Composite Door Shop Blog

If your house has been on the market for a while and isn’t selling, it is time to rethink your selling tactics. Try to see your property as a potential buyer would. In the current economic climate, house buyers are not looking for properties that require a lot of work, as the cost of buying a house is so high that they do not want to shell out for additional costly improvements. These improvements could be a new kitchen or bathroom, new windows or a new front door. With this in mind, you should look at the things that are not up to scratch and can be replaced. Spending hundreds of pounds on a quality front door is not a poor investment when it could save you knocking thousands of pounds off the asking price of the house.

Buying a quality front door

It is important when making home improvements, such as replacing the front door, that you do not cut corners just to save money. A brand new but cheap, ugly-looking uPVC door can put off potential buyers as much as a rotten old wooden door. Nowadays, you can buy smart, attractive composite front doors that have a price range between expensive wooden doors and cheap uPVC doors. Not only do composite doors look good, but they offer many benefits such as excellent thermal ratings, a long lifespan, low maintenance and high security. Another advantage of buying a new composite door for the property you are trying to sell is that it gives you a long list of bonuses you can recite to viewers. As composite doors are quite modern, many people do not know what they are, so the information is bound to make a good impression.

High quality, composite front doors, with free UK delivery or nationwide installation are available from the Composite Door Shop. Free quotes and online ordering is available through the unique online door designer – allowing you to design and price your new front door without having to sign up.

Traditional wooden front doors look fantastic on period houses like Edwardian, Georgian and Victorian properties as well as adding a touch of style to more modern homes.

However, if you are looking to buy a wooden front door, you may be surprised to learn that there are some drawbacks to all-wood front doors when compared to the more modern front doors.

Drawbacks to wooden front doors include:

• poor heat insulation compared with more modern front doors,
• a tendency to bend and warp more than doors strengthened with modern materials on the inside of the door (these are called composite front doors),
• a shorter lifespan compared with hardier composite doors as wooden front doors weather and rot over time, particularly in the a wet climate of the UK.

Modern composite doors offer a middle ground between uPVC doors and old style wooden front doors, combining high quality state of the art materials and attractive wood grain finishes to provide a door that excels in both function and look.

You can easily get the look and feel of a wooden front door that has all the benefits of uPVC front doors by choosing a composite front door.

Benefits of Composite Door with a ‘wood grain’ finish

• Composite front doors have attractive wood grain fronts, and with a huge range of varnishes from light wood to dark oak, you can have the look of a wooden front door with the security and function of a modern uPVC door.
• Composite front doors mimic the look of wooden front doors. The difference is minimal and with high quality wood grain, such as the grain used in our composite front doors, you won’t be able to tell the difference.
• Composite doors have up to six times the heat insulation properties of timber front doors.

The Composite Door Shop has an online door designer where you can design and order a front door to meet your exact requirements. The Composite Door Shop fits anywhere in mainland UK, so take a look at our front door options and buy a ‘wooden’ front door with all the benefits of a modern door.

If you are looking for a quality new front door, then look no further than The Composite Door Shop. Providing high quality, low maintenance doors made from composite materials, bridging the gap between traditional wooden doors and modern uPVC doors, all our front doors come with a ten year guarantee offering you peace of mind as well as a great product.

Not only that, our doors have 6 times the heat insulation qualities of timber doors, reducing your carbon footprint and saving you money on heating costs. Our new composite doors have a maintained lifespan of up to 35 years, so invest in a new front door and take a look at our unique front door designer.

Buying a new front door is a big purchase so it’s comforting to know that the Composite Door Shop offers a ten year guarantee for every one of our composite doors fitted in the UK.

Our ten year guarantee on all composite front doors ensures that you can purchase from The Composite Door Shop safe in the knowledge that you are buying a quality front door. If your front door does not meet the conditions of the guarantee, you will receive a new front door, absolutely free of charge.

We guarantee that:

• our composite front doors will not crack, peel, chip, dent or flake with normal use

• the hardware supplied with the composite doors will retain standard functionality with normal use
• double glazing supplied with the composite front door will remain with seals intact and good visibility

• the uPVC outer frames will retain colour, strength and shape

As stated on our Composite Door 10 Year Customer Guarantee page: ‘This guarantee is subject to the door being treated in full accordance with any guidelines issued by the Composite Door Shop on the handling, storage, maintenance and usage of the door.’

If you are selling your home, you will know how vital it is for your house to make the right first impression. It is well known that we make swift judgements on those all important first moments and potential buyers can know within several seconds whether a home is right for them.

