Replacing a front door

[daugavpils]

Hi

We have a pretty old and ugly front door in our house that we would like to replace. We have ordered a timber door from Wickes that we are planning to paint ourselves in a garage and when paint is dry we need to have it hang instead of the current front door.
Now I am a bit confused as what kind of tradesmen we need to contact. If I get hold of a door fitter, do I need to find someone else for installing/moving the locks , fitting the handles?

Thank you!

A carpenter will swing the door and furnature. Best not to finish the door until late fitted as it will need trimming.

Thank you!
You said “best not to finish the door” - what did you mean by finish?not paint it ?

If you have it hung on lift-off hinges, it will be very much easier (though heavy) to take it off and paint it flat. This allows you to do the top and bottom edges, which need paint most but are often neglected, and to paint the faces without runs.

It will then lift back on and all the locks and fitting will be in the same place that the carpenter left them, with no need for screwing it back on.

The modern lift off hinges as used on firedoors are very thick and sturdy, and are available with a short, thick, pointed hinge pin that is much easier to lift back than the long pins on older hinges. For an external door I'd recommend stainless or PVD brass on stainless, depending on your door furniture.

like this

PVD brass on stainless appears to be currently unobtainable.

Yes don't paint/varnish the door first as it has to be trimmed. You wouldon't then have to re-finish it. Also it easyet to mark the door when fitting. It can be easier to remove the door for painting as said above but it can be done in place. If using solid pin buts they are usually well located if it's been hung well so taking it off and putting it back it easy, just make sure to catch and replace any packing behind them.

Yes a carpenter will be needed to hang the door and ensure it fits correctly - he may need to trim it down.

Painting and varnishing will come after.

I guess a locksmith for the locks?

I know you already have bought the door from Wickes but if you wanted to look at different types of door entrance styles and compare costs. This website lets you do it: www.doubleglazingontheweb.co.uk/double-glazing-quote/

carpenters fit locks and the rest of the door furniture. Choose it youself in advance. Furniture is usually brass or chrome (or stainless) but some people like black. Brass is usually lacquered but will eventually need polishing. If you are near the sea, it will tarnish quickly and constantly. PVD brass plate on stainless however is very durable.

A good tip is to put the letterplate as far away as possible from the nightlatch, since there is simple ways to reach through and open it with a home-made tool. Mine is not in the door, but beside it (on the hinge side)

Get a British Standard nightlatch and a British Standard Deadlock. If the nightlatch is at shoulder height it will be out of easy reach of small children hoping to escape.

Thank you every for the great response

Why are you painting it yourselves? Surely you want a professional finish? I would advise against that. Speak to wickes again?

Don't paint it until it's been fitted as they usually need trimming - a carpenter will fit everything.

I was considering this option but could not find anyone on checkatrade locally who would do doors painting. After some research it seems this is not a hard task to do myself. I did all the walls and surfaces painting in the house so I am pretty confident I can follow the instructions on how to paint the door.

Walls inside houses are totally different to front doors. Front doors are very very hard. Totally different thing.

We have paintyour front door several times, just remember to use a small roller for the flat surfaces, you will get a much better finish.