New front door

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chaps

we're looking to replace the front door.

We have gone and looked at reasonably decent composite doors (Solidor and Rocal) and whilst we like them as in 'yes it's a door' at 1.5k fitted we certainly don't love them.

We much prefers wood but my worry is that our front door gets a lot of sun during the summer and is quite open to the elements which is why the old door has failed. Also I have concerns that a wood one may give and take which compromises draft exclusion etc.

If a composite 'fails' we have a come back but if it's wood, I guess the fitter to say "err it's wood it grows, bows and shrinks"

So what is the general consensus on wood v composite in such a situation and if it's wood who makes a decent one which would be an 'all in cost' of 1k ish (I have allowed £180 to fit the door £100 for furniture £50 for paint)

Also would you recommend a pre-hung door set?

TIA

Richard
 
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When you say "old door failed" what do you mean? You mean started to rot?

Firstly how old was the door? Was it original with the house? How old is the house? Did you maintain it (clean and paint it) regularly? Was it draught
prrofed?

Wood doors in exposed areas will only fail if they are poor quality timber and/or not well maintained. Old wood doors on old houses were usually quality long lasting wood. Timber doors only really fail if they are not maintained.

Most people these days can not be bothered with maintenance so they let things go until it is too late.
 
When you say "old door failed" what do you mean? You mean started to rot?

Firstly how old was the door? Was it original with the house? How old is the house? Did you maintain it (clean and paint it) regularly? Was it draught
prrofed?

Wood doors in exposed areas will only fail if they are poor quality timber and/or not well maintained. Old wood doors on old houses were usually quality long lasting wood. Timber doors only really fail if they are not maintained.

Most people these days can not be bothered with maintenance so they let things go until it is too late.

no rot anywhere from what I can see - just shrinkage of the panels from the rails. There are gaps which I can identify cars through.

no flaking paint and well not sure what else I could do. The door was here when we got here 15 years ago but suspect it's no more than 20 yrs old.

However the door has to go so we need to move forward now..
 
Composite doors will bow and also crack around the corners of the raised/inset panels if they are exposed to high temps like south facing elevations, go for a light colour if you can, anything dark just absorbs too much heat
 
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My point was, if your current door failed due to lack of maintenance, maybe composite is the best way to go for you! If it was not lack of maintenance are you are prepared to paint every few years then that is fine.

Sounds like it was either not a quality timber or not fully sealed or properly painted and then the shrinkage occurred.

I personally am not a fan of composite doors.

In its favour, it is much better then upvc. And can look nice enough....but:

I do not like the feel. The handles are always clunky and stiff to use. Then there is the question of if something fails on it (internal mechanism) is it repairable? I do not like the locking mechanism. I much prefer a simple mortice lock and night latch combo.

The draught and energy saving aspect does not convince me either. Even if you get an A rated door (usually the ones with a tiny glass area) it will take decades to make back. A well draught proofed timber door will be just as good. The energy loss for a well draught proof wooden door will be minimal. Also if the double glazed glass unit on a composite door fails, then it cannot be replaced.

They are also sold on the basis that they are stronger and can withstand a direct attack for much longer than a wooden door. But ask yourself, how often has this happened with your current door!

In exposed areas, depending on the quality, composite doors can also be subject to fading, warping etc.

It all comes down to what your prefer.

If you don't mind the cost and want a modern door and you cannot be bothered with maintenance, go with composite.
 
show us a photo of the old door. I'm interested in the cracks that I could see a car through.

How was it painted, and how often?
 
Full(er) story

we bought the house in 2000. Door was already in. In 2002 we extended the house and relocated (or at least the builder did) the door to the new front of the house. We decided not to change the door as we were towards the end of the project as a job offer from Australia took our eye off the ball. We (or rather the mrs) killed the emigration offer so we were left with the old door.



Pictures of the old door are as below.

It gets a lot of sun and naturally is open to the elements. Also we noted water was getting in under the bottom which has damaged the flooring so I need to get it changed soon.


