Composite Front Doors

Getting good prices for a front door


What is the cost of a new front door?At some point or other, as a homeowner, you may need to consider replacing your front door. If this is the case, you may be interested to find out more about what is the best type of front door to buy in terms of cost, lifespan and appearance.

Front doors are supposed to be the first line of defence against unwanted visitors, so it will pay dividends to go for a robust, strong and secure design. Having a lot of glass can be less secure than having a solid door. A solid door is not so easily bypassed by breaking a panel.

In terms of looks, you can go for a different choice of material to build both the door and the frame from:

  • Timber

Hardwood is a good choice for a front door. It is strong, hardwearing and dependable. Softwood front doors, on the other hand, can be prone to swelling & shrining during long dry, or continued wet weather periods.  Hardwood which is sealed and properly paint protected does not react as badly as softwood in these situations, but you still have to bear some expansion or contraction.

  • UPVC

An all-around good performer for a front door. You are dealing with a material that does not have the expansion / contraction characteristics of wood or metal (such as aluminium) and therefore it is stable in this respect, this translates into less draughts or jamming due to size changes caused by the weather. Although direct sunlight will make them expand a little, it is usually well within tolerances to keep them airtight and draught proof.

  • Aluminium front doors

Coming in two types, 1) all aluminium frames 2) aluminium clad frames, this type of door has all the plus points of UPVC, but a couple of drawbacks of its own. There are expansion issues, but again within tolerances. But you have to ensure the door has a thermal break to stop heat or cold transfer. The also tend to be more expensive than the others

  • Composite

A mixture of GRP (glass fibre) timber and upvc this type of door has it all. They look great, are very insulating and extremely durable and strong.

In terms of cost, softwood are the least expensive, upvc next, then composite, hardwood and aluminium are all at the top of the prices range.