I'm looking at replacing a pretty horrible 1980's wooden frame door, complete with very dated single pain opaque glass, with something a bit more modern and hopefully significantly more insulating.
I'd love a modern light wood door for it's looks, but am I missing out on security features and/or insulation going with wood over uPVC or Composite. Also, I'm not sure, with all the good will in the world, if I'd actually be able (time wise) to keep on top of the maintenance requirements, to keep it looking good.
I'd like something fairly substantial, that doesn't flex or warp, and closes with a good solid 'thunk' but really have no idea what to look for or avoid, so am open to the collective wisdom on the STW Massive !
One thing to consider, is that it needs to be fitted by an "approved" installer or you have to get building control sign off.
Or buy an indemnity policy when you sell the house which is probably cheaper than the building control option.
We changed our old wooden front door with an insulated aluminium door - expensive but brilliant. Never changes shape, seals well, insulated and looks exactly the same now as it did when it went in 7 years ago.
But as I said, not cheap.
I'm no door expert but we recently had an excellent experience with WeDoDoors - transparent pricing, good comms through the whole process and very well fitted by local installers - much better job than the original builders did.
We had a Solidor fitted to replace a 1970's single pane door and side window in 2015. Local company made frame and door (@£1800 iirc) and my neighbour (a window fitter for big company) took some cash for a day to help me fit it and supply all the sealant / foam / tools.
It was so much warmer, easy to lock (get a thumb lock on the inside) and just worked. I painted in Zinsser All Coat. 10 years later it works as good as the day it was fitted, I adjusted hinges once about a month after it was fitted.
Ours had a 'woodgrain' effect and from the outside looked like a painted wood door. Inside you could tell that the glazing beading was press fit, but it still looked fine.
No-one asked if it was a new addition in our ownership when we sold last week, so I did not tell them.
We had both front and back replaced to composite doors. Compared to the old wooden ones, they are solid, draft free, secure. Well worth the money we paid and would highly recommend. Decent installation is very much a factor though.
Don't get a uPVC door – composite are much more better quality and more secure (and correspondingly more expensive). As above, our doors (front and back) are Solidor brand. And, if it wasn't for people leaving their bloody keys in the door when closing them behind them (when they have come back into the house to grab something then go again), then they would look as good as new, but ours have some small marks in them now.
Changed our cheap composite front door 2 years ago that was installed from new in 2012 and was badly warping at the top and bottom. Chose a Rockdoor and it shuts with the satisfying 'thunk' you want. +1 for decent installation
Do watch out that if it's a replacement door hinged to its own door surround and that has been sized to fit onto the existing wooden door frame (typical UPVC fitters go to easy option) then you're going to lose quite a lot of width off your open width. Might be important getting furniture in and out of the house and also wheelchair access clear size of 800mm (IIRC) for when you come to sell the property.
We had a Solidor fitted to replace a 1970's single pane door and side window in 2015. Local company made frame and door (@£1800 iirc) and my neighbour (a window fitter for big company) took some cash for a day to help me fit it and supply all the sealant / foam / tools.
It was so much warmer, easy to lock (get a thumb lock on the inside) and just worked. I painted in Zinsser All Coat. 10 years later it works as good as the day it was fitted, I adjusted hinges once about a month after it was fitted.
Ours had a 'woodgrain' effect and from the outside looked like a painted wood door. Inside you could tell that the glazing beading was press fit, but it still looked fine.
No-one asked if it was a new addition in our ownership when we sold last week, so I did not tell them.
We've just had two doors by Solidor fitted. Zero complaints - they look great, feel rock solid in the frame vs the old one and should be far warmer/more secure. Loads and loads and loads and loads and loads of different combinations to choose from too.