Bit of help with buying a new front door please

[Arcam_boy]

Hello,

I've decided I'd like to replace our UPVC front door with a nice composite door instead.

They seem quite expensive to buy direct and so I may look at buying one off eBay and having it fitted to save a few hundred quid.

Couple of questions...

Is there anything to look at in terms of build quality with these doors? I've smashed a few off their hinges in my job and some seem to be pretty easy and some built like fort knox!

I've found a nice door thats 900mm wide. My current door measures 910mm wide, would this still fit or do I need to find a 910mm door? It's quite hard to measure and I don't want to get it wrong!

Thanks for any help/advice/tips

Mark

 

[jassco]

What's your budget? I paid 649 for mine, installed and with a ten year guarantee.

If I was in your position and didn't feel knowledgeable enough about fitting etc I'd just pay a little bit more for a professional to do it

 

[Arcam_boy]

Well ideally I was looking at doing it for under £500.

The door I really like on eBay is £299 and I'd like to think I could get it fitted for £200 or less and would get a pro to fit it.

I'm just a little unsure if the frame has to be a perfect fit or can be a little smaller.

A local company will supply and fit one but have quoted £1050.

 

[1jim]

What's your budget? I paid 649 for mine, installed and with a ten year guarantee.

If I was in your position and didn't feel knowledgeable enough about fitting etc I'd just pay a little bit more for a professional to do it

That seems a very reasonable price, did tui user a builder or window fitting outfit? Thinking of getting a new front door in the not too distant future

 

[jassco]

That seems a very reasonable price, did tui user a builder or window fitting outfit? Thinking of getting a new front door in the not too distant future

PM sent so as to not derail the thread

 

[Grangey.]

OP you can get "packers"/add ons (I dont think this is exactly what theyre called, but they are litterally lengths of PVC made for increasing a doors width) in which generally I believe measure 5mm, 10mm, 20mm, and 50mm so no the door doesnt have to be exact you would simply insert a packer bar one/either side to fill the appropriate space as near as damn possible. Then use expanding foam to seal any gap and make good either side with upvc strips or silicone as you see fit.

Im not a pro its worth adding but this is pretty much how its done.

 

[a l e x]

Is there anything to look at in terms of build quality with these doors? I've smashed a few off their hinges in my job and some seem to be pretty easy and some built like fort knox!

The cheap ones are filled with foam, more expensive ones like Solidor are solid core and much stronger.