Hi,

After collecting SWMBO from work yesterday, we got home to find our 20
year old uPVC front door cracked...

There seems to be no sign of attempted entry through / around the door /
frame, indeed, it looks like the door was pushed from the inside to
crack the outer shell.

This door points to just North of West and has no shielding from the
sun-light when it is sunny.

I have found (on the 'net) that these uPVC doors can deteriorate from
exposure to sun-light, and this can cause cracks to appear.

I have seen various types of new door available, eg: steel; aluminium;
uPVC; GRP (some sites call this Glass Reinforced Plastic, others call it
Glass Reinforced Polyester); composite; and timber.

It would seem a natural thought not to have another uPVC door, and from
what I've read, timber would not be ideal either, but we do not plan
staying here much longer...

Any thoughts from those with GRP or composite or metal doors ?

Thanks

David

Hi,

After collecting SWMBO from work yesterday, we got home to find our 20
year old uPVC front door cracked...

There seems to be no sign of attempted entry through / around the door /
frame, indeed, it looks like the door was pushed from the inside to
crack the outer shell.

This door points to just North of West and has no shielding from the
sun-light when it is sunny.

I have found (on the 'net) that these uPVC doors can deteriorate from
exposure to sun-light, and this can cause cracks to appear.

That's worrying, we have all 20 year old upvc windows and doors.

Mike

On Thu, 3 Apr 2014 16:23:14 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

Hi,

After collecting SWMBO from work yesterday, we got home to find our 20
year old uPVC front door cracked...

There seems to be no sign of attempted entry through / around the door /
frame, indeed, it looks like the door was pushed from the inside to
crack the outer shell.

This door points to just North of West and has no shielding from the
sun-light when it is sunny.

I have found (on the 'net) that these uPVC doors can deteriorate from
exposure to sun-light, and this can cause cracks to appear.

That's worrying, we have all 20 year old upvc windows and doors.

Mike

Yes - mine are from 1991 and the front door faces SW, so gets rather hot.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

(snip)

Thanks for the replies.

I have visited a few showrooms today, and there seems to be a variety of
materials and construction methods under the banner of "composite", and
a few different materials inside the uPVC door insert panel.

One company stated that they had installed thousands of "composite" door
over the last 17 years, but no more. He claimed that they have a
weakness where the internal corners of decorative shapes in the panels
and they can break there.... He was flummoxed when I told him that I had
seen three different types of composite doors that morning.

The aluminium doors looked nice, but they are not 'A' rated as the
plastic coated doors are.

The composite doors are far thicker than the uPVC doors with the insert
panel.

I removed the beads from the door to try to turn the insert panel around
so the crack was inside, but it looks like the packers were glued in. I
might have another go, as I did not have a lot of time when I tried to
turn the panel around and I needed to go and pick up SWMBO from work.

I have a concern about rotating the insert panel, as it will 'smell'
different and the cats may decide to 'claim' the new smell with their
unique scent, as they may well do with the new one... :-(

best wishes

David

David wrote:
It would seem a natural thought not to have another uPVC door, and from
what I've read, timber would not be ideal either, but we do not plan
staying here much longer...

fill in the crack and then paint the door, or if it's only an inset panel that's affected it might be possible to cover it with textured fablon as a feature and the edges not be too visible.

Owain

On 04/04/2014 18:58 wrote:

David wrote:
It would seem a natural thought not to have another uPVC door, and from
what I've read, timber would not be ideal either, but we do not plan
staying here much longer...

fill in the crack and then paint the door, or if it's only an inset panel that's affected it might be possible to cover it with textured fablon as a feature and the edges not be too visible.

Or get a replacement insert?

--
F

On Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:49:31 +0100, David wrote:


The composite doors are far thicker than the uPVC doors with the insert
panel.

I had a composite door installed about three years ago and am very
happy with its installation and appearance. But it is no better
insullation than its 'ordinary' predecessor despite the salesman
saying that they are 'A' rated. But of course the door frames aren't.
[The door opens into a small outer hall which also has the cloakroom
off it. In winter, even with the cloakroom radiator heat feeding into
the hall via the open cloakroom door, it's bloody cold. If I leave the
key in the lock overnight then it, the key, gets 'very' cold. I
supposed I wouldn't notice the deficiency if I left the inner door
open.]

On 05/04/2014 10:13, Peter Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:49:31 +0100, wrote:


The composite doors are far thicker than the uPVC doors with the insert
panel.

I had a composite door installed about three years ago and am very
happy with its installation and appearance. But it is no better
insullation than its 'ordinary' predecessor despite the salesman
saying that they are 'A' rated. But of course the door frames aren't.
[The door opens into a small outer hall which also has the cloakroom
off it. In winter, even with the cloakroom radiator heat feeding into
the hall via the open cloakroom door, it's bloody cold. If I leave the
key in the lock overnight then it, the key, gets 'very' cold. I
supposed I wouldn't notice the deficiency if I left the inner door
open.]

In Winter, the "Euro lock" part of the internal furniture gets
condensation on, as does the internal letter flap. We shall not be
having a letter slot on the new door.

Insulation wise, the uPVC door has been quite good, that part of the
hall is not really any colder. But, I've never been really happy with
the door, it has always felt a bit flimsy.

David

On 04/04/2014 19:18, F wrote:
On 04/04/2014 18:58 wrote:

David wrote:
It would seem a natural thought not to have another uPVC door, and from
what I've read, timber would not be ideal either, but we do not plan
staying here much longer...

fill in the crack and then paint the door, or if it's only an inset
panel that's affected it might be possible to cover it with textured
fablon as a feature and the edges not be too visible.

Or get a replacement insert?


SWMBO is set on a new door now, but thanks.
I am still going to reverse the panel, if I can, for now.

David