Double Front Door

guideanna

Hi All,

We're nearly ready to order our windows and doors for our house.
On our main entrance we have two small windows either side of the door entrance, the door entrance itself it wide enough for a door with the panels of glass around it but since we already have the seprate windows wither side i was thinking about having double doors or maybe one big wide door.
Something like this maybe...
http://www.emeralddoors.com/Exterior%20Front%20Entry%20Doors%20Photo%20Gallery%20Pages/custom_double_front_doors_E5732.htm
I want it black to match the uPVC windows so wood is not going to work, unless we paint it black which might look weird?
Does anyone know where i could get double doors? Would i have to get them specially made?

Mellor

How wide is your opening? Make sure it is wide enough to meet part M.
With two leaf doors, both leaves have to meet the clearance requirement of part M independantly.

guideanna

Will check that, if it's too small i'd possibly look at getting one wide door.
Does anyone know where i might source different sizes in doors?

guideanna

Just check my measurements for the opening and at the moment (just blocks, no frame of plaster) it's 188cm wide.
The regs say 80cm for each opening so even after the frame goes in i'll still have enough room for 2 full sized doors for my entrance.
Anyone have double front doors??

country home

id just advice against double doors.. . . had about 4-5 sets of them in the new build. . . before the foundation went in there wasnt one left. . .

why. . .

1, ull only have one open. . . .
2, ur constantly walking off centre in any room to get out the door..
3, double doors, where these not born in Semi Ds to go from sitting room to kitchen . .

just an opinion. . thought id share

FergusD

Just to add to the discussion. We have a double door on our plans as our front door, but from talking to people in the business they say they're possibly a bad idea.

In particular, what we've been told is that if they're done as part of a system from say a window company, they're fine (french doors etc.) - but if they're a solid door being done by a joinery there may be an issue. One door is cut to be the master and the other one is cut to fit into that. I've been told that the seal between the two will not be good over time.

It's just advice we've been given - not sure how accurate it is.

Fergus.

guideanna

hmmm good points hadn't thought about the off centre thing, and also i know we'd only be using one doee 90% of the time, i really want something to make visual impact. We have the two windows on either side of the frame so we don't "need" the usualy glass frame around the standard size door.
Alternatively i'd love one large door, would i be looking at a joinery company for this? Does anyone know if they'd make a door to fit a 188cm opening?

Mellor

FergusD wrote: »

One door is cut to be the master and the other one is cut to fit into that. I've been told that the seal between the two will not be good over time.

It really depends on the locking mechanism. Internal double doors often just sits close to each other with a standard latch and bolt holding them in place. Obviously this isn't an option for external doors. Including security concerns, a multipoint locking system would be needed. These would provide just as good a seal as with a "system". Would would essentially be the same lock the system used.

guideanna wrote: »

Alternatively i'd love one large door, would i be looking at a joinery company for this? Does anyone know if they'd make a door to fit a 188cm opening?

Physically, there is no reason they can't make a 1880mm door. However, I think it's a really bad idea.
Firstly, it would look strange, but maybe this is what you are after. But my main concerns are simply the weight of the door. Having to open and close a door twice the size of a standard door would become a pain fast. Then there is also the room required internally for such a door's clearance

guideanna

Mellor wrote: »

Firstly, it would look strange, but maybe this is what you are after. But my main concerns are simply the weight of the door. Having to open and close a door twice the size of a standard door would become a pain fast. Then there is also the room required internally for such a door's clearance

Why would it look strange? I think it would look good.
Don't think weight would be an issue to be honest, i can manage one door so i'm sure the equivalent of 2 will be ok, i like the idea of a big chunky door. Space is not an issue, we have a large hall and the door could open up no problem.

If i go for a single door it wouldn't be to fill the entire width of the opening, i'd see about getting the panels of glass around the frame but still have a wider than standard door.
Can anyone recommend any suppliers to me that do custom sizes?

guideanna

Hi All,
Quick update, we're now looking at a Prestige Solid front door from the MJ Signature range. They do a wide fit which we think will look pretty good. Just wondering has anyone else gone with one of these doors from MJ and how they find it?

Quack13

We recently got double doors made by a guy in Carlow. We spent a good while looking for a company or someone to make them as we wanted a specific design but also didn't just want a standard door made by a joiner.

The door we got has insulated panels inside it, triple glazing and a 5 point locking system.

Ideally we wanted a certified door for (for the obvious reasons) as we are going for an airtight energy efficient (A2) build.
After getting several quotes off companies who were going to source an engineered/certified door in Europe we figured it was WAY too dear and ended up getting this fellow recommended to us.

You can see a couple of pics here:

http://twitpic.com/photos/trunko

Door has been varnished since and the interior looks a lot warmer now. The door can also be sprayed in any RAL colour.
Ok so its not certified but we got the door we wanted with above average heat retention qualities.

If you want the makers contact PM me.

sirdeclan

Hi Quack 13.

You might PM me te name of the people who made your door.

I am looking for a Double Gothic Front Door as attached.

Thanks.

sirdeclan

If anyone else knows where I might source a Double Gothic Front Door as can be seen in the previous post I would be very grateful for the help.

Thanks