How to choose the most suitable front door for your house
The entrance is the focus of the house. It is something that the visitor automatically looks for and wants to find as soon as possible. However, appearance and aesthetics are not the only features we look for in front doors. Even more important are anti-theft protection, insulation and the durability of materials.
Multi-point front door lock
Modern front doors are structurally stronger, so are the hinges and multi-point locks; front doors for apartments in multi-apartment buildings are lighter and have simpler security, as basic security is provided at the entrance to the building, but they have a greater emphasis on sound insulation and fire safety. Manufacturers achieve a level of security with various elements, among the most important of which is certainly a suitable anti-theft lock with security pins. All newer locks allow multi-point locking, possibly with mechanical or electrical controls, and the cylinder is protected against drilling. Multi-point locks lock the door in several places. These locks typically work by locking all the multi-point locking pins at the same time as you turn the key in the lock.
Do you already know which front doors go best with your home?
If the entrance is spruced up and the door is of good quality, it illustrates strength, solidity and care. Emphasise it with darker tones if the facade is light, or with lighter tones if the facade is darker. You can use a color that has already been used somewhere on the facade, but perhaps in a more intense tone. If the colors on the facade are very neutral and monotonous, the more vibrant and warmer tone of the door will immediately conjure up a warm welcome for family members and guests. If you are not sure what kind of front doors would best go with your home, it is good to bring a photo of the house from the front side to the showroom. This will make it much easier for you and the door experts to choose the door that will go best with your home.
What do popular front door colors say about you?
When you undertake a renovation
Did you know that houses that are just 30 years old are also 80 percent more wasteful than modern passive houses? The most common disadvantage of old houses is poor thermal insulation. In complete renovations, the residents most often replace the windows and doors, and insulate the facade and the roof. A good thing is to reduce the thermal bridge represented by the front door - this can be mitigated slightly with an unheated windbreak. In fact, the goal of any renovation should be at least a low-energy house. If you are opting for an energy efficient house, you will definitely choose the best insulated door on the market. However, if you are looking for a door for the house you are renovating, it makes sense to invest in better insulating and slightly more expensive doors and windows, which will help you save on heating costs every year. If the house is provided with adequate mechanical ventilation, the thicker wall and door insulation, in addition to savings on heating, also bring a more pleasant stay in the house.
Good insulation and sealing of the front door
A key feature of entrance doors for low-energy construction or thorough renovation is that they are highly insulating and seal well. Among the most suitable doors for passive buildings are aluminium doors with carbon fibres, which strengthen aluminium and, in addition, reduce its thermal conductivity. According to the required standards, the thermal conductivity of entrance doors for passive construction must reach the value of less than 0.80 W / m2K. If the value is lower, so much the better, as this means even lower thermal conductivity than standard requirements. Sealing can affect the energy balance of passive houses even more than the insulation itself or the thermal conductivity of the door. Therefore, the joints between the doors (as well as the windows) and the building element must be sealed in such a way that there are no thermal bridges after installation and that optimal air tightness is ensured - in passive construction this must be less than 0.6h-1.
How much can you save with well insulated front doors?
Bright and spacious
Windows and sidelights, as part of the front door, also affect the visual perception of the entrance. Whether the door has a window or not, the space behind it can also be lit abundantly with sidelights to the left and right of the door, making the interior of the home much brighter. In addition, the sidelights will give the impression of a much larger and more majestic entrance.
For orientation and a sense of security
In the evening, our perception of space is different to when our path is illuminated by daylight. If there is no light in front of the threshold, a person can be intimidated by his own shadow. But the fear of sounds and shadows quickly disappears if illumination is integrated in the front door. The lights enable better orientation in the dark and at the same time ensure that without feeling and searching we immediately know where the door handle and the lock are - whether a classic or a touch lock. If you are choosing a front door for your home, it is good to know that LED illumination in the door needs to be envisaged in advance. The power cable for the LED illumination is imperceptibly hidden in the door frame. You will determine at what stage of twilight the light will turn on and off and you can also adjust the light intensity. The lighting has its own connector which can be connected to a permanent source of energy to provide lighting 24 hours a day, or you can choose a light sensor that provides lighting only at night. LED-illuminated doors can also be connected to a motion sensor which ensures that the illumination in the door is switched on when the sensor detects movement. You can also decide on a timer for the programmed exposure time. You can also select the on/off option with the switch.
