Front doors and fitting

Posted by: Kevin-W on 17 October 2015

Afternoon all

 

Our front door has been looking a bit shabby so we decided to strip it down and repaint it. However, I have spent a rather unproductive four hours stripping the layers (at least four!) of paint off.

 

Some of the wood looks in poor condition, and there seem to be some nasty splits developing. I'm now coming round to the idea that it's best to just to just buy a new one.Trouble is, none of us are remotely competent DIYers!

 

Anyone know of anyone who supplies good quality wood front doors (unglazed, no handle but with letterbox) and who might also be able to fit them? (We have an Entryphone to be taken into account as well). I live in South West London. I've been having a quick look at t'internet and it's difficult to get a quote or idea of costs because you are required to give them every detail of your life and I don't want to be bugged by salesmen.

 

Thanks

 

K

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by Mike-B

I changed my battered rotten wood door to a Solidor pretend wood.  

Mine is oak with pretty convincing natural wood grain on both sides, choice of alternative internal colour & many glazing options.  The door itself is reinforced & has multipoint locking & is mounted in a reinforced frame. Its guaranteed burglar proof & the security standard is approved by all insurance co's & police.  Thermally its far better than any natural wood door & better than any of the plastic type doors.   Yes its expensive,  but its just so much better than anything in real wood - & no more painting !!!   

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by naim_nymph

I changed my front door about 11 years ago, but i didn't get want i wanted...

 

i wanted a old period character solid oak door a with small lead window so visited a local company who specialise in oak windows, doors, staircases, plus odd stuff like four poster beds. Their place was very impressive, full of craftsmen with years of experience, but when i asked the main man how much he said, how many do you want?

They didn't normally get householders buying direct from them, and didn't seem interested in selling just one door, but he quoted me £800 

Is that fitted? i asked hopefully.

But it didn't include anything and for starters a £60 fee for the surveyor appointment.

Then the door frame was extra, as was the threshold, the fitting fee, the hinges were extra as was the other ironmongery, letterbox, door handle number, the leaded stained glass window was a big extra too, and there was a delivery fee in the back of the van.

This took about 5 minutes to winkle out but i got a figure for the total amount with didn't include the VAT and this final total came to around £1950 

They did seem like a very cranky old firm to deal with, like they wasn't interested in selling one door direct to a householder.

 

I ended up buying a UPVC double glassed door somewhere else for £450 

 

However, the moral of my story is, my 11 year old uPVC door is knackered and i hate it.

I wish i'd bought the oak door which would last for centuries and would have far better insolation qualities than a plastic door, and would look a lot nicer too.

 

Debs

 

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by Kevin-W
Originally Posted by Mike-B:

I changed my battered rotten wood door to a Solidor pretend wood.  

Mine is oak with pretty convincing natural wood grain on both sides, choice of alternative internal colour & many glazing options.  The door itself is reinforced & has multipoint locking & is mounted in a reinforced frame. Its guaranteed burglar proof & the security standard is approved by all insurance co's & police.  Thermally its far better than any natural wood door & better than any of the plastic type doors.   Yes its expensive,  but its just so much better than anything in real wood - & no more painting !!!   

They look quite interesting Mike. As you say, expensive, but probably worth it. Thanks for the heads up.

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by simon, but not simple
Originally Posted by Mike-B:

I changed my battered rotten wood door to a Solidor pretend wood.  

Mine is oak with pretty convincing natural wood grain on both sides, choice of alternative internal colour & many glazing options.  The door itself is reinforced & has multipoint locking & is mounted in a reinforced frame. Its guaranteed burglar proof & the security standard is approved by all insurance co's & police.  Thermally its far better than any natural wood door & better than any of the plastic type doors.   Yes its expensive,  but its just so much better than anything in real wood - & no more painting !!!   

We had several quotes for a solid oak door and frame with black furniture, all over £2,000 but got fed up of chasing companies to come and measure up the opening. Eneded up with an oak effect Solidar for less than half the price and very happy with it. Looks just like the real thing from the street and wipes clean easily.

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by Mike-B
Originally Posted by count.d:
Are you sure Mike? You state many facts, but most are incorrect. There's only so much I can say, as I'm not in a position to make a personal comment. This is not due to lack of information, but a conflict of interests. 

If you can't make a comment for what appears to be conflict of interest why get involved, this is just a public forum, a chat room.  I'm just telling the poster what I know based on www information & what I am happy to personally report & recommend about my Solidor.  I have the police approved lock, the frame is reinforced,  what else is "wrong"

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by Dungassin
Originally Posted by Kevin-W:

Afternoon all

 

Our front door has been looking a bit shabby so we decided to strip it down and repaint it. However, I have spent a rather unproductive four hours stripping the layers (at least four!) of paint off.

 

Some of the wood looks in poor condition, and there seem to be some nasty splits developing. I'm now coming round to the idea that it's best to just to just buy a new one.Trouble is, none of us are remotely competent DIYers!

 

Anyone know of anyone who supplies good quality wood front doors (unglazed, no handle but with letterbox) and who might also be able to fit them? (We have an Entryphone to be taken into account as well). I live in South West London. I've been having a quick look at t'internet and it's difficult to get a quote or idea of costs because you are required to give them every detail of your life and I don't want to be bugged by salesmen.

 

Thanks

 

K

Why don't you just look in the 'Yellow Pages' for a local carpenter, who would no doubt be please to source and fit a door for you?

Posted on: 17 October 2015 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by count.d:
Originally Posted by Mike-B:

I changed my battered rotten wood door to a Solidor pretend wood.  

Mine is oak with pretty convincing natural wood grain on both sides, choice of alternative internal colour & many glazing options.  The door itself is reinforced & has multipoint locking & is mounted in a reinforced frame. Its guaranteed burglar proof & the security standard is approved by all insurance co's & police.  Thermally its far better than any natural wood door & better than any of the plastic type doors.   Yes its expensive,  but its just so much better than anything in real wood - & no more painting !!!   

Are you sure Mike? You state many facts, but most are incorrect. There's only so much I can say, as I'm not in a position to make a personal comment. This is not due to lack of information, but a conflict of interests. 

 

What I can say is that the door safety is largely influenced by the lock, not the multipoint, but the actual lock barrel itself. They have recently introduced a new manufacturer which addresses any issues. Most doors are fitted with poor locks.

 

As you probably know, but haven't described it well, the door is made from blocks of wood, then laminated with a pvc face.

 

As I say, or haven't, I can't say too much, but what you have written is basically wrong.

What conflict do you have that would influence your comments here? This isn't a door forum. I'd say set him straight.