Looking to replace an old upvc front door to improve insulation and improve looks. It’s in a fairly unexposed position under a porch linking house to garage, not directly exposed to sunlight for a great period of time during the day. Probably 2 long glazed panels to increase light into the hall. Foam or wood composite?-ball park figure? Cambridge area so fully expect price to be inflated. Had one eye-watering quote so far
For a good well made door I’d say £2.5-£3.5k?
Most houses in my estate have composite doors. Foam with a skin of pressed steel.
They aren't very warm. And they heat up in the sun so painting or keeping the paint on can be issue. And fitting locks, dead bolts etc can also be a hassle as there is not much to screw into.
I looked at wooden front doors. These have much better energy ratings, but are pricey. Expect to pay about £1k+ for a front door, plus about 2 hours labour for fitting.
Perhaps not so eye-watering as I thought then!
We’ve had two solid wood composite doors from solidor (fitted by Timber Composite Doors) and they’ve lasted very well so far.
It depends on options but I think ours were around £2400 (fitted) inc. triple glazed panel windows at the top - that was 8 or 9 years ago.
We had a door fitted 3-4 years ago along the lines of what you describe. Solidor composite door with side lights as well which added to the cost a fair bit, fitted by local company (South Bucks), came in around £2,250.
For comparison we also had a 'standard' half-glazed white UPVC side door fitted last summer by the same supplier for almost exactly half the cost.
Ours came out about £2k, a nice dark green colour. It’s in direct sunlight and hasn’t faded but it does expand and contract quite a bit making it difficult to close at times. Certainly not as warm as the wooden door it replaced
We've just had one with a quite big glass panel to one side that was about £1200 I think, the wife sorted it. That's in Leeds.
Mine was one of the reputable brands and cost £800 as part of a full reglaze of the house about six years ago.
No issues with the colour despite exposed position.
North West England.
I never knew doors were so expensive
I paid about £2.5k for a completely bespoke wooden front door and frame for a Victorian house. 60mm thick soft wood with triple glazed glass (double glazed unit with leaded glass on top for effect). So £2.5k for an off the shelf composite seems a bit steep!
we've just been quoted £1400 for a solidor composite door fitted- Stoke area
I paid about £1800 for a solidor (fitted) a couple of years back, seemed a bit more than most but I get a few quotes at the time and they were all similar. Had a small issue with the original installation but the installer fixed that quickly and it's been fine since (not that I expect much to go wrong with a door).
It's a lot better (insulation and security-wise) that the cheap original wooden door it replaced (an ex managed to kick through the bottom of that but hasn't even made a dent in the new door - that's a different story though :p ).
Ours is a 9 year old Door Stop International grp skinned door in red. Little bit faded where the sun hits it in the evenings. The Yale chrome letterbox and handles have early signs of rust pitting. Had to adjust the hinges recently as the door had dropped a little. Very easy adjustment once I'd worked out how to do it (YouTube to the rescue). I think it was about £800, was part of a full house window replacement.
The NorDan stuff is worth a look also.
Oohh @hunta, what company in South bucks, if you would?
@kimbers, we used Warwick Windows & Doors in Beaconsfield:
http://www.warwickdoorsandwindows.co.uk/
Had this Solidor door and sidelight fitted a couple of months ago (dorset). £1600 by local guy. Timber core, pretty pleased with it. Certainly much better insulation and security than the old timber door.
I avoided the vogue of long vertical handles, having stayed in a cottage with one. You only get 3 point locking rather than 5 point with a lever, and the force required to turn the key to release the lock mechanism was a lot! Also the long handle was hanging off as you had to give it a proper tug as you turned the key.
