Hello, I’m Dave Walters from DW Windows and I thought I’d, make a little video to try and explain the differences between a composite door and a uPVC door. A lot of customers come into our showroom and ask for a composite door but don’t actually know what the difference is, so, I thought I would try and explain.
What’s the difference between a composite door and uPVC door?
I’ll start with a uPVC door. This is a uPVC door, obviously, it’s all uPVC apart from the metal moving parts. The downside of a uPVC door is the actual insert panel, this section here, that is separate to the door leaf itself and it is removable. Ours are all internally glazed so it’s very hard to get in there, but it is more possible to break in through a uPVC door; they’re not quite as secure as the composites. This insert panel is 28mm’s thick, an inch and a quarter.
OK, so moving onto a composite door. It’s called a ‘composite’ because it’s composed of several different materials. The inside and the outside skin are GRP, Glass Reinforced Plastic, and inside that, you have a reinforced insulated core. You’ve also got the metal moving parts again and then you always have a uPVC frame. So, if you have a composite door you do get a new door and a new frame, composed of four main different materials.
What are the benefits of a composite door?
The benefits of a composite door are the door leaf.
- On our standard composite doors, the door leaf is actually 44mm thick, so, almost twice as thick as a uPVC door leaf.
- All the glass is bonded into the frame and virtually impossible to remove the glass on a composite door. So, you get thicker doors, so it’s better for security. You’ve got a better energy rating because it’s thicker.
- It looks a lot more realistic, like a timber door; because the GRP has a nice grain on it, whereas the uPVC is just smooth and, obviously, very plasticky.
- You get a range of different colours as well with composite doors, so you’ve got a lot more choice.
- They are a bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for.
So, as I said that’s the main differences and while we’re here; we do a few different composite doors at DW Windows. This is our standard composite door, 44mm’s thick, with a single rebate. So, you’ve got a rebate on the frame and all your seals and your gaskets there to weatherproof it, but you’re just relying on that one rebate to stop the elements and any draughts, and the door slab is just square with the one rebate.
We also do a double rebated composite door. Same principles, but instead of having just the one rebate on the frame you’ve also got a rebate on the door leaf as well, so you’ve got an extra seal – a double seal if you like. This whole slab is 70mm or 3 inches thick, so, again, it’s better for security; virtually indestructible. It’s also better for energy efficiency because the thicker these doors are the more energy efficient they are; the better the insulation they’ve got inside them. Generally, composite door furniture is upgraded and better quality and, again, as you go up through the ranges the quality gets better again, as well as the locking systems, the handles and the hinges.
High-quality composite doors securing homes across the West Midlands
So, I hope that makes a little bit of sense! We’ve got 25 doors on display here at our head office in Coseley, so if you want to pop down and find us on the internet that’s great. Our website is www.dwwindows.co.uk or you can give us a call for free on 0800 999 0909.
Thanks for listening, take care.
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