There are many choices for homes today when selecting a new front door. As well as your preferred design, modern or traditional, the front door material will also be a deciding factor.
Used daily, your front door is arguably the most important door in your home. The choice of design and front door material will dictate how welcoming your home is and provide that all-important kerb appeal, giving a good impression. An attractive front door is one investment that will pay dividends when you come to sell your home.
Selecting the right front door material will provide you with the right design aesthetic for your property as well as dictate how strong, secure, durable and thermally efficient it is.
What are the front door material options?
Whether a door is made of wood, aluminium, steel or a composite/hybrid combination of materials, today you do get a safe, secure and reliable front door. But some doors are better than others. Modern manufacturing techniques, material improvements, better components and design, mean your choices for getting the best front door for your home have never been so good.
In this article, we will explore wood, aluminium, steel, hybrid and composite front door materials and compare their advantages and disadvantages to help you make an informed decision. There are literally hundres of front door options for homes, apartment buildings or commercial buildings. Let us help you navigate the choices and put you in touch with the right front doors from the best suppliers. Contact us now.
Composite front doors
Whilst composite doors are widely known and established in the market, in our view they are the least desirable type of front door. Yes, they’re cheap, easy to track down and even easier to buy. However, the long-term experience with these doors isn’t great. The experience you get with a componsite front door very much depends on which brand you buy. Choosing composite as a front door material provides you with the broadest selection of design, aesthetics and cost options. Without breaking the bank, you could achieve the desired look with good security and reasonable.
How are composite front doors constructed?
Composite front doors are made from a combination of materials such as insulating foam, wood, laminate, uPVC, and GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic).
Composite front doors have a core material, such as insulating foam or wood, which is then reinforced with uPVC or GRP materials to give the door structural integrity.
Typically, the materials are layered, moulded into shape, and then cured using heat.
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Aluminium front doors
Choosing aluminium as a front door material provides the best of all worlds. Strength and security, long service life, attractive looks. With routine cleaning a door that retains it’s appearance over time as well. There is a huge range of aluminium front doors available, and therefore give you doors at a price point similar to composite doors, or doors at the upper level costing a lot of money.
How are aluminium front doors made?
The make-up of aluminium front doors depends on what kind of door you are buying. The cheapest but still excellent solution is an aluminium front door using a normal door system and with a glazed in decorative panel. Visibly, you can see a picture frame or shadow line where the panel is glazed into the door.
At the more premium end are flush aluminium doors where both the inside and outside of the door is seamless and makes the door leaf look like one complete piece. Both types use insulated aluminium panels, with a thick thermal core and reinforcement. The aluminium sheets are formed into panels and commonly joined via welding for strength or adhesive bonding for a sleeker finish to make them structurally sound.
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Aluminium doors are available in classic designs at the more premium end of the market, but these days are choisen more for their contemporary styling, metal accents and colour choice. Powder coating or anodizing techniques enhance the aluminium’s durability and appearance. Powder coating is the addition of a dry powder, which is then cured under heat, whereas anodizing involves depositing an oxide film via an electrochemical process. Both processes add the desired colour to the surface.
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Timber front doors
At the upper end of the front door material choices are real wood doors. Advanced manufacturing techniques, paint and coatings, design and engineering make timber doors a fantastic investment in your home. Timber front doors continue to provide that extra special kerb appeal. Being at the higher end of the price range, if you have the budget, are in a conservation area or want that authentic period look for your home, then wood is for you.
Don’t read too much into the high maintenance messages around timber front doors. Speak to us, or get in touch with experts in these types of doors. You’ll quicky realise the guarantees on timber doors are the same, if not better with some products than aluminium or composite doors.
Timber front doors start with the choice of wood such as oak, mahogany, cherry, walnut or pine. The type of wood you choose will depend on whether you are staining or painting the door, aesthetics, and your budget.
How are timber and wood front doors made?
The wood is cut into stiles (vertical planks), rails (horizontal planks), and decorative pieces. The parts are then joined commonly with mortise and tenon joints for their strength and durability. Any panels are then fitted into grooves in the stiles and rails. This allows for expansion due to changes in humidity. These parts are joined together using wood glue and fastenings such as dowels and screws.
The door is then sanded in preparation for staining or painting, and finally, a protective sealant is applied if not using a dedicated special exterior wood paint.
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Steel front doors
Steel front doors are some of the strongest and longest lasting front doors. They’re widely used in Europe and entrance doors to individual apartments as well as dwellings. With classic or contemporary designs, steel front doors are very strong, built to last, and very resilient to everyday use and the elements.
