Types of Doors

At Trendguard, we have a range of different types of doors available to you. This article will explore these different types of doors we offer, alongside each of their different benefits and recommended applications. If you are unsure about whether it’s the right time to replace your current doors, we recommend you read our article on when and why you should replace your doors.

Bifold Doors

These types of doors are typically used at the back of a property, either leading onto back gardens from a conservatory/brick wall, or connecting to a conservatory. Our bifold doors are typically made from lightweight aluminium, making them easy to open without rusting, whilst being almost certain to not corrode unless exposed to elements below or above a pH range between 4.5-8.5.

Having been found to have existed since Ancient Rome, we at Trendguard commit to maintaining the benefits our bifold doors bring. The image above illustrates how bifold doors makes an excellent feature to properties as opposed to standard external doors, not only by allowing natural light to brighten rooms and so saving money on your energy bills, but also creates the potential benefit of psychologically improving your mood by creating a more naturalistic atmosphere in your home.

Moreover, what we have found to be the driving factor to influence most people to have their external doors replaced with bifold doors are to reduce the space taken up by more commonplace doors when opened. As they can only be opened one-way (which is typically inwards), the radius required by them to fully open tends to come into conflict with other pieces of furniture in the house. Switching to bifold doors tends to be a more practical choice, rather than just a cosmetic one, because of this.

Composite Doors

By its definition, any product titled as a ‘composite’, means it is made from at least two, or more different materials on a molecular level, which normally makes it more versatile and durable by combining the best features of the separate materials into a sophisticated design. This is precisely what our composite doors achieve, and are arguably more effective at their intended functions because of this.

We take no cost cuts when providing you our composite doors. Not only are they insured with a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee, we aim to maintain the highest level of quality control from our top supplier to the installation. On the surface, a non-toxic, high quality uPVC plastic frame is secured in place using a triple seal, whilst a high-density foam is used as an inner core; acting as a very good insulating material.

Next, we will use a certain type of treated glass for any window panels on the door, depending on the final door design you choose. Lastly, a stable timber inner frame is included towards the hinge stile of the door. This results in a highly energy-efficient door. What further makes our composite doors to other, inexpensive composite doors you may see is that this is not the industrial standard for composite doors. Many will simply use a vinyl frame, with several ‘layers’ of thin wooden sheets acting as the inner core: offering a limited design choice with reduced durability due to the environment impacting the timber.

Our composite types of doors can be personally designed to your liking on our website, using our composite door designer. From there, you can explore the exclusive range of styles and add-on features and accessories, ranging from the colour of your letterbox to installing a night latch for additional security. Despite being uPVC, our composite doors can be given an authentic engraved texture alongside being moulded into a timber panel-like shape. This means they can retain the distinguished appearance which obsolete timber doors contain which many people find desirable for their home.

French Doors

The most illustrious works on our list, French types of doors – likewise with French windows – are simply, two glass doors next to each other which open from either side of the frame. Ideal for symmetrical properties where the doors would be located at the centre-back of the home, or suited for opening up onto a balcony overlooking a vast expanse of open country, our French doors are built using, at a minimum standard, double-glazed glass and uPVC frames to counterweigh the issue of glass being a poor insulating material.

A common concern with these types of doors is the risk of break-ins they pose to opportunistic criminals. Whilst they are not bulletproof, the glass we use in French doors is annealed, tempered and then laminated to create a reinforcing effect. The overall durability of the glass is then doubled, or even tripled by request of the customer, when two or more panes of this type of glass is used just on one French door panel. This also applies to our aluminium bifold doors.

Timber Doors

The oldest types of doors in existence, timber doors are becoming more difficult to find on properties as newer buildings no longer use them, whilst older properties are replacing them with the other types of doors described in this article. Even newly-built structures from traditional institutions including religious societies have began using uPVC doors over larger, more expensive timber doors. This is because they are cost-ineffective, and contrary to popular belief, are not as sustainable as you may think…

Although they are sustainably sourced from forests verified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, the deforestation process; processing and manufacturing processes of raw timber wood into wooden sheets to be used as door panels and frames results in all the trapped carbon that tree would have stored in its lifetime be released back into the atmosphere, alongside the larger carbon footprint involved in the work needed to require the timber in the first place.

Not only are timber doors harmful to the environment in a modern, resource extraction-intensive society, they are no where near as energy efficient compared to their uPVC and composite door competitors. Although timber itself is a strong natural insulator, timber types of doors are susceptible to bowing, abrasion, swelling and organic natural decay from fungal, parasitic and animal infestation. This overtime weakens the structural composition of the door and thus, adversely impacting the door’s security and ability to insulate your home. It is for these reasons that we do not supply these types of doors.

uPVC Doors

The final types of doors, our uPVC doors are constructed using an insulated steel-reinforced frame, whilst the outer layer being all-uPVC. Although their capacity to insulate your home whilst offering a high level of protection from intrusion is negligible difference compared to composite doors, uPVC doors are relatively far less expensive due to them using fewer materials in such a convoluted manner compared to composite doors; leading to cost reductions upwards of 60%.

When looking at one of our uPVC door installations from the photograph above, imagine if you were unaware of the many types of doors that this could be, and ask yourself: would I be able to tell this was a uPVC door, and is it inherently an issue for it to be one if there were any way I could tell? We ask this question, because many people remain sceptical over uPVC doors due to negative attitudes towards them, which is unfortunately a result of them becoming increasingly popular during a period in the construction industry where results of projects became corrupted by incompetent, unqualified builders and installers. This lead to uPVC types of doors failing and coming apart entirely.

At Trendguard, we are committed to fitting only the best window and door installations for your home. To be able to achieve this on a practical scale, we concluded that the only way to adequately install all our types of doors and windows, we would be required to have our own specialised team of qualified installers and labourers, which is exactly what we did. With years of experience alongside qualifications inline with Building Regulations and FENSA, our in-house team not only function well together, but can be far more quickly dispatched to you locally than hiring out independent contractors for every install.