Door Types
The right type of door can last for many years within your home, and it’s important to consider your long-term requirements, and not just the style.
What are doors most commonly made of?
Wood has undoubtedly been around the longest, with other materials appearing fairly recently and aiming to improve upon their predecessor.
Wood
Sturdy and timeless, wooden doors offer strength. However, because they are organic, they have their downfalls. Without protection they don’t stand up to weather as easily as doors made from other materials, and this can lead to warping or decomposition, which in turn makes them unreliable in areas of security and insulation.
Composite
Much like wood, composite doors are strong - in fact, they’re designed to mimic timber doors by having the same grained effect. Composites will stand up to the elements more readily than wood and don’t require special treatment to do this.
UPVC (also known as PVCU)
A lightweight material, UPVC is a cheaper option than composite. It has a smoother surface, although there are woodgrain finishes available to mimic the appearance of wood. Like composites, UPVC doors offer good weather resistance, as well as insulation.
Aluminium
Perhaps the most expensive doors for homes on the market, aluminium is undoubtedly strong. However, their cost can be off-putting, and these high maintenance doors can scratch or dent. Their insulation is also poor when compared to composite and UPVC.
What are the main advantages of composite and UPVC?
Compared to wood and aluminium, composite and UPVC offer more reliability overall, particularly for maintenance and insulation.
They’re easier to maintain
While aluminium can scratch and timber needs to be painted, composite and UPVC doors have UV-resistant finishes that are very easy to keep clean and never need repainting. Should a composite or UPVC ever chip, a touch-up pen or touch-up paint can remedy this.
They're more energy efficient
Purposely designed to insulate the home, composites and UPVCs are multi-layered and use glass with warm edge spacer bars. These help to retain heat, which would otherwise be lost through a single-layered wooden door.
They come in a variety of styles
Composite and UPVC doors are available in many different styles, and a range of colours, to suit almost any aesthetic. Aluminium doors are restricted to contemporary designs, and wooden doors require painting, which can chip or peel when exposed to the elements.
What door types do you offer?
Whether you need to brighten up your front entrance, or create more space, we have several options for you.
Front
The face of your home. Our range of front entrance doors comes with high security and energy saving features as standard. With many styles and finishes to choose from, you’re sure to add kerb appeal to your home.
Back
Our back doors provide the same reliable security and energy efficiency as our front ones, and come in the same range of styles, whether you’d like a simple solid or flat panel look, or something more refined.
Door with catflap
You can order a composite or UPVC with a pre-fitted catflap (or pet door for a dog), compatible with most contemporary and cottage styles. Alternatively, a catflap can be fitted into a solid side panel. There are options for manual locking catflaps or microchip activated ones.
French doors (also known as double doors)
Available in composite or UPVC, and in the full range of styles for each, they can add to your home a touch of grandeur. Most commonly for UPVC, french doors are fully glazed to allow for maximum light and make a good entrance to a back garden.
Stable door
This type operates as one when connected by a deadbolt, or as two separate pieces, each with its own secure locking system. Versatile should you wish to bask your home in the warm summer sun whilst keeping children or pets safe. Available in composite.
Sliding patio doors
Good for a conservatory or a back entrance overlooking a garden, sliding doors open up space and let in natural sunlight as they are fully glazed. Available in UPVC.
Rock Doors
Rock Doors are a premium range of composites and differ from our standard range, as the glass is sealed within the slab using S-Glaze technology. They are also widely renowned for their high security, and were the first composites to break into the UK home market.
What styles are available?
Getting the right style can make a big difference for adding kerb appeal to your home. Fortunately, we offer a wide selection.
Traditional (also known as Classical)
Timeless designs consisting of raised mouldings. Twin vertical designs, such as our Dorset for composite and the Leeds for UPVC, are a mainstay in front entrances. Glass panels with arched tops can add an element of refinement.
Contemporary (also known as Modern)
These generally have a flat looking surface for composites and a more liberal configuration of glass panels than traditional styles, particularly small squares and long glass. Our subset of Monza composite doors, as well as the Warrington and Luton for UPVC, differ in that they have a specific horizontally grooved slab or panel.
Cottage
Characterised by vertical running grooves, these styles, such as our Wandsworth UPVC or the small glass square Cheshire for composite, are good for a rural look.
1930s
These styles tend to have glass and mouldings in quarter measures, such as the London composite with a traditional arch glass panel in the top quarter and three vertical mouldings in the remaining three, or the Cleveland with a three-quarter high glass panel and two small solid squares below.
Where can I see your doors?
They can be viewed online, and what’s more you can customise them to get a better idea of what you’re looking for.
If you need any help, get in touch
Don’t hesitate to contact our Sales Team if you want to discuss your options.
- Call us on 0800 910 1122
- Visit our Contact Us page to fill out a message form
If you require fitting, choose Fully Fitted
Behind each category (.e.g Composite Front, UPVC Back), you can see the styles that we offer, and behind each style are the glass designs available, along with our colour finishes. With your style chosen, you can go on to customise it to your heart’s content and request a free survey when you’re happy. Don’t worry if your mind’s not made up, as our Sales Teams will contact you to discuss your needs.
To fit it yourself, choose Supply Only
Easily browse for the type of door that you want and select from a wide choice of styles. You can specify your required sizes for it to be manufactured to, along with hardware requirements.