Which front door material should I choose?

Front doors are sold on appearance and bought on price, and the material determines almost everything else: how it performs, how it ages, what it costs to keep, and what happens when it is damaged. The security question is largely independent of all of it, because on every one of these doors the weak point is the cylinder and the hardware.

Step by step

1. Start with what the house requires.A listed building or a house in a conservation area may be restricted to timber, and may need consent for any change. A modern estate may have a planning condition or an estate covenant on door appearance. Check before choosing on looks.
2. Understand composite doors.A solid insulating core with a moulded skin, usually in a uPVC or composite outer frame. Good thermal performance, a solid feel and sound, very low maintenance, wide colour choice. Weaknesses: dark colours bow in sun, the skin can delaminate, and a damaged slab is replaced rather than repaired.
3. Understand uPVC doors.A hollow multi-chamber panel in a uPVC frame, with steel reinforcement. Cheapest, lightest and thinnest, and it is the difference in feel that people notice. Fine on a sheltered back door; on a front door it is the option chosen on price.
4. Understand timber doors.The only one that can be planed, filled, spliced and repainted indefinitely, which is why period houses keep them. They need maintenance, they move with the seasons, and a poorly finished timber door is high-maintenance. A well-made and properly finished one outlives everything else here.
5. Understand aluminium doors.Slim frames, very strong, dimensionally stable, and available in very large sizes. Modern ones have thermal breaks and perform well; older ones without them are cold. Expensive, and the aesthetic is contemporary rather than traditional.
6. Separate security from material.On every one of these doors, an attacker goes for the cylinder or the frame fixings, not the slab. A high-rated cylinder, a graded handle, reinforced keeps and a properly fixed frame matter far more than what the door is made of.
7. Think about the elevation.A south or west-facing door in full sun bows if it is dark and composite. A door in a sheltered porch can be almost anything. A door exposed to driving rain needs its threshold and weather detailing thought about whatever the material.
8. Think about repairability.Timber is repairable by any joiner. Composite slabs and uPVC panels are replaced, and only if the manufacturer still makes a matching one. That matters more than people expect over a twenty-year life.
9. Compare the whole doorset, not the slab.The frame, the threshold, the multipoint lock, the cylinder standard, the hinges, the glazing specification and the guarantee. Two quotes for 'a composite door' can differ enormously on all of those.
10. Check the certification path.Replacing an external door is controlled work under building regulations. Confirm the installer is scheme-registered and that the certificate is included, before ordering.

Alternatives

• Composite: The mainstream choice. Best all-round balance of thermal performance, feel and maintenance. Watch dark colours on sunny elevations.
• uPVC: Cheapest. Lighter and thinner, and it feels it. Reasonable on a back or side door, a compromise on a front one.
• Timber: Repairable, appropriate for period and listed properties, and the only option that can be adjusted with a plane. Needs a maintained finish.
• Aluminium: Strong, slim, stable and suited to large or contemporary openings. Expensive, and older non-thermally-broken frames run cold.

Questions people ask