# New Front door



## tmitch45

Looking for a safe secure new front door to replace our old UPVC one. Looking at the composite solid doors. Had Anglian doors and windows round tonight the guy seemed to know his stuff but just not sure with all the gift of the gab stuff. Has anyone had a composite solid core or otherwise fitted that they can recommend?


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## Rundie

from discussions 'in the trade' avoid dark colour composite doors that are likely to be in direct sun light, these distort due to heat apparently?


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## dholdi

We have a RockDoor and its ace


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## tmitch45

dholdi said:


> We have a RockDoor and its ace


Who provided and fitted it?


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## c87reed

My dad (a joiner) recommends and fits a fair few of the Rock Doors. Lots of different specs available, including some good secure designs.


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## davies20

We are having a composite door fitted from Solidor in the next few weeks.

As above we have gone for a light colour as heard they don't like the sun, our front door is south facing too.

We avoided Rockdoor as we found they had alot of bad reviews, mainly to do with warping & customer service - however - this thread clearly bucks the trend!


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## gatecrasher3

davies20 said:


> We are having a composite door fitted from Solidor in the next few weeks.
> 
> As above we have gone for a light colour as heard they don't like the sun, our front door is south facing too.
> 
> We avoided Rockdoor as we found they had alot of bad reviews, mainly to do with warping & customer service - however - this thread clearly bucks the trend!


I had a Rockdoor fitted at our old house by Very Secure Doors and it was fantastic. Very well made and never gave us cause for concern.

I would definitely have another when the time comes for our current one to be replaced.


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## graemeforsyth

Had a Rockdoor fitted 1 month ago. It looks and feels like a quality door. In a different league to the UPVC one i had before. Installed by a local independent coompany who knew what they were doing and made a real nice job of the installation.


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## davies20

gatecrasher3 said:


> I had a Rockdoor fitted at our old house by Very Secure Doors and it was fantastic. Very well made and never gave us cause for concern.
> 
> I would definitely have another when the time comes for our current one to be replaced.


Glad you're happy with your purchase :thumb:

As mentioned i wish i had asked here first because the online reviews for rockdoor aren't very good! Shows you cant trust everything you read on the internet

No doubt i'll get this Solidor one fitted & it will be rubbish :lol:


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## dholdi

tmitch45 said:


> Who provided and fitted it?


Lee Kelly's - Preston.


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## stealthwolf

I'm in a similar situation. We have a perfectly good wooden front door but swmbo wants to update the design. I've looked at Solidors and attempted a quote but apparently our aperture for frame + door is too short. 

I've looked at rockdoor and it would fit but as pointed out above, reviews as recent as last year have been negative.

I'm tempted to go for timber. 

Does anyone know a good supplier + fitter?


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## MPS101

You will see both Solidor and Rockdoor get some bad reviews mainly down to the fact they only supply and don’t install and most problems are down to poor installation.

Have Rockdoor ultimates myself fitted by a local firm and are fantastic.


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## c87reed

My dad hasn’t experienced any warping of any RockDoors, but I do know that he will spend more time than many on packing the frame and adjusting the door so that it sits ‘true’.


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## dchapman88

As a joiner I'd recommend a solid wooden door
You can get varying degrees of safety and security on them and also have a good thermal insulation value! 
Nowt wrong with composite but as a joiner I'd have a solid wood every time


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## DrEskimo

dchapman88 said:


> As a joiner I'd recommend a solid wooden door
> You can get varying degrees of safety and security on them and also have a good thermal insulation value!
> Nowt wrong with composite but as a joiner I'd have a solid wood every time


This is what we went for, as we just don't like the look of composite.

However we are suffering from a lot of noise and lost heat due to presumably poor fitment and inadequate weather stripping around the frame?

We had a second opinion and they didn't think there was much wrong/that we could do to remedy it...?

