What to look out for when buying a composite door

 

Buying a composite door

By choosing the right composite door will not only keep your home safe and secure but will improve the overall kerb-appeal as well. This guide will provide you with some useful tips on what you need to keep your eye open for when buying a composite.

Door Considerations

When choosing a new composite front door for your home it is extremely important to consider the style of your property. You must also consider the neighborhood that you live in. There is no point ordering a new composite just because you like the look of it, if it does not suit your home. Maybe you live in the country and are looking for a cottage style door. Or a more of a traditional style when living in a more of a heritage style property. Or if your home is a modern style property then it would make more sense to choose a modern type composite door.

You will also need to consider why you are actually looking for a new front door. Are you looking to increase your home security? Or perhaps energy efficiency due to the increased energy prices!

Regardless on which composite door you are looking for Peterborough Doors offers an outstanding range of quality composite doors. Not forgetting their extremely high security system as standard. All of our doors have great energy efficiency not just in the door slab but the frame and glazing too!

Choosing between a Modern or Traditional style door

A Traditional style composite door is perfect if you live in an older style property. By changing the door, colour and glazing could completely change the overall look of your home. We have many traditional doors to choose from and many glazing options too. So if you are looking to maintain that wooden door effect this can easily be achieved.

All composite doors are available in array of colours, handles and accessories. Maybe you live in a conservational area and require a wooden grain effect on the door frames.

If you live in a modern home don’t worry. Contemporary doors can easily integrate with either a modern or old style house. Other things to consider would be the colour of the door also style and glazing. If you live in a modern or new build, then we would advise you to go plain. Yes plain! As less decorative doors look better on these properties. So if you live in a Contemporary house then wood grain and decorative glass maybe the option.

What is the cost of a Composite Door?

All of our composite doors vary depending on the design, hardware also the different glazing options. To get an accurate price why not contact our sales room as a sales rep will bring out a brochure and go through the various designs and furniture. Our team are also here to help.

What are the common problems with composite doors?

Composite doors have been manufactured to be near enough maintenance free. Door security is second to none and thermal efficiency outstanding. However, like everything after a time it is possible to experience slight problems, so you should be aware.

Incorrectly Fitted Door

Many households have incorrectly installed composite doors. One of the biggest mistakes is an incorrectly measured and installed door. The doors should be measured and installed correctly. This is achieved by taking three measurements for the width and height of the door opening. Then reduce the smallest width and height by 10mm this is called the expansion gap. This allows sufficient room for adjustment when install the new door. Also allows swelling and movement by the house during weather changes. Once installed then this gap is filled with expansion foam and then silicone to weatherproof the door surroundings.

The Door swelling in the sun

One of the biggest issue with any front door whether it’s a composite, uPVC or even timber doors is the door swelling during those summer hot days. Many customers do ask if the composite door can swell and does the colour affect this.

The truth is that all does can swell. Depending on which material will reduce the amount of swelling and possible problems. UPVC tend to swell a little more than composite doors when aluminium doors tend to not have as much issues.

If your front door is south facing it will be in direct sunlight for many hours per day. As the sun hits your front door this will cause slight swelling. If the door is over sized i.e. above 950mm wide then this may intensify the expansion which will make your door more difficult to open. So when buying a new composite door make sure you are aware that it might be safer to add a packer either side of the door frame to reduce the overall size in order to reduce future problems.

Not closing a door correctly

Yes, this statement is true not many people know how to close a composite door correctly. Whenever you close your door you must lift the lever fully up. By doing this engages all of the locks which then fully supports the door weight. If you simply close the door and don’t lift the lever, then the fully weight of the door is resting on the centre latch. As the top and bottom latches are not engaged, this allows the top and bottom of the door to swell or warp.

So if you would like to prevent a long-term headache, then please lift the handle as this may save you money in the long term!

Door locks sticking

Just because composite doors are near enough maintenance free, it does not mean completely maintenance free!

If you do experience a sticky lock then this could potentially lead to door security issues. As a 6 monthly routine we would recommend lubricating your locks to prevent future issues and to increase your lock’s lifespan.

Always use a silicone or graphite-based lubricant and keep clear from WD-40. Yes WD-40 will cause more problems as dust tends to stick and block up the locks even more!

Door hinge dropped

Regardless of how much maintenance you do on your door the hinge can always drop. If this occurs then the slab can easily be moved back to the correct position by using special tools to adjust the hinges. However, cheaper hinges tend to have less movement to adjust compared to our 3D hinges. Yes, these hinges can be adjusted left and right, up and down, forward and back.

Doors tend to drop more if they are constantly being used or even slammed shut. Always make sure that the area that the door will be opened into is fully clear. Items such as shoes being left on the floor when opening the door could also have potential to alter the hinge position.

Door Colour Staining

If just like any kind of door a composite door is left dirty for a long period of time dust, grime and dirt will build up. If this is occurring then don’t worry, just use a warm damp cloth to wipe down the door and frame. Do not use any kind of detergent as this may discolour your door.

You are experiencing any weather marks occurring on your door furniture such as the letterbox and handles. If so do not worry. Our handles and letterbox will not corrode or rust, this may be just a tea stain. Just wipe these down with a damp cloth and it will look brand new again.

Damaged Weather Seals and Gaskets

Weather seals otherwise known as gaskets are fitted to your door to prevent the weather getting in. However, over time these seals could get dislodged within the door whilst opening and closing. To prevent this occurring make sure that you push the seals firmly back into its correct groove so that the door closes onto it correctly.

Blocked door drainage holes

Composite doors have built in drainage holes which allows the water that has run down the door to flow naturally onto the sill via these drainage holes then out onto the path. If these holes get blocked, then water will build up within the threshold and then make its way into the house.

We would therefore recommend that you check that these holes are debris free every six months. If there is any dirt then simply clear these holes with a screwdriver or pointy object.

Is it worth buying a Composite Doors?

You maybe wondering after reading this article whether buying a composite door is the right thing. Even though we mentioned the possible issues that could occur when purchasing a new composite door these are very rare. This is why we at Peterborough Doors we only use our own trusted door fitters to install our doors. Our composite doors have re-enforced frames to help prevent door dropping.