All those hours keeping your home spotless in preparation for house viewings may be wasted if the first impression of your home is not right. A new front door can make the difference between a positive or negative first impression, so investing in a quality composite front door to improve the look of your home is a great idea if you wish to attract viewers and sell your home quickly.

Ensure good ‘kerb appeal’ with a new composite front door

Kerb appeal is the term for the attractiveness of a house exterior, often marred by such things as rubbish in the garden, peeling paintwork or a grotty front door. If your existing front door is old or unsightly it will significantly decrease the kerb appeal of your property, so install an attractive new composite front door to improve the exterior of your house before you put your property on the market.

Choose an appropriate composite front door for your house

It’s important for your house to complement the surrounding properties, and this includes your front door. Avoid choosing a front door that doesn’t fit in with the neighbourhood. Heavy victorian style composite front doors look odd on a new build home, and more modern composite front doors can look misplaced on a period style property.

The Composite Door Shop

With 14 basic door designs to choose from and with an automatic 10 year guarantee, the composite door shop can help you every step of the way when buying a new front door.

If you are selling your house and want to improve the kerb appeal of your home with a new composite door, visit our online front door designer to create a new front door that fits your unique requirements exactly.

• Does your front door stick or have a ‘knack’ to opening it?
• Does your front door make your hallway or front room feel dingy or cramped?
• Does your home have a bad first impression because of an old or poorly made front door?
• Have you been meaning to upgrade your front door locks to improve the security of your home?

These are just some of the many reasons why you may consider buying a new front door.

Buying a new front door
An old front door can look dated and give a negative impression of your home simply by deteriorating with age. A new front door can completely renew the look of a property and revive your house – that’s why it’s often a good move to buy a new front door to improve the all important ‘kerb appeal’ of your house, before putting your property on the market. Buying a new front door is also something to consider if you have just bought a new house. Often, older front doors no longer provide the security and function of modern or composite front doors, so it’s worth going the extra for a high quality new front door.

Front Door Security
A new front door is integral to updating the security of your property so you will not want to compromise on a well designed, secure front door. The front door is often the first target for criminals looking for weakness so to make sure your home is well guarded, opt for a modern front door with the latest security features.

Buying a new front door may seem like a daunting task, however here at The Composite Door Shop we have made buying a new front door easy, helping you to choose the right new front door for you.

By using our unique online front door designer, you can build a front door that meets all your individual requirements today. Whether you are looking to buy a new front door to increase security of your home, or are looking for a new front door to improve the look of your house, visit the composite door today to buy a new front door.

This may seem like an odd question. Many people don’t get to choose whether their front door has a letterbox when they first move into their home – often the front door was chosen by the previous owners or by the construction company that built the property. When the time comes to replace your front door, you are suddenly faced with many options you had not previously given thought to. So why dedicate an entire post to this particular piece of front door hardware? The answer is simply because it does require at least a little thought to choose between a front door with a letterbox and one without. It is unwise to choose “yes” just because you’ve always had a letterbox on your front door in the past.

Pros of having a front door with a letterbox

1. Letters and other small items can be delivered directly into your home – more convenient than having to collect mail from another location.
2. Letters and other small items can be delivered directly into your home – anything delivered is more likely to be protected from the elements and potential damage or theft.

Cons of having a front door with a letterbox

1. Letterboxes reduce the thermal efficiency of the front door – draught-proofing devices can be used to help prevent cold spots, but it would still not be as efficient as having no letterbox.
2. Letterboxes create a vulnerable point in the front door that could be taken advantage of by criminals.

It is best to consider whether you are in a high-crime area or whether it would matter in your home, if your new front door did not have the best thermal efficiency available. If you opt for a front door without a letterbox, make sure there are alternatives for mail delivery if required, such as another door in the property with a letterbox or an external wall-mounted letterbox.

Design a front door with or without a letterbox online now to get a free quote

            

When buying a new front door, there are many options to consider. It is by no means an easy task, since there is so much riding on it. Not only are front doors quite a costly purchase, but they need to be both functional and attractive.

When it comes to function, a front door needs to do more than open and close, although it needs to be hard-wearing enough to withstand this sort of daily use (in most cases) over long periods of time. The perfect front door allows entry to be smooth and without fault (no sticking in frames, tricky locks etc.). When closed, it needs to offer optimal protection from the elements. It also needs to provide high levels of security to prevent potential attackers from gaining entry to the property it is within. And, it needs to perform at the same high level for many years. These are just the basic functions a front door needs, there are still many other functions to consider, although these are down to personal choice (such as how the door locks, what type of handle, what hardware is needed).

