Composite Door Shop Blog

Just like a suit from a bespoke tailor, made to measure front doors from The Composite Door Shop are not manufactured until every dimension has been thoroughly checked. Our front doors are designed to fit first time and be comfortable for the rest of their lives. In addition, the door is made to survive everyday wear and tear, staying durable and attractive for at least 10 years (see our guarantee).

Front doors made to measure

The composite front door process goes like this: normally within 48 hours of your order being place, one of our surveyors will contact you to arrange a home visit at your convenience. The surveyors will check and double check all of your door dimensions, discuss options and answer any questions you may have. Our made to measure checking process also includes a confirmation order for you to approve to make sure we have everything absolutely correct – then (and only then) do we approve your door for manufacture.

Online door designer

You know your home best, and we pass the majority of the design process over to you with our online door designer.

We have a huge range of options for your new front door including:

• eight frame styles in a choice of three colours,
• a door range of twenty styles in a choice of seven wood grained finishes,
• over forty glazing options,
• accessories in a choice of gold, chrome or black.

Quality composite doors at a fantastic price

All of our doors are composite doors, factory manufactured to stringent quality control standards and are made up of:

• a reinforced PVCu frame,
• a solid thermally insulated polyurethane foam core slab,
• a 2mm thick and durable GRP skin to prevent warping, twisting or bowing,
• a thickness of 44mm that creates a strong, secure door.

In order to ensure that our statements about door strength are up to date and correct, we submit them to independent testing authorities to ensure we are providing the product you wish to purchase. All Composite Door Shop doors are tested and accredited to relevant standards, “Secured by Design” and “PAS 23 & 24”.

Easy installation service

We know how stressful front door installation can be so we have pledged to make the process as fast and convenient as possible for our customers. Aiming to offer a full bespoke service from the design to installation, we have partnered with a highly regarded installation company who operate nationwide.

As well as being authorised service providers to the insurance market, our installation team has the depots, network and administrative capacity to fully support our service and ensure that you get the bespoke front doors made to measure, supply and installation service that you deserve!

To complete your new composite front door, why not order the state of the art Yale keyless lock? No more rummaging for keys or getting caught out, the keyless lock is the ideal solution for anyone with a busy life who wants a clever solution to their home security.

Convenient and safe

The Composite Door Shop offer the Yale Keyless Lock because it just can’t be beaten for safety and convenience. A smart touch pad is used as the main lock, but just like traditional locks, there is also a extra lock above the handle in order for you to leave the door unlatched if you need to pop outside or unload the car. The stylish touch pad can’t be beaten for safety, and once you get used to having no key that can get lost or stolen, it’s easy to see why keyless locks are the way forward for front door security and peace of mind.

Great features of the keyless lock

There are many extra features of the keyless lock, for example, you can set up a temporary code to allow guests or trusted tradesmen access to your home when you are not there. The electronic lock is insurance approved with the BS3621 mortice lock, and pin codes can be chosen from 4 to 12 digits, perfect for children to use as well as adults.

Security features

There are a number of ways that the Yale keyless lock protects your home and enhances security:

• There are no mechanical buttons on the touch screen keypad, and therefore no trace of your secret pincode,
• A ‘fake pincode’ feature confuses onlookers whilst still allowing you to access your home,
• A low battery warning light comes on in good time, reminding you to change batteries ( a rare occurrence as you’ll be glad to hear that one set of four AA batteries is enough to unlock your door up to 10,000 times!)
• If your batteries do go flat, all your pincode settings will remain programmed in the lock, and two emergency battery points can be used to power your lock temporarily with just a 9v battery.

Weather resistant too!

Designed specifically to withstand our changeable UK weather conditions, the keypad is totally weather resistant. IP protection is 5,5.

We can answer your questions

If you have any questions about the Yale keyless lock, please get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to help.

Offering a huge range of front doors with both traditional and modern designs, the Composite Door Shop have got it covered when it comes to choosing the right style of door for your house.

Apart from our Georgian and Victorian style designs (once considered ‘modern’ themselves!) we also offer cutting edge ‘match board’ pattern doors for the most contemporary of homes, complete with state of the art keyless locking systems – it really doesn’t get more modern than that!

Contemporary door designs

We offer an extensive range of twenty door styles, all of which fit perfectly into the front doors modern design category, depending on your individual tastes and how the rest of your home is styled.

Five particular styles lend themselves very well to modern homes. These are vertical grooved match board door with irregular pattern glazing and contemporary accessories and are provided with a choice of five timber grained colours in addition to five glazed panel options.

Explore our online door designer and you will find the following modern door styles:

• the Cottage door with a choice of diamond glazing or solid door front,
• the Totteridge door with four centre square glazed windows,
• the Balham door with two half circle glazed panels set at eye level,
• the Strand door with three square glazed panels set to the right or
• the Southall with twin side glazed panels.

