Composite Doors - HELP!

[richatnort]

So moved into a house in the summer and during this time the 16+ UPVC door has given up the ghost.

Anyway looking at spending some inheritance on a new composite door but what do I look out for? I'm based in West Yorkshire but want a good quality door that isn't going to cost a bomb! I've just had a quote for a 50mm thick composite door & a half side window for £1230 inc fitting. I'm getting other quotes but this was the companies brand door which is just a standard black door with chrome handle, letter box and knocker and two rectangular bits of frost glass.

Is 50mm thick enough? Are there any specific brands to look out for? Would it be easier to get a door and then try and find a carpenter / joiner to fit it if they even would do that?

[Pheo]

Try having a look at Solidoor & Rockdoor

[Little Lofty]

Solidor seems to be a favourite on here, I've not used them but do get continuous emails off them, I should investigate prices etc. Rockdoor available through Gap seem pretty decent if you go for the higher level, their basic door starts at around £400+ vat I think. I've just fitted a trade composite door with two sidelights for a friend, it cost me about £700 + vat so your fitted price is not too bad.

[richatnort]

Hmmmm OK good food for thought. The rock door quote was £1400 fitted which I feel is a bit steep.

[guitarcarfanatic]

Someone mentioned getting factory seconds off eBay. Only a few MM out so normally adaptable and £250-£300.

[dazwalsh]

guitarcarfanatic said:

Someone mentioned getting factory seconds off eBay. Only a few MM out so normally adaptable and £250-£300.

Yeah I do this for my btls however I collect and fit myself. There is a place out near Halifax that has a big stock of miss-measured and cancelled order composite doors.

If your doorway has a window to side or top then its quite hard to find a door this way but you could always get the windows made separately and bolt this to the door frame.

Failing that there is a place just outside of leeds city centre that ive had one door made to measure for the main entrance to a set of flats. It cost me £550 incl delivery but was a really thick good quality door, 70mm thick vs standard 50mm.

Edited by dazwalsh on Wednesday 4th January 21:49

[richatnort]

So just had two quotes in the last fews days.

First one came in at 1425 for an rock door ultimate and a new side window and another that came in at 1410 for a rock door elite.

I had a better feeling from the 2nd guy that came round and other then the one having carbon fibre and the other having aluminium am I missing anything else between the two ranges?

[Little Lofty]

From memory the Ultimate has a high security cylinder and extra reinforcement. I would think the Rockdoor site will detail the spec.

[richatnort]

Little Lofty said:

From memory the Ultimate has a high security cylinder and extra reinforcement. I would think the Rockdoor site will detail the spec.

Hmmmm yeh that's pretty spot on but wondered if I was missing anything else.

Heads saying go for the 2nd company as I got a better feeling from them but try and negotiate the improved lock into that price maybe.

[monty999]

I have fitted quite a few Solidor composite doors and they are pretty good as are rockdoors so i'm informed by others although they are both quite pricey, around £800 depending on spec. 70mm frame will allow for a side window to be attached (just make sure on profile colours- not all whites are the same). Also be careful if choosing a dark outside colour of door slab if it gets a lot of sun.Also be aware that specing handles/knockers from the ironmongery section will put about £50-£75 on the price. The original price seems not too far off the mark really but try to find a recommended installer if possible.

[richatnort]

monty999 said:

I have fitted quite a few Solidor composite doors and they are pretty good as are rockdoors so i'm informed by others although they are both quite pricey, around £800 depending on spec. 70mm frame will allow for a side window to be attached (just make sure on profile colours- not all whites are the same). Also be careful if choosing a dark outside colour of door slab if it gets a lot of sun.Also be aware that specing handles/knockers from the ironmongery section will put about £50-£75 on the price. The original price seems not too far off the mark really but try to find a recommended installer if possible.

Thanks for this. The rock doors are 50mm thick and no one has yet to say anything about the window needing to be 70mm frame so i'll ask about that as surely the window needs to be 50mm if i'm to get a rock door?

We were thinking of getting a black door so do you think this will fade and is it not covered under the 10 year warranty? The 2nd quote of £1410 was from a recommended supplier as i enquired on rock doors website and they got in touch with me that way.

I've got two more companies coming tomorrow and 1 on Monday so we will see what prices they give.