(Sorry for the thread hijack! )


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## dchapman88

DrEskimo said:


> This is what we went for, as we just don't like the look of composite.
> 
> However we are suffering from a lot of noise and lost heat due to presumably poor fitment and inadequate weather stripping around the frame?
> 
> We had a second opinion and they didn't think there was much wrong/that we could do to remedy it...?
> 
> (Sorry for the thread hijack! )


Yeah you can be 100% bespoke with Joinery 
But I would say that!

With your door, what draft seal is in the frame? 
And how thick is the door? 
If you want a conversation we can PM instead of thread hijack?!


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## DrEskimo

dchapman88 said:


> Yeah you can be 100% bespoke with Joinery
> But I would say that!
> 
> With your door, what draft seal is in the frame?
> And how thick is the door?
> If you want a conversation we can PM instead of thread hijack?!


Cheers buddy, sent a PM :thumb:


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## Rundie

We had a Rockdoor 'stable' door in the last house at the rear of the property, must say that it was quality. White and not in direct sunlight so not sure if that helped.


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## wish wash

DrEskimo said:


> Cheers buddy, sent a PM :thumb:


Whys the bottom rail on your door so small? Did you have to cut it down for it to fit


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## DrEskimo

wish wash said:


> Whys the bottom rail on your door so small? Did you have to cut it down for it to fit


No idea buddy...?

Actually looking back at older photos, the bottom rail (I'm assuming you mean the bottom wooden part of the frame by the way..? ) used to bigger:










And when I look at photos when the new door was installed, the bottom part of the frame is smaller and they just used expanding foam to fill the gap below...










Here it is from the outside:










Sorry OP, I really am thread jacking now...!! I'll create another thread..!


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## dchapman88

DrEskimo said:


> No idea buddy...?
> 
> Actually looking back at older photos, the bottom rail (I'm assuming you mean the bottom wooden part of the frame by the way..? ) used to bigger:
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> And when I look at photos when the new door was installed, the bottom part of the frame is smaller and they just used expanding foam to fill the gap below...
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> Here it is from the outside:
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> Sorry OP, I really am thread jacking now...!! I'll create another thread..!


Sorry OP
Here's one I made earlier

Have a look at the proportions of this door










Much more 'traditional' and how a door should really look
Basically the bottom rail is the bottom horiztonal part of the door


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## wish wash

You can't have much strength in the tenon joint with it being that small either.


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## DrEskimo

Thanks guys, I've replied in my renovation thread to stop my horrendous thread jacking...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=5466575#post5466575

As you were guys....but yea my vote is solid door, but get someone like dchapman88 who know what they are doing to fit it...!


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## Darlofan

We've just had composite front door fitted in new extension. Fitted it myself and have to say was quite surprised at how simple it was. Had a few quotes for 2 doors and 3 windows and I was quite shocked by the cost. Found a supplier about 4miles from us who was superb with fitting advice etc so decided to give it a go on the small window. Only took about 30mins so ordered the rest. Saved a few grand for a few hours work.


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## tmitch45

Has anyone used Anglian windows and Doors for their composite door?

I'm looking at either the high density foam core or the Solid core (laminated wood). I cannot decide which is better. The salesman said the solid core is safer and stronger but the other is more thermally efficient. TBH both are way better than what we have.


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## davies20

tmitch45 said:


> Has anyone used Anglian windows and Doors for their composite door?
> 
> I'm looking at either the high density foam core or the Solid core (laminated wood). I cannot decide which is better. The salesman said the solid core is safer and stronger but the other is more thermally efficient. TBH both are way better than what we have.


Never used them - bar having the bull**** sales man round once :lol:

IMO you could find better quality, at a better price by using a local firm.


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## RedUntilDead

Another vote for rock door. Fitted by a local one man band. Frame is nice and neat so is less of a step over the threshold. 
Think we spoke to the manufacturer who gave us a list of local installers. A one man band needs a good rep and ours took great care with silicone edges being smooth and true. Using masked edges just like I do. My parents used a large company to supply and fit theirs and the install was not as neat with unnecessary trim to hide silicone gaps for quickness.


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## tmitch45

Guys what am I looking at for a Rockdoor or Solidor supplied and fitted?


