Why online door reviews mislead
A review is almost always written within a few weeks of installation. At that point the door looks new, shuts nicely and hasn't been through a winter. The reviewer can genuinely only comment on the buying experience and the appearance.
The things that go wrong on doors go wrong in years three to ten: a cylinder that snaps under attack, hinges that sag on a heavy slab, a hollow core that lets the slab bow, a frame that wasn't packed and starts to move. By then nobody goes back to update a review.
The six things a fitter actually checks
Read these as a checklist you can take to any quote, including ours. If a supplier won't put them in writing, that itself is the answer.
- Core — solid timber or high-density foam, not hollow or part-filled
- Subframe — reinforced within the slab so the door stays square
- Lock — multi-point with hooks and rollers, into steel keeps
- Cylinder — TS007 three-star, or one-star plus a two-star handle set
- Outer frame — steel or aluminium reinforcement in the uPVC frame
- Guarantee — insurance-backed, so it survives the installer
| Claim you'll see | What to ask instead |
|---|---|
| 'Highly secure' | Is the door set PAS 24 tested, and what star rating is the cylinder? |
| 'Energy efficient' | What's the door set U-value and the glass unit spec? |
| 'Solid construction' | What is the core made of, and is the subframe reinforced? |
| 'Lifetime guarantee' | Is it insurance-backed, and by whom? |
| 'Fully fitted' | Does that include removal, disposal and making good? |
PAS 24 — the phrase that gets stretched
PAS 24 is a test standard for a complete door set: slab, frame, hinges, lock and glazing tested together as installed. That's the meaningful claim.
What you'll sometimes see instead is 'PAS 24 hardware' or 'PAS 24 compliant components'. That means individual parts came from a range that has been tested somewhere, in some configuration, not necessarily the one you're buying. The distinction is worth one question on the phone.
Cylinders: the cheapest thing that matters most
Cylinder snapping is still one of the most common forced-entry methods on domestic doors in the UK, and it takes seconds on an unprotected cylinder. The defence is a cylinder tested to TS007 three-star, which is designed to sacrifice a section and leave the lock still engaged.
There's a legitimate alternative: a TS007 one-star cylinder fitted inside a two-star rated security handle set. One plus two makes three, and it's an equally valid specification. What is not acceptable on a new door in 2026 is an unrated cylinder, and it's the single most common way a headline door price is cut.
Glazing in the door, not just in the windows
Door glass is safety-critical by position, so it must be toughened or laminated. Laminated is the better choice for security because it stays in the frame when struck.
The other detail worth checking is how the glass is held in. Externally beaded glazing on an unrated door can allow the bead to be removed and the unit lifted out. Internally beaded, or externally beaded with security clips, removes that route entirely. Ask which yours is.
The installer is half of what you're buying
A perfectly specified door fitted badly is a badly performing door. If the frame isn't packed at the fixing points and is foamed in instead, it flexes; if it flexes, the multi-point lock stops engaging cleanly, and within a couple of years you're lifting the handle hard to lock up.
Ask who is physically doing the work. We fit with our own team out of our LE18 4TD workshop and we don't subcontract, which means the person who quotes it is accountable for it. That is a fair question to ask any company, and a vague answer tells you plenty.
Guarantees: read the word 'insurance-backed'
A manufacturer's guarantee covers the slab against defects. An installer's guarantee covers the workmanship. Neither is worth anything if the company ceases trading, and in this trade companies do.
An insurance-backed guarantee is underwritten by a third party and registered against your property, so it survives the installer. Ours runs ten years. When you read a review that praises a 'lifetime guarantee', check which of these three things it actually is.
U-values: the one number worth comparing
A door set U-value measures how much heat passes through the whole assembly — slab, frame and glazing together — per square metre for each degree of temperature difference. Lower is better. Building Regulations set a maximum for replacement external doors in England, and any reputable door comfortably beats it.
The trap is the phrase 'centre pane' or 'glass only'. A glass-only figure describes the sealed unit in isolation and will always look better than the whole door, because the frame and the slab edge are where heat actually escapes. If two quotes show different-looking numbers, check they're measuring the same thing before concluding one door is better.
The second trap is quoting a U-value for a solid door and then supplying a heavily glazed version of it. Glass area changes the figure. Ask for the U-value of the configuration you are actually buying.
Six things to check on the day it's fitted
The review you should trust most is the one you write yourself, five minutes after the fitters pack up. Walk the door before you sign anything off.
- Lift the handle and turn the key with the door open, then closed — the effort should feel identical
- Check the gap between slab and frame is even all the way round, top to bottom
- Open the door to ninety degrees and let go: it should stay put, not swing
- Look at the seal compression — the gasket should be touching continuously, with no flattened or gapping sections
- Check the outside sealant line is continuous and tooled, not smeared over gaps
- Confirm you've been given the cylinder keys, the guarantee paperwork and a date for the building-regulation certificate
What 'composite' should actually mean
The word covers a range of constructions and reviews rarely say which one was bought, which is why they conflict. A door with a solid timber or high-density insulating core is a different product from a door with a thin skin over a foam slab, even when both are sold as composite.
Ask what the core is made of, how thick the door leaf is, and whether the glass is bonded into the leaf or held by a glazing cassette. Bonded glass can't be popped out from outside to defeat the lock — a cheap cassette is the weakest point on a door that otherwise looks secure.
These are questions any seller should answer in writing. A review that mentions solid construction, bonded glass and a TS007 3-star cylinder is describing the spec we fit; one that mentions none of these tells you very little.
The same applies to the company behind the door. Check that the business is real before its product reviews mean anything: a trading premises you can visit, a named guarantee underwriter, and competent-person registration you can verify on the scheme's own website. Ours are a workshop at Unit 5-6, 9-13 Saffron Road, South Wigston, LE18 4TD, a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee, and Assure registration — and our doors start from £1,099 fully fitted, which is a number you're welcome to test every other quote against.
Ask us the six questions
Core, subframe, lock, cylinder, frame reinforcement, guarantee. Call and ask — we'll answer all six on the phone before anyone visits your house.