Contemporary hardware to match

It takes more than just the door style to create a modern look for a front door and so for every product in our range you can choose from 42 glass patterns and a huge selection of contemporary door hardware, including handles, letter plates, door knockers, door numbers and spy-holes in a choice of chrome, gold or black.

Modern construction as well as design

Of course, modern design applies to construction as well as aesthetic and our doors also excel in that department.

Made from tough, durable materials to stringent quality controlled criteria, our products are factory manufactured to create beautiful composite front doors that boast:

• a reinforced hardwood frame,
• a solid thermally insulated slab of polyurethane foam core,
• a 2mm thick, durable GRP through coloured skin to prevent warping, twisting or bowing,
• a thickness of 44mm, resulting in creates a strong, secure door.

Strength and durability comes from modern design

The 44mm thickness is a very important aspect to our composite doors, as it enables our composite doors to match the strength and durability of any competing timber door.

But don’t take our word for it, we have sought independent testing by third parties to accredit our doors as both Secured by Design and PAS 23 & 24 for your peace of mind.

For more information on modern or traditional composite front doors, simply browse our easy to use website or give us a call today on 0800 1123230

If accessibility is a priority when choosing your new front door, we have several options to suit.

Firstly, all of our composite doors from the Composite Door Shop or Composite Timber Doors are available with a low aluminium threshold. This threshold allows for easy access without a uPVC frame to step over, as with standard uPVC doors. This low threshold allows wheelchairs or buggies access with ease, as well as minimising the risk of accidents. This is especially useful where there are young children who run around without always watching their step, or those who have reduced mobility.

Secondly, our Composite Timber Doors are available as double doors (more commonly known as French doors). Combined with the low aluminium threshold (available on inward-opening double doors only), double doors allow access for larger electronic wheelchairs without compromising on the appearance or security of the property. Double doors are available in any of our front door styles, so you can combine your style tastes with your accessibility needs. Again, this is also useful for those who struggle with large buggies or business properties with large items. If you don’t need a full double entrance, we can also provide doors and a half. These feature a normal sized door and a half sized door that open as French doors. Ideal for those who need the extra entrance room but do not have much space, most properties can be adapted to allow an extra half door.

A front door is the first chance you have to make a great impression with your house so do spend some time making the most of it, especially if you are looking to sell your property in this tough economic climate.

You can quickly tell if a front door is cheaply made so to make the best impression it’s worthwhile spending a bit extra on a quality front door made from the finest materials. Composite front doors, whilst made from the most durable and toughest materials also have wood look finishes to create a modern front door with an attractive, traditional look.

Nice hardware for your front door can make all the difference. When you approach a front door the first thing you do is look for the doorbell or door knocker – if these features are attractive and well made they can make a big difference to a visitor’s first impression of your property. Also consider investing in additional attractive front door hardware like spyholes, handles, letterboxes and door numbers. All of these are included in our bespoke front doors and you can choose from many different styles whilst designing your own front door.

Front door accessories

If you’ve already got a great new front door, there are still things you can do to compliment it and bring out the best in your house.

If you have a front porch, pot plants and hanging baskets are a cheap and cheerful way to brighten up the front of your house. Just pot up cheerful flowers or buy a ready made hanging basket and give your front door a welcoming feel.

Don’t forget door mats! Now readily available in furniture and hardware stores in many different styles and colours, a front door mat is a great finishing touch to any front door.

Take a look at the Composite Door Shop for bespoke front doors made from durable composite materials to make the best first impression of your home.

The colour of your front door can say a lot about you and your house and is an important exterior design decision. Whether the colour of your door makes a bold statement or is chosen to blend in with the rest of your street, door colours can make or break the all important first impression of your home and it’s vital to choose carefully.

British front door colours are traditionally flat, solid colours associated with locations or objects, think Oxford blue, Brunswick green or Pillar Box red. And who can think of a British front door without imagining the iconic black of 10 Downing Street? Period style homes suit these sorts of bold shades so if you live in an Edwardian terrace, a Georgian property or cottage style house, look out for these kinds of colours which add a stylish touch to historic architecture.

Fashionable front door colours depend very much on your location and the style of your house. Travel through the Cotswolds and you will see a proliferation of stunning greenish-grey paintwork on front doors designed to complement the local limestone. Houses in Scottish cities like Edinburgh often favour natural wooden doors.

More modern houses may suit white or yellow front doors to match contemporary building styles, not to mention natural wood colours which give a timeless look to almost any style of property.

A choice of seven colours are available on Composite Door Shop doors; white, black, red, green, blue, light oak and dark wood.

Our doors can be ordered 24 hours a day 365 days year and you can spend as long as you need designing your own front door on our website. Choose your colour carefully (if you need help, just give us a call) and then it’s over to us. We will quickly deliver your front door and fit it too, with a 10 years installation guarantee.