[somejohn]

We were in the same position at the start of the summer: the house we had purchased had a 15+ year-old white PVC door. We found out after moving in that the previous occupiers (tenants to the vendor) had been burgled by forcing entry through the door (jumped it up and out of it's frame). The vendor had just put it back in-place rather than replacing, and then sold the house to us..

We're in London so costs are invariably a lot higher but after a lot of research, we went with an Ultimate Colonial Rockdoor. We also had a security chain, Yale night latch, and upgraded Ultion security lock included (the vendor had suggested the Ultion because he had found the security locks Rock Door include as standard tended to jam after a few months).

Total cost (including installation) was £1,320 but - as I say - we're in London so this was a very competitive quote. The other quotes we had for the exact same door were between £250 and £600 higher! These were the guys we went with: rocksolidoors.co.uk. Genuinely knowledgeable, friendly people. The fitting were very smoothly, and the final fit and finish is impeccable - putting the local wooden sash window guy's work to shame.

The door is great, we've had absolutely no problems with it, and it looks great!

Before and after below:

[monty999]

richatnort said:

Thanks for this. The rock doors are 50mm thick and no one has yet to say anything about the window needing to be 70mm frame so i'll ask about that as surely the window needs to be 50mm if i'm to get a rock door?

We were thinking of getting a black door so do you think this will fade and is it not covered under the 10 year warranty? The 2nd quote of £1410 was from a recommended supplier as i enquired on rock doors website and they got in touch with me that way.

I've got two more companies coming tomorrow and 1 on Monday so we will see what prices they give.

It's the Frame which will be 70mm not the door slab as it's referred to.The doors themselves will be 50mm but the outer frames which they fit into are 70mm (same as the profile used for most windows).
As far as the black outer colour, there has been issues when in locations which receive intense sun for long periods in the summer months.( Not that often in our summer I know !) Problems have arisen with expansion and even cracking, although these are isolated cases.The doors are quite a snug fit into the frame rebate so any movement from expansion is noticeable. Just bear it in mind when discussing with your chosen provider. South facing with no shade will cause biggest concern. I've not had nor heard of any reports from fading with any of the doors. Lovely doors though and good luck.

Just to add that the solidor doors are fitted with a lock which when you register ownership, if it gets broken into via the lock then the lock company will pay you £1000 so they seem to be pretty confident with it's integrity (or don't expect folks to register their product).

Edited by monty999 on Friday 6th January 10:06

Edited by monty999 on Friday 6th January 10:08

[richatnort]

So just had all my quotes through and this is where i'm struggling to know what to go for.

Solidor quote came back as 1350 for the door and side window

Rock Door supplier has just come back and said he'd do the ultimate rock door for 1320 inc the side window.

But i honestly have no clue which to go for!?

Has anyone else gone through this the same situation and why did you choose to go for that door?

My head is saying Solidor but i'm just not sure.

[markbigears]

Hi Richard, Have no experience with Rockdoor, (I found Solidor had a nicer design that we were looking for) but we had 2 new Solidors fitted recently. I'm a real picky old git, but these doors are really top quality.
We went with cottage style with traditional fittings. Everything it nicely finished and has a nice weight and feel to them.
I'm sure you wil be happy with either, but i think Solidor look to have jumped above Rockdoor as a prefered supplier now.

[richatnort]

markbigears said:

Hi Richard, Have no experience with Rockdoor, (I found Solidor had a nicer design that we were looking for) but we had 2 new Solidors fitted recently. I'm a real picky old git, but these doors are really top quality.
We went with cottage style with traditional fittings. Everything it nicely finished and has a nice weight and feel to them.
I'm sure you wil be happy with either, but i think Solidor look to have jumped above Rockdoor as a prefered supplier now.

I think you're right and I think that's who I will choose tbh. We went for a really boring design which I will probably regret but we like it now so should be fine! I have ultion door locks at the minute which I liked about solidor and also the windows can get replaced of needs be which you can't get with rock door.

[mjb1]

markbigears said:

Hi Richard, Have no experience with Rockdoor, (I found Solidor had a nicer design that we were looking for) but we had 2 new Solidors fitted recently. I'm a real picky old git, but these doors are really top quality.
We went with cottage style with traditional fittings. Everything it nicely finished and has a nice weight and feel to them.
I'm sure you wil be happy with either, but i think Solidor look to have jumped above Rockdoor as a prefered supplier now.