We have our eye on a solid oak made by a small company.I was thinking of getting it pre-hung and send up a letterbox and lock for him to prefit which will reduce the chance of a poor fit (not decrying local chippies down here btw)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handcraft...Doors_LE&var=550527922832&hash=item3a960b57dd

are these suitable for our weather if we stained it etc?
 
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My point was, if your current door failed due to lack of maintenance, maybe composite is the best way to go for you! If it was not lack of maintenance are you are prepared to paint every few years then that is fine.

Sounds like it was either not a quality timber or not fully sealed or properly painted and then the shrinkage occurred.

I personally am not a fan of composite doors.

In its favour, it is much better then upvc. And can look nice enough....but:

I do not like the feel. The handles are always clunky and stiff to use. Then there is the question of if something fails on it (internal mechanism) is it repairable? I do not like the locking mechanism. I much prefer a simple mortice lock and night latch combo.

The draught and energy saving aspect does not convince me either. Even if you get an A rated door (usually the ones with a tiny glass area) it will take decades to make back. A well draught proofed timber door will be just as good. The energy loss for a well draught proof wooden door will be minimal. Also if the double glazed glass unit on a composite door fails, then it cannot be replaced.

They are also sold on the basis that they are stronger and can withstand a direct attack for much longer than a wooden door. But ask yourself, how often has this happened with your current door!

In exposed areas, depending on the quality, composite doors can also be subject to fading, warping etc.

It all comes down to what your prefer.

If you don't mind the cost and want a modern door and you cannot be bothered with maintenance, go with composite.

I was hoping for 1k all in which I thought was reasonable. The better composites are around 1.4k so they are over budget for what to us is just a plastic door.

I get your breaking and entering we are on a main road with a lot of footfall. if anyone wants to break in it's not the opening of choice.
 
if it is a solid oak door (not veneered) it is not supposed to be painted or stained, but you can oil it. I use linseed oil on some of my external joinery. The maker of your door should advise.

You need a matching weatherbar to help shed water, and to treat the top and bottom edges of the door (which are most often neglected) very thoroughly and frequently, because they are most prone to water penetration.

On your old door, the cracking of paint where the panels are grooved into the stiles happens because the panels are free to move independently as they expand and contract with the weather. They're supposed to. The more paint is there, the more it will crack and the worse it will look. If you oil any exposed timber in hot dry weather with a tiny paintbrush, the exposed part will look fine.
 
My main concern is the weathering. If I am about to drop 1k on a door then I want it to stay straight assuming I maintain it.


We have been looking at s/h period door which was solid oak and painted??

If we do want to paint the door (Mrs unsure atm) what make and type of wood door should we go for?
 
You have a period property with original sash windows. Putting on a modern plastic composite door will stick out like a sore thumb in my opinion.

You may be able to get a design that looks period, but it is all about the feel when you enter a property.

Composites may have their place, but I think it would be a shame to replace wood for composite on a place like that.

Old timber doors can often be a much higher quality of wood than those of today.
(edit: As long as you know the type of wood on a new timber door this will not be a problem, a modern quality timber will still be as good)

I would consider a new timber door. Just ensure you know the type of timber.

A better option in my opinion is a reclaimed door off ebay or from a reclamation yard. If you are lucky you can get some fantastic doors for very little money. It is just the sizing you have to watch out for. If they are old period doors, as I said, the wood will usually be fantastic quality.
 
I am not a wood expert, but I think a modern door made of solid European oak, T&G, will be better quality timber than a Victorian softwood door, which was almost certainly mass-produced in a joinery works.

We are not comparing like for like old softwood:new softwood
 
Neither am I but I was under the impression from what I have read that the quality of old victorian era softwood (usually slow grown heartwood) was comparable to some of the best hardwoods around today.

As you say modern softwood unless specially sourced and/or treated is usually much lower quality.
 

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