Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Hi all, I am interested in a contemporary, statement front door like these: https://camelglass.co.uk/liquid-metal-front-entrance-doors/ Initial research suggests these things are very expensive for what they are. I wonder if anyone has any advice on the following: 1. Are they always as expensive as I have found so far (thousands rather than hundreds for a door)? 2. Is there any merit in taking a standard old timber door and seeking to attach sheet material to it, thereby achieving a similar effect? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 18 minutes ago, Tony K said: ... 1. Are they always as expensive as I have found so far (thousands rather than hundreds for a door)? 2. Is there any merit in taking a standard old timber door and seeking to attach sheet material to it, thereby achieving a similar effect? ... 1. I have bought 2. Yes. 2. I doubt it. I say that becuase of my experience of all the little bits of the door : hinges, striker plate, embedded glass, locking mechanism - they're all vastly superior to a standard timber door. And vastly more expensive. Vastly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 22 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said: 1. I have bought 2. Yes. 2. I doubt it. I say that becuase of my experience of all the little bits of the door : hinges, striker plate, embedded glass, locking mechanism - they're all vastly superior to a standard timber door. And vastly more expensive. Vastly. I thought so! Mind you, if I had a normal timber front door with normal hinges etc, and I just stuck a sheet of thin material to the front, making holes carefully for the key hole and post box, that could work? In theory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 With lot of patience you could probably make something that, from a distance, at dusk and with a squint, looked like an aluminum door but you do really notice the difference in quality when you open and close them. The prices are painful though, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Well as a DIY nut I would make my own, buy a heavy door blank and fix rusty steel/copper/aluminium /whatever and buy decent locks and hinges (emperors new clothes spring to mind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 43 minutes ago, Tony K said: ... Mind you, if I had a normal timber front door with normal hinges etc, and I just stuck a sheet of thin material to the front, making holes carefully for the key hole and post box, that could work? ... Your screen name wasn't @Onoff at one time was it? 'Cos if it had been, I'd say yes, you might get away with it. Until you actually opened the door: you feel its weight, its heft, the way it goes clunk. One of ours is mostly glass - everyone comments on it. And the lady postie has seen more of me than she bargained for (or I for that matter ?) Its a feel thing as well as what it looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 17 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said: Until you actually opened the door: you feel its weight, its heft, the way it goes clunk. One of ours is mostly glass - everyone comments on it. And the lady postie has seen more of me than she bargained for (or I for that matter ?) Its a feel thing as well as what it looks like. Gotcha. though I have never encountered a proper expensive posh door, so I won't know any better! As the song says, if I hadn't seen such riches I could live with being poor! 49 minutes ago, joe90 said: Well as a DIY nut I would make my own, buy a heavy door blank and fix rusty steel/copper/aluminium /whatever and buy decent locks and hinges (emperors new clothes spring to mind). This is my thinking precisely. I only want a solid door with no windows, so I'm only affixing one whole thin sheet to a door, or perhaps several equally sized strips, which should make it easier. Given the low cost of 2nd hand heavy doors on ebay, and the relative low cost of sheets of various materials, I might just have a go. Unless anyone has any suggestions for reasonably priced doors of this type? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 7 minutes ago, Tony K said: Unless anyone has any suggestions for reasonably priced doors of this type? What do you consider reasonably priced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 A decent sheet metal place could fold you two L shaped skins, each having a face and an edge. Taken a bit further you could have apertures such as for letter boxes and hinges pre cut via laser or water jet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 6 minutes ago, Ralph said: What do you consider reasonably priced? Less than a grand? 2 minutes ago, Onoff said: A decent sheet metal place could fold you two L shaped skins, each having a face and an edge. Taken a bit further you could have apertures such as for letter boxes and hinges pre cut via laser or water jet. Now you're talking! Thats is a very interesting idea. I may even be able to place that folded sheet around a simple timber frame rather than an old door, and place insulation on the voids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 5 minutes ago, Tony K said: Less than a grand? Not seen one close to that. https://www.vidaxl.co.uk/e/vidaxl-aluminium-front-door-anthracite-90x200-cm/8720286231449.html?