Some brands use an all-steel construction, others use a steel frame with an aluminium door leaf or aluminium frame with steel door leaf.
How are steel front doors made?
Steel front doors use a very similar construction to aluminium, but steel has the capability for welding, therefore you won’t see the mitres and obvious joints of aluminium doors where present.
The steel door panels are made in a similar way to aluminium using inner and outer skins bonded to a reinforced timber or aluminium core, with thick thermal insulation.
The quality look and feel of steel front doors is obvious from the minute you walk up to the door. But there are now brands that provide steel doors at virtually the price of a premium composite door; again demonstrating better alternatives to these.
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Hybrid front doors
Also at the higher end of the front door market although cheaper than wood front doors are Hybrid doors. Just like their hybrid window counterparts, these are made with wood inside and aluminium outside.
Some brands use an all-steel construction, others use a steel frame with an aluminium door leaf or aluminium frame with steel door leaf.
How are hybrid front doors made?
Hybrid front doors such as those made by Internorm, Velfac, Rationel and other great brands have exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail.
The outer frame of the door is always aluminium outside and wood inside, with the wood available in natural, stained or painted and also in a choice of timbers.
You can feel the quality, the materials and the feel of hybrid front doors, such is their appeal. If you are in the market for a premium front door in aluminium, hybrid front doors come highly recommended as well.
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What are the best front doors for insulation.
Timber doors are the best for insulation due to their solid wood construction, which also feels warm to the touch. Hybrid doors follow, combining insulated wood inside with durable aluminium outside. Aluminium, steel, and PVCu doors can be just as efficient, depending on the glass, frame, and sash design.
However, a U-Value measures energy efficiency, no matter the material. A front door’s U-Value depends on its design, material, and glass content. Therefore, all materials can get to low U-Values.
PVCu has multi-chambered profiles, aluminium uses thermal breaks, and steel doors include thermal or foam inserts. Composite doors maximise efficiency by blending materials like insulating foam cores. Wood is naturally insulating, but quality hardwood, tight seals, and proper finishing help minimise expansion and maintain performance.
When choosing a front door, check the U-value or the Door Energy Rating with the supplier or installer.
What are the best front doors for security?
In this context we are not talking overall door security, but which front door material is the strongest. Steel is the strongest, followed by aluminium, followed closely by hybrid and timber doors. Composite doors are the weakest because of the plastic frame and the flat slab design.
Any of these materials will give you a secure front door. But if the overall strength of your door matters, then it’s the metal options.
On composite doors, a solid wood core is better than a foam filled type. On aluminium you’ll always get a good wall thickness and a rebated design on the door sash, missing on composite doors, that add to the strenght of the profile itself. Hybrid and steel doors use a similar trusted and secure design.
Whilst composite doors are secure and do pass security tests, the weakness of composite front door materials is why many brands seem to rely on using top-brand locking systems and key cylinders with monetary compensation or lifetime warranty if anyone breaks in. Other materials do not. So the question is, are composite doors weaker than aluminium and wood? This comes down to the security test. Once again if a door passes a security test, it passes it. Although, there are several classes of test and methods of attack.
Look for PAS 24, an enhanced door security UK standard for a doorset. A doorset is the complete door assembly consisting of the door frame, door leaf (or leaves), hardware and any integral side panel or fanlight. Its purpose is to test if the doorset, which includes the locks, hinges and glazing, can withstand a forced entry, such as in a burglary using tools or extreme force. Do not just accept security badges and slogans on front door websites.
Doors submitted for testing are often a particular door type, and with specific glass, hardware and perhaps security enhancements, you don’t get as standard with your door. Laminated glass is almost always used when doors are submitted for testing, so check whether your door comes with this. The crucial information here is that your door must be the same as the model submitted for testing; your chosen product may not have the model specifications that passed the security tests.
Secured by Design is the official police security initiative that works to improve buildings’ security. You can check their website to see if the door installation company sells you a doorset that meets PAS 24 standards. Many front doors aren’t security tested with a letterbox. Check these doors have security certification with any optional extra hardware.
Ask what security upgrades are available; don’t assume you are getting the best with the brand’s standard door. Some brands will offer automatic, keypad or fingerprint lock options.
Find the perfect front door with the Door and Window Experts website
With knowledge of virtually every front door on the market, and nearly four decades expertise in windows and doors, we can help you find the right front door from the best suppliers. Please get in touch, and we will be happy to advise.