What type of front door?

[geordiepidge]

I'm planning to get a new front door this year as the current timber one's frame is shot and the single glazed glass means my hall is always cold. With the storm today water has been blown in through the keyhole, the letter box and around the edges. I'm having real trouble finding impartial advice and I'm totally fuddled about what kind of door to get.

My front door is in a very exposed position and gets battered every time the weather is bad, so it'll have to be tough, and the finish will need to be robust to cope. I've seen some doors that look great at first but then fade/peel once they've been exposed for a while.

Does anyone have a similarly exposed door and can recommend something tough? It'll still need to have some glass in it. Thanks!

www.solidor.co.uk/our-doors/the-london-range/

We've just had this door fitted in French Grey. It has a solid wood core with a composite outer, it's incredible solid, we had wood previously and the full sun and rain battered it, this is far superior.

I think you need a composite or upvc door rather than wood.

upvc is cheaper if finances are tight

Our door is fairly exposed - we’re not high, but we face west and it gets all the weather, plus hours of afternoon sun in the summer.

We have a composite door very similar to Solidor - it’s been in nearly 6 years now, and apart from the latch occasionally sticking & needing a squirt of oil, it’s still perfect

This is ours when new. It’s dark atm but I’ll try to remember to take a pic tomorrow to show what it’s like now

if you prefer a wooden door (I do) it needs to be painted, not varnished or stained, in such an exposed position. And treat the top and bottom extra-thoroughly (they are usually neglected as out of sight)

Plastic doors are not very secure.

Good composite doors are very secure though

I like your door Kitten

I would also recommend Solidor. Compared to the wooden front door we had before, it’s brilliant.

I’ve got a Solidor which is about a year old and it’s much warmer than what I had before. My DM has had one for about 10 years and it still looks really good, just needs a bit of a wipe down now and again.

I would like more glass in my next door but worry if this compromises security?

I got a composite door a couple of years ago, I'm still really pleased with it. Got it from Anglian Windows if that's any help.

Composite. Mine looks exactly the same after 10 years (with virtually no maintenance) and is incredibly solid

We have an accoya wood door (some kind of engineered wood, very hard-wearing) it is very solid indeed.

www.accoya.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAv8PyBRDMARIsAFo4wK1v6eT6i-fTeTy6a7cI8YJFBQnH6gyjEEA2JxW3h5KMIv-RJBBWzl8aAq6gEALw_wcB

We have a solid hardwood painted door with double glazed panels.
Its been in 7yrs now and still looks great.
It's in a very very exposed position with the wind and rain coming straight off the fields.
We had it fitted by our joiners and they put in decent seals, threshold, a weather bar and decent locks. It's painted sage green so it doesn't get too hot and deteriorate in the sun.
We have escutcheon covers over the key holes to stop the wind whistling through the key holes.
I think the fitting can make all the difference to a wooden door, I also like that they can be fixed or painted if you need to or fancy a change. Our other door is a huge 150yr old one and was sticking a bit and a bit draughty. The joiners rehung it, we repainted it and it's got new seals, ironmongery and locks and looks like it will outlast us and is no longer draughty or sticky.

Accoya is not an engineered wood, it is wood that has been treated to reduce risk of rot, and prevent it absorbing water so it does not swell and shrink much. It is supposed to be very durable.

I have no experience of it. I heard it described as "wood that has been boiled in vinegar" but that may have been a joke.

woodhill thank you
I’m still very pleased with it too.

Reading with interest.

We have a solid wood door on the front. Oak I think and thirty years old. It replaced a beautiful old oak door that had been allowed to rot at the bottom. Such a shame the iron bolts were amazing. I wouldn’t put a letter box in it as we get a draught from ours. I would put a box on the house instead.
I have just had a joiner put a brass rail above so I can make a curtain to go up at the door to stop. You could be talking about ours at the moment.

PigletJohn
We are about to change our side (back) door and I would like a stable door. Which is better solid wood or composite and our joiner said he sometimes has to go back to them. It would be nine panes of glass as we have to have glass as the kitchen has only one small window on the same wall. We have a full small pane glass door at present because we got a grant and we were made to have full glass though I did point out that I had three young boys and so I was granted the small panes rather than a whole pane.
I plan to paint the new door.

Sorry OP how you don’t mind me piggybacking on your thread.

pigletjohn
Thanks for clarifying re accoya.
Can confirm door looks like wood (on inside where it isn't painted, just varnished) and is very hardwearing. All our windows are accoya too.

OP if you want wood feel that is superhardwearing accoya has a better look in my opinion than friends' composite doors.

That is interesting Callimanco I will have a look at those.

I think the only stable doors I have seen have been solid wood. They need to be very strong because the two parts have to hold together when locked, and there is more risk of them coming out of adjustment. Any carpenter can hang, adjust or plane a wooden door, or set its hinges and locks. Multipoint fittings on synthetic doors are more difficult, and IMO more likely to go wrong. I have seen wooden doors working well after hundreds of years. You can probably get a composite door that would do a good job, but if you were spending the same amount, you could get a solid hardwood door with gold-plated handles.

As you can see I prefer timber.

BTW for a stable door, have locks suited to the same key on both halves. It costs little extra at initial purchase.

Good tip about the key. Thanks.
We have ordered one locally which is wood.
Waiting for the joiner to get time to look and check.
Joiner tomorrow.
Thanks for your advice pigletjoin. I often read your post a