How much did you pay for the two doors, if you don't mind? My nearest Solidor installer told me that prices started at £1400 (that was for a blank door, locks/handles/iron work all on top, no side windows etc). I'm in the Southwest, so not London prices. They also sell Apeer doors, but they were even more expensive than the Solidor ones.

Confusingly, this dealer made a big thing about Solidors being wood core, making them better than the cheap foam filled ones. But looking in the brochures, their more expensive Apeer doors are foam filled??

Anyone know what Truedor composite doors are like? Had a couple of local installers give me estimates for those of around £800-£900. Both medium sized independent local companies, one of which I've used before (for windows) and happy with their service. They all have their sales fluff though, trying to make out why theirs are better products, but is there really that much difference between the cheap and expensive ones these days?

My brother has a friend in the who works for a door/window company. He says they only install for the building trade, at a trade price of about £500-£550 per door. No idea what brand they were, but obviously one of the cheapest ones. I'm guessing that prices are steadily coming down as composite doors are getting more popular and the products mature, and more manufacturers competing.

My front door is hardly ever used, literally just opened when the postman has something to big for the letter box. All other deliveries/visitors come to the back door as it's easier to find. But when I had a upvc door priced up it came to about £800 with the wood effect finish and Georgian bars, so almost the same cost as a mid range composite one.

[richatnort]

mjb1 said:

How much did you pay for the two doors, if you don't mind? My nearest Solidor installer told me that prices started at £1400 (that was for a blank door, locks/handles/iron work all on top, no side windows etc). I'm in the Southwest, so not London prices. They also sell Apeer doors, but they were even more expensive than the Solidor ones.

Confusingly, this dealer made a big thing about Solidors being wood core, making them better than the cheap foam filled ones. But looking in the brochures, their more expensive Apeer doors are foam filled??

Anyone know what Truedor composite doors are like? Had a couple of local installers give me estimates for those of around £800-£900. Both medium sized independent local companies, one of which I've used before (for windows) and happy with their service. They all have their sales fluff though, trying to make out why theirs are better products, but is there really that much difference between the cheap and expensive ones these days?

My brother has a friend in the who works for a door/window company. He says they only install for the building trade, at a trade price of about £500-£550 per door. No idea what brand they were, but obviously one of the cheapest ones. I'm guessing that prices are steadily coming down as composite doors are getting more popular and the products mature, and more manufacturers competing.

My front door is hardly ever used, literally just opened when the postman has something to big for the letter box. All other deliveries/visitors come to the back door as it's easier to find. But when I had a upvc door priced up it came to about £800 with the wood effect finish and Georgian bars, so almost the same cost as a mid range composite one.

So i've only had one door and i think mine came out at about 950 for the door but my final bill was with a window and fitting. I've done a stupid amount of research on doors and the only thing I can see between a foam and solid wood door is if a burgular tries to chisel out a piece to get to the other side to unlock it. With a foam filled it took about 1 minute to get through with a chisel but they couldn't get through the solid door one in 5 mins of the video.

I would look at the types of locks they use too as this was one of the reasons i chose a solidor over a rock door as the locks on the solidor are a very well known brand where as the rock door one i'd never heard of.

Another brand that was being passed around was door-stop which i looked at too but wasn't for me. The only reason i chose solidor was because I got it cheaper then the rock door by about £200 but i think both are decent doors.

If it were me i'd get a solidor for the back and a one-stop for the front door but it depends how secluded the front door is as if they have a chance of going at it without anyone seeing it maybe the better door is worth it.

[mjb1]

Security isn't a huge concern for me - I figure if someone wants to get in they'll find a way in somehow. A more secure house just means they'll cause more damage getting in. I do live in a semi remote rural area though, fairly well off the beaten track. Which makes opportunist burglarising pretty unlikely. But equally if I was targetted specifically, someone who is intent on getting in probably will do without much chance of getting disturbed.

[Daggerpie]

Good God, just had a quote back from our local (Cheltenham) Solidor dealer - £2667.00 inc vat & fitting!!!

This is for their Palemero Solid door in anthracite grey (with white as the inside door colour), along with an anthracite frame with misted glass fitted either side (same height as the door), chrome handles, letterbox & locks.

I wasn't expecting it to be cheap but wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as much as that!!