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## t1mmy

We had a Solidor composite front door fitted 2 1/2 years ago. No issues to report and we’ve been really pleased with it.


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## G.P

Palladio door for us, of which we have yet to have any problem with, for extra security you may wish to look at an aluminium door but these are normally double the money and don't have a wood grain finish..


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## tmitch45

G.P said:


> Palladio door for us, of which we have yet to have any problem with, for extra security you may wish to look at an aluminium door but these are normally double the money and don't have a wood grain finish..


Do they do them in the UK? Who fitted yours?


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## tmitch45

Thought I'd give you guys an update as so many of these threads start off with people asking for opinions and advice but never telling people whats actually happened and the final result. Our UPVC door is total rubbish its been nothing but trouble in the 9 years we have had it so wanted in new more efficient and secure door. Ideally I felt I wanted a composite door with solid core. We viewed several doors and had a couple of salesmen round. Our house faces the sun for a very large portion of the day so with this in mind and a series of very bad reviews on the internet we decided against a Solidor or a solid core door from any other company. We looked at Rockdoor and after making contact with them and completing their online form we had nothing back - no good. The salesman form safestyle was a treat he couldn't be bothered at all (it was 7:00 on a Friday evening) he couldn't even tell us anything about the door like "whats in the middle of the door is it solid or foam? er I don't know sorry" well that's a NO from me then. In the end we went with Anglian as has our neighbour, they were a good price (not the cheapest or most expensive), the salesman was good not pushy and knew what he was talking about and from the samples he had the door looked excellent quality. Only time will tell but I have to say with all the BS we have heard from salesman its almost as bad as buying a new car!


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## stealthwolf

Anyone had an aluminium front door fitted?


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## Rundie

stealthwolf said:


> Anyone had an aluminium front door fitted?


Yep, had one for about 15 years in the last place, Monarch one (believe they are now owned by Sapa).
The best imo, family member worked in the trade so we got a good deal, white powder coated with thermal break so no condensation like the old style ali doors.

All our windows were white ali too, never had an issue with any of it, the best is that they stayed 100% white, no yellowing and a bit if polish and wax if they got scuffed and they came up like new.

Now in a new build with reasonable UPVC windows and a composite frnt door, fairly top of of the range but still not a patch on our old Ali ones !


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## stealthwolf

Thanks for that Rundie. 

We've had a couple of quotes for a new front door and upvc porch. The current front door is short and means we can't have a composite door by palladio or solidor. The options are another upvc door or aluminium. 

The aluminium door offered is by smart systems. No idea of their quality.


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## G.P

tmitch45 said:


> Do they do them in the UK? Who fitted yours?


Made in Ireland, you have to ring them to find your nearest installer.

In Worcestershire it's 5 Star windows..


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## davies20

hi guys, as you have probably seen, i commented regards us having ordered a Solidor.

This is getting fitted tomorrow (Today, i'm currently on night shift!) so i will try & get pictures once fitted & post them on here


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## PeteFR

stealthwolf said:


> Thanks for that Rundie.
> 
> We've had a couple of quotes for a new front door and upvc porch. The current front door is short and means we can't have a composite door by palladio or solidor. The options are another upvc door or aluminium.
> 
> The aluminium door offered is by smart systems. No idea of their quality.


You shouldn't have any issues with Smart, they're pretty good.

With most doors the profiles, slabs and hardware are all good, the key part is the fit and the care taken to put them together. PAS24 is the standard for security so as long as they have certification or at least test evidence it should give some piece of mind.


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## stealthwolf

Well we got a quote for a Smart aluminium front door. £5000.

If this were our "forever" house, I wouldn't mind but given that we're planning to live year for another five years at most, I'm having second thoughts.


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## Darlofan

williamarny said:


> If you’re looking for a solid door there are a few options, depending on the material you want.


4 yrs ago now, he's probably sorted it. 👍


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## JordanE

my parents had a solidoor fitted and were very pleased - I'm sure we went to the factory up north to have a look at all their options and how they were built -


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