If you've gone from wood to composite front door

[Lettherebelight]

Would you recommend it? We need to replace and the consensus seems to be composite for maintenance etc but they all look so identical

We fitted a Rock Door at our old house. The door that was there was a reclaimed one and not in great condition. It was a 30s semi so we picked the most sympathetic model, in fact a neighbour bought the same one. I liked the fact it was secure and a good fit, unlike the previous one. We had the low profile threshold.

RockDoor here, replaced an over-repaired wooden door that had become more filler than wood, so definitely worth it for us! I've not seen any like the one we chose.

I really like ours - though given the wooden one it replaced was half singled glazing (brr) that’s not surprising. I’ve never seen another one like it, so certainly not identical. We live in an area with a lot of older houses where the owners have gone for traditional six-panel designs which I guess are a bit samey - but the trad wooden doors they replaced wouldn’t have been wildly different from each other either.

We had a composite door in our last house (mostly fiberglass I think) and it was fab - great insulation, didn't swell in the summer, etc. We painted it to match the rest of the trim.

No downsides at all.

Immediately much warmer. Our wooden one was quite rubbish though.

It's been fine. Doesn't have that lovely reassuring 'thunk' when it shuts though!

I’m just going to park myself here.

I’m looking at replacing my wooden door too. Traditional bay fronted semi but the door and frame are not original. Single glazed and one window is cracked.

I looked into Rockdoor but I can’t find a fitter here. I’ve got one quote for a Solidoor and I’m waiting for a quote from another supplier and for a Door Stop door.

I have become slightly obsessed by doors. I run all the roads on my estate most days and I now spend most of my run examining everyone’s doors.

We've replaced ours for a Solidor and are so pleased with it.

Yes. Love, love, love my door.

It's a Solidor. Hallway feels warmer and quieter. Old wooden door had gaps in between the panels though through which you could see a lot of daylight. In fact I don't think we needed a letter box with the old door! New one feels a lot more secure as well.

Can I ask what sort of prices people paid for their rock doors? We have a truly manky wooden door with peeling veneer that lets as much light in around the edges as through the window lights. The Newark would look so cute on our 1930s semi.

That door looks lovely PickAChew. Can’t help with cost, ours is and I don’t remember what it cost anyway. Was done alongside every window in the house bar the velux so I don’t like to recall how much it all cost!

My solidor was about £1400. The quote for the rockdoor iirc was quite a bit more, getting on for 2k.

That's helpful, thanks. Got dh, who is equally dick of the cold and wet hallway, on the task and the figures he's found are similar.

There's a craftsman selling proper hardwood doors, nearby, so will likely get a quote from him, too.

We got a rockdoor. I managed to get it for £850 by calling rockdoor direct! Our builder fit it and it's great! I love how secure it is and we got the widest one they would make which means we can get big stuff in and out easily.

Well our door would be limited to the width of our narrow hallway!

Solidor do many different styles. I put one into my old house that I rented out. It’s still the smartest door on the street! £1400. Grey with plain opaque glass and chrome fittings, lock, door knocker, house number and letter plate.

I've got a Victorian terrace and recently replaced my wooden door & windows with composite - I couldn't be happier! So much warmer & quieter.

I wanted to maintain the character of the house, so went for sonething very traditional (wood grain effect). It's very good IMHO, you can't tell that it's not wood to look at it.

I loved the fact you can get a colour on the outside & white on the inside, a real plus if your hallway is narrow like mine, it really brightens the hallway up without the need to paint the door separately.

It's personal preference, but I don't like traditional front doors with what look like (to me) internal handles on the outside. The lock is also a complete beast, it reminds me of something you'd get on one of those massive bank vaults!

I went with the company recommended by my fitter. The website isn't the best, but they emailed me their catalogue within a day of my request. I think it was just over £1000 including fitting, which took a day as the entire frame was re-done too.

Future Products

Composite are definitely worth the investment. I recently got my timber replaced about four years ago. Warmer hallways, a slight decrease in my energy bills and they're more secure as they're so thick. I've heard mixed reviews about rockdoor when I was researching, but seems like majority have good things to say. I found this useful actually - www.sehbac.com/blog/10-reasons-need-get-composite-door/

I favour wooden doors.

Bear in mind that if you are comparing an old, damaged, ill-fitting, draughty and insecure door of one material, with a good-quality, properly-fitted modern door of another material, it won't be the material that makes the difference.

Interesting thread. I moved into a house that had pretty new front and back doors that are composite.
Both are white. I struggle to keep them clean. Old residents hadn't cleaned them ever by the look of it.

Can i ask what others are using please?
I have pretty severe OCD and hate looking at these doors that never look clean.
Sorry to hijack op.
Will add though that these are the strongest doors I've ever had.

Try car shampoo in warm water, and a soft-bristled brush of the shape you might use with a dustpan. Try not go use abrasive materials or even cream cleaners as they will dull the polished surface. Rinse it fully clean before you let it dry. You may need to go over it a couple of times

You may be able to paint them a color that shows the dirt less. We painted ours a dark green to match the other trim.

Really helpful, thanks all. Our wooden door is terrible but it's also really old so Im not yet convinced the problem is wood. I think a lot of houses near us must have gone with the same supplier which is why they look so samey & they push using the own brand door fittings.

my previous house had a wooden door 105 years old that was fine, fitted well, secure, not draughty.