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.

            

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.