted and it just needs a quick wipe with a damp cloth to get rid of any dust, grit or bird poo.

[SheRaaarghPrincessOfPower]

Composite, without a doubt.

Ours is dark red, composite and looks as good as it did 9 years ago when it was installed. It's fab!

[SheRaaarghPrincessOfPower]

A nearby house, similar to yours, has just had a black door put in. It looks really weird, doesn't suit the house at all. I'd go dark red, green or wood grain

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

We put a period style composite in an Edwardian maisonette. Dark blue, with a decorative fanlight. We were very pleased with it, it's much more secure than the original door, doesn't need painting, and certainly doesn't look cheap. (It wasn't!). The people who later bought the adjacent maisonette have installed one almost exactly the same.

[RTKangaMummy]

I am interested in this too

Was going to get composite too

But the thing that I can't find is to have letter box going vertically or maybe if needed horizontally in the extra bit next to door iyswim

I was looking at Yale ones on their website they have a design styling thingy but you can't move letter box