&gclid=Cj0KCQjws-OEBhCkARIsAPhOkIZ2oYC2Ip9BWtxAuFrvQlVzl55_1BAI19WMXM25Ae59fCswgjlxWVQaApxxEALw_wcB probably too small. You can get a steel security door for £250 and pump insulation in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 I have made large front doors using blanks and plant on timber to resemble originals. Just first tinternet search https://www.doordeals.co.uk/products/external-doors/solid-external-doors/external-door-blank-(solid-core).aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, joe90 said: I have made large front doors using blanks and plant on timber to resemble originals. Just first tinternet search https://www.doordeals.co.uk/products/external-doors/solid-external-doors/external-door-blank-(solid-core).aspx Timber rather than steel is another idea I've considered. I quite like timber in horizontal panels. My concern would be that whereas metal would be robust in a thin sheet, I presume timber cladding would need to be thicker? What timber did you use, and were you please with the result? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 23 minutes ago, Tony K said: Less than a grand? Now you're talking! Thats is a very interesting idea. I may even be able to place that folded sheet around a simple timber frame rather than an old door, and place insulation on the voids? It's the sort of project that can be done on the cheap if you've a mate who runs a fabrication company etc or you can slip it through with another job. You need to be careful at the junction where the two 'Ls" meet so as to avoid sharp edges and corners etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 If @Onoff sounds like he's sucking his teeth, @Tony K, it's marginal. But, I'm not - definitely not - saying you should not try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 12 minutes ago, Onoff said: It's the sort of project that can be done on the cheap if you've a mate who runs a fabrication company etc or you can slip it through with another job. You need to be careful at the junction where the two 'Ls" meet so as to avoid sharp edges and corners etc. Well, I don't have such a mate, but even commercially the material itself doesn't seem too expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 21 minutes ago, Tony K said: What timber did you use, and were you please with the result? It was an OSB core with veneer either side, trimmed and oak plant on,s all round, mouldings glued and pinned on to replicate panels and painted (by the customer). It was an oversized Victorian front door I was replacing due to rot. Customer really pleased. Oh and heavy duty bearing hinges to cope with the weight. (Was a few years ago thinking about it ?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 We spent a *lot* on a RK door but it was passive standard, thermally broken with all the seals and gaskets etc. Amazing hinges allow door to open 180o (if there hadn't' been a wall in the way, doh) and fingerprint sensor which has worked flawlessly for 5 years - no keys for the kids to loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 12 minutes ago, Bitpipe said: We spent a *lot* on a RK door but it was passive standard, thermally broken with all the seals and gaskets etc. Amazing hinges allow door to open 180o (if there hadn't' been a wall in the way, doh) and fingerprint sensor which has worked flawlessly for 5 years - no keys for the kids to loose. I really like our RK door but I just can't get the day latch to work. ie. if you close the door it's always locked from the outside, no matter how I set the thumb turn on the inside. I do need to go back to them, again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 28 minutes ago, Bitpipe said: ... fingerprint sensor which has worked flawlessly for 5 years... Now we know the truth. You've never mixed concrete and thus lost yer fingerprints have ya? Ha! Gottcha! Busted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 45 minutes ago, joe90 said: It was an OSB core with veneer either side, trimmed and oak plant on,s all round, mouldings glued and pinned on to replicate panels and painted (by the customer). It was an oversized Victorian front door I was replacing due to rot. Customer really pleased. Oh and heavy duty bearing hinges to cope with the weight. (Was a few years ago thinking about it ?). That's the kind of thing I had imagined. As you say, I can buy a blank door and add to it. I presume I would then ask a chippy to produce a frame that fits the resultant door rather than buying a standard one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, Tony K said: That's the kind of thing I had imagined. As you say, I can buy a blank door and add to it. I presume I would then ask a chippy to produce a frame that fits the resultant door rather than buying a standard one? Yes, but you could plant on to a standard frame to make up the extra thickness of the door blank, just make sure it’s glued well ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, joe90 said: Yes, but you could plant on to a standard frame to make up the extra thickness of the door blank, just make sure it’s glued well ?. Right, so buy a standard blank door with frame to match, then customise both? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 1 hour ago, ToughButterCup said: Now we know the truth. You've never mixed concrete and thus lost yer fingerprints have ya? Ha! Gottcha! Busted! Yep, I've rubbed them away moving blocks, digging holes etc. However I always carry a key, maybe use once a few months. Kids not mixing much concrete these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makeitstop Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 (edited) On 10/05/2021 at 16:18, Onoff said: A decent sheet metal place could fold you two L shaped skins, each having a face and an edge. Taken a bit further you could have apertures such as for letter boxes and hinges pre cut via laser or water jet. This is what I think too. If you find a great fabricator and are able to give proper consideration to detailing, I reckon something amazing could be diy'd. Wouldn't be easy, but it could be exceptionally unique. Cant say the idea appeals to me though. Dont see the point. Edited May 11, 2021 by Makeitstop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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