When is a door not a door?

It’s funny how we still remember some of the old saying and jokes our school friends and parents told us………particularly the bad ones! That said, in this energy conservation age, thermally efficiency wise, a door in practical terms is not actually a door (in the energy saving sense) when it is a-jar, as obviously when open a door lets out all the energy that has been generated by the property’s heating system.

A door is also not a door when it is a-jar in the security sense either, as it is designed to provide access and egress for the property’s owner(s), visitors and guests. You don’t find many UK households today who leave their front and/or back doors unlocked at night! I do know a few who do risk leaving them open during the day, but if they were to be burgled their insurance company would not pay them anything, in the same way if an unlocked car is stolen. Nowadays, most insurance companies insist on multi-point locking for front and back doors, and sometimes require an additional deadlock, and unless when you leave your property you do lock both locks (i.e. the yale lock and the mortice lock) its contents simply will not be insured, despite the fact you have paid a premium!

Doors are a common cause of draughts and leaks in most homes, so fitting replacement double glazed or even triple glazed residential doors is a sure way to reduce the amount of heat your property is losing as a result of retaining old inefficient doors. The added bonus is that multi-locking comes as standard on virtually every aluminium, composite and UPVC double glazed front door in the UK marketplace. By raising the door handles vertically on these high security doors, one not only activates the locking mechanisms, but also engages the gaskets around the door frame, creating a seal, keeping out the cold, reducing draughts and keeping expensive heat inside.

A door is neither a container (i.e. a jar!) when it is open or shut, but when open it does let the cold outside in and the warmth stored inside out. Thermally efficiency wise, your property will greatly benefit by fitting it with double glazed doors, and obviously benefit even more if you install a triple glazed UPVC front door, back door or a set of triple glazed French doors.
Aluminium double glazed residential doors are excellent replacement doors in terms of added energy efficiency and security, however the most thermally efficient and secure doors are the top of the range composite front doors, and composite French doors that are available in the UK. The downside is that high quality double glazed composite front doors, do cost more than UPVC or aluminium replacement doors, but when it comes to saving energy, the security of your home and fantastic aesthetic appearance, do you really want to compromise and settle for second or third best? Even though Hazlemere’s composite door range is the most expensive type of replacement doors in their High Wycombe doors showroom (although less than the cost of double glazed solid hardwood front doors), they are still Hazlemere’s best selling front doors, which tells its own story.

That said, when it comes to replacement back doors, kitchen doors or French doors opening into the garden or onto the patio, most owners in the South of England are more than happy to install UPVC or aluminium doors as their back door or kitchen door, given these areas are usually more secure in the first place, and the double glazed replacement aluminium or UPVC doors are a dramatic improvement both security wise and thermally wise on the old leaky and draughty doors.

So when is a door not a door?………When it is not double or triple glazed………..and securely shut!