Aesthetically, a front door needs to suit the property it is in. It is usually the first impression, to both friendly visitors as well as criminals. For this reason, its appearance needs to be both pleasing as well as allowing people to see the quality of security it provides.

So when it comes to glazing, what do you choose? Both glazed front doors and unglazed solid front doors have their advantages and their disadvantages.

Glazed front doors

• + Glazing in a front door can give an attractive appearance.
• + Glazing allows light to pass into the room, allowing for both light and warmth.
• - Glazed front doors cost more money.
• - Glazed front doors are slightly less energy efficient.
• - Privacy and security are slightly more compromised. These can be dealt with by choosing an obscure backing glass for privacy and laminated glass for security, unfortunately costing more money.

Solid front doors

• + Solid front doors cost less money than the same door with glazing.
• + Solid front doors do a better job at keeping heat from escaping and have better energy efficiency.
• + Solid front doors provide maximum privacy and security.
• - Solid front doors block the sun, which can have a gloomy effect on the room if there are few windows present and make the room feel colder.

Recent news reports in the UK have revealed a rise in the number of burglaries committed using a technique known as lock-snapping. This technique is used by burglars to gain entry to a home or property. The method comprises of the face plate of the handle being torn upwards, so the protruding lock is easier to grip. The lock is then forced side to side until it snaps. This usually takes just seconds. After that, the front door can be simply unlocked with the use of a screwdriver. The technique has become increasingly popular among criminals due to the ease and swiftness of the method. Very few locks are protected against it – special anti-snap locks are available but rarely supplied as standard. Even these are not entirely protected, they just require more time and effort to snap. Euro cylinder front door locks, often supplied with composite doors and uPVC doors, are particularly targeted, although whether it is due to the ease of snapping or due to the commoness of the lock, it is hard to say.

Composite Door Shop Lock

The front door and lock industry are working with police to create a new standard of locks to help prevent the widespread problem. Luckily some front door suppliers are already coming up with solutions, such as the Composite Door Shop, who supply doors with thick, solid handle face plates, making it incredibly difficult for any attacker to bend it back to reach the lock. The face plate also partially covers the lock, so the criminal has no way of getting a grip on the lock without first removing the face plate. This is just one advantage of many of choosing a composite front door to protect your home.

As with everything aesthetic, front door styles come in and out of fashion.

Some styles are classic, remaining stylish throughout the eras. These are often plain styles with simple design elements, resulting in a front door that is timeless and elegant. Both period properties and modern homes benefit from a classic front door style because they are so versatile.

Owners of period properties may prefer to have a front door based on the design elements of the era of their home. Georgian houses would be best suited by a front door that has a square, divided window, for example. Putting a modern front door design in a period property usually does not work – the two different design eras clash to create a disastrous effect.

Modern front door styles are best left to new-build houses. The door can either be matched to the style of the home or, if the style of the home is quite plain, more intricate styles of front door can be used to create a stylish focal point for the building. Some modern front doors date quite quickly, although nowadays it is usually due to the technology as opposed to the design. Already, PVC doors from the last decade are discolouring and appearing flimsy in comparison to their newer counterparts. For this reason, it is important to choose a front door wisely – not just the style, but the technology too. It is no good getting a door that is timeless in style if it is going to discolour or wear out within 5 years.

Across our website, and probably on other composite door websites, a composite door designer is mentioned. This designer is an online system that hosts all the options available for our composite doors. Because we make each door to order, we have found this the easiest way to operate.

The door designer allows you to go through each option available, and as you choose, not only do you see a digital image of how your front door would look, but you get to see the cost of the door as you add and remove options. Each option has an ‘i’ button next to it. When clicked, this button pops up a box containing our glossary, which has a greater level of detail about the selected option, helping to clarify if you are unsure. When all steps are complete, you have the option to order your composite door straight away, or to save your quote for a later date.

This revolutionary ordering system means that you can browse at your leisure and get a quote without having to hand your details over. Although most quoting systems that take your details to process your quote state that they are ‘no obligation’ quotes, there is still an aspect of hard selling when your quote is given to you. With our system, you can shop day or night, without the pressure of a sales person being involved and without having to wait for a quote to be processed for you.

When you have ordered your new front door, you get a confirmation email straight away, and when we have processed your order, you receive another email with the date of delivery of your door. If you are opting to have the door installed by us, we come and do a survey on your existing door prior to ordering, to ensure the right size and type of door is ordered. On the installation day, we install your front door and take away all rubbish, including the old front door, leaving you with nothing to worry about and a new, fully-guaranteed composite door.