Which type of new front door ?

[David]

Hi,

After collecting SWMBO from work yesterday, we got home to find our 20 year old uPVC front door cracked...

There seems to be no sign of attempted entry through / around the door / frame, indeed, it looks like the door was pushed from the inside to crack the outer shell.

This door points to just North of West and has no shielding from the sun-light when it is sunny.

I have found (on the 'net) that these uPVC doors can deteriorate from exposure to sun-light, and this can cause cracks to appear.

I have seen various types of new door available, eg: steel; aluminium; uPVC; GRP (some sites call this Glass Reinforced Plastic, others call it Glass Reinforced Polyester); composite; and timber.

It would seem a natural thought not to have another uPVC door, and from what I've read, timber would not be ideal either, but we do not plan staying here much longer...

Any thoughts from those with GRP or composite or metal doors ?

Thanks

David

[Huge]

The chippy who has just finished rebuilding the full-of-rot shed dormer on my house says he favours the composite ones and hates the uPVC ones.

[Muddymike]

Hi,

That's worrying, we have all 20 year old upvc windows and doors.

Mike

[PeterC]

Yes - mine are from 1991 and the front door faces SW, so gets rather hot.

[David]

(snip)

Thanks for the replies.

I have visited a few showrooms today, and there seems to be a variety of materials and construction methods under the banner of "composite", and a few different materials inside the uPVC door insert panel.

One company stated that they had installed thousands of "composite" door over the last 17 years, but no more. He claimed that they have a weakness where the internal corners of decorative shapes in the panels and they can break there.... He was flummoxed when I told him that I had seen three different types of composite doors that morning.

The aluminium doors looked nice, but they are not 'A' rated as the plastic coated doors are.

The composite doors are far thicker than the uPVC doors with the insert panel.

I removed the beads from the door to try to turn the insert panel around so the crack was inside, but it looks like the packers were glued in. I might have another go, as I did not have a lot of time when I tried to turn the panel around and I needed to go and pick up SWMBO from work.

I have a concern about rotating the insert panel, as it will 'smell' different and the cats may decide to 'claim' the new smell with their unique scent, as they may well do with the new one... :-(

best wishes

David

[spuorgelgoog]

fill in the crack and then paint the door, or if it's only an inset panel that's affected it might be possible to cover it with textured fablon as a feature and the edges not be too visible.

Owain

[F]

Or get a replacement insert?

[Peter Johnson]

I had a composite door installed about three years ago and am very happy with its installation and appearance. But it is no better insullation than its 'ordinary' predecessor despite the salesman saying that they are 'A' rated. But of course the door frames aren't. [The door opens into a small outer hall which also has the cloakroom off it. In winter, even with the cloakroom radiator heat feeding into the hall via the open cloakroom door, it's bloody cold. If I leave the key in the lock overnight then it, the key, gets 'very' cold. I supposed I wouldn't notice the deficiency if I left the inner door open.]

[David]

In Winter, the "Euro lock" part of the internal furniture gets condensation on, as does the internal letter flap. We shall not be having a letter slot on the new door.

Insulation wise, the uPVC door has been quite good, that part of the hall is not really any colder. But, I've never been really happy with the door, it has always felt a bit flimsy.

David

[David]

SWMBO is set on a new door now, but thanks. I am still going to reverse the panel, if I can, for now.

David