Low consumption
If you opt for the doors with built-in illumination, know that when the integrated illumination in the door is switched on, it consumes extremely little electricity. Consumption does depend on the model, but it is minimal, up to 15 watts, so you will pay a maximum of ten euros a year for the electricity consumed, usually significantly less. The life-span of LED illumination is generally very long; if there are no severe fluctuations in the network, it operates more than 50,000 hours on average. Therefore, you will not need a contractor to replace the LED illumination of the door for at least the next five years.
When the front doors are too hard a nut for burglars to crack
Once upon a time, front doors were predominantly made of wood, and the thicker they were, the greater protection against burglary they provided. Today, the thickness of the doors does not in itself guarantee safety; the more important thing is how they are made. Anti-theft security doors must be impact-resistant and must withstand the force of the burglar and various burglary techniques. The steel construction on the door leaf and frame, high-quality safety fittings and professional installation contribute to this. Trained burglars can usually drill a cylinder lock in a matter of seconds. If a burglar finds out that it would take a lot of time, tools, and noise to enter a house, he will most likely not tackle such an anti-theft security door. That's why it's good to have doors that signal from afar that they are too hard a nut for burglars to crack. The main factors for greater security against burglars include a quality profile system and a multi-point lock that has additional security pins. Quality anti-theft doors have evidence of certificates that ensure that the doors meet verified security standards.
If you often misplace the front door keys
Spare keys intended for a security lock can only be made by an authorised locksmith who must also be given a security card that prevents the keys from being forged. If you often misplace your keys, you may consider opening the door electronically with a fingerprint reader or a biometric system.
Immediately check how the front doors open
When properly installed and maintained, front doors will last for decades. Quality doors are already optimally set in production and then they must be set correctly during the installation, which should be done by an experienced installation team. The fittings are properly oiled when the door is delivered and any impurities that occur during the installation of the product must be removed by the installation contractor. As a customer, you must make sure, during the installation, that the door opens and closes properly. You must also receive written instructions for cleaning, caring for and maintaining the doors; the installer must explain to you how to use and correctly adjust the door if necessary.
Minimal maintenance
You can help lengthen the life of the door yourself with a few actions: in addition to adjustment with a screwdriver (it is recommended to do it once a year), which will ensure smooth opening and closing, clean the door with a soft and slightly damp cloth to remove dust and dirt. Aluminium powder-coated doors are the least sensitive, you can easily wipe the dirt off with a damp cloth, and use a mild cleaning fluid mixed with water, as recommended by the door manufacturer. Once a year, all moving parts of the fittings must be oiled, and they can only be cleaned with cleaning fluids that do not damage the corrosion protection. It is also advisable to periodically check the screws for tightness. For glass on the doors, use mild glass cleaning fluids that are rinsed with water. Never use abrasive cleaning agents or cleaning agents with a chemical effect. If the door closes too tightly, it will usually help if you just lubricate them with a WD spray. If the problems are not remedied, the door may need to be removed from the hinges and the plantings cleaned. In any case, it is best to call the door seller first and ask for advice, as a lot can be solved by consulting over the phone.
Unlock the front door with your finger instead of the keys
For front doors, we can choose a reader that reads fingerprints, RFID media (which allow radio frequency identification) and dials. A reliable fingerprint reader allows us to live without keys. Or to put it another way: it allows us to always have the key with us, as our finger is our key. Readers that read RFID media in addition to fingerprints are intended primarily when users change. For example, we would like to allow a community nurse to enter our home. As there are more nurses visiting patients at home, more fingerprints should be entered. What if one of these nurses is replaced by yet another one? We have a new problem! In this case, it is good that the RFID medium enables the unlocking of the door and lets the nurse in. Both the RFID medium and the key also have their weaknesses. We can lose it, leave it somewhere, or it gets stolen. The advantage of the RFID media over a key is that it can be deleted from the system, thus preventing anyone who steals or finds the media from accessing our home. Unfortunately, this is not the case with keys. Dials are somewhere in between. We don’t have to carry anything with us, but we need to know the code. The advantage is that in an emergency, someone can pass it on to us and then delete it from the system. The security of the dial access depends on the number of digits we use. It is certainly safer to use eight digits than four. All readers and dials work on the same principle. Next, we need to enter a fingerprint, RFID media or code to tell who has access. Only then does the user have access to the apartment.
Choose insulated and secure front doors
Front doors are bought to last for a few decades, so it is a long-term investment in the quality of your stay.
Doors that are safe and well insulated are essential for a quality lifestyle, so even if the purchase is not the most cost effective, the investment in quality really pays off.
It is advised that you take your time and carefully consider the choice of front doors. Contact our experienced consultants for advice, they will advise you accordingly.
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