Composite front doors with glass

uPVC front doors with glass

The frame and leaf are uPVC, the panel quartz composite, and the glass sits in the panel. How much glass depends on the design: a narrow strip, or a leaf glazed for most of its height. You choose the design in the configurator, then the size.

Double glazed composite front doors

Glass generally insulates less well than the solid panel around it, so the more glass in the door, the more the choice of glazing counts. Double glazing is the standard choice; triple glazing insulates better and costs more.

External uPVC doors with glass: security

Glass in a front door is a point to think about. We can supply laminated safety glass class P4A (EN 356), in double or triple glazing. The security of the whole door still depends on the complete unit and how it is fitted; we supply and don't install, so we make no claim on the class it reaches once fitted.

uPVC glass doors: privacy

Clear glass lets people see in. If you want light without being seen, choose a design with the glass high up in the leaf, or put the glass in a side panel next to a solid door.

uPVC glass front doors or a side panel

A side panel gives the same daylight without glass in the leaf, and can be as narrow as 180 mm. It suits a door that gets heavy use, or a hall that needs more light than a glazed leaf lets in.

Where the glass sits: the door designs side by side

For a uPVC front door you choose from seventy-two panels of our own design, in nine lines of eight. The design decides where the glass sits. In the Lijn line, one to four vertical strips of glass run the full height of the door. The Baan line lays the glass horizontally instead, in two to five bands or in a single band at eye level.

Cirkel works with round panes: one large one, three one above the other, or one with a stainless steel ring around it. Schuin has glass strips set at an angle, Golf curved strips and arches. In the Staaf line the glass is combined with stainless steel panels and lines. Klassiek divides the glass into small panes at the top, as on older doors.

If you want hardly any glass, there is the Vlak line. At most it has a small vision panel, a narrow slot or a horizontal window at the top, and one design is fully solid.

How much light will you get in the hall?

A vertical strip running the full height lets light fall right down to the hall floor. A band at eye level or a window at the top mainly lights the upper part and keeps the bottom of the door solid. If your door faces north or sits under a canopy, the difference between one strip and four matters more than on a door that gets the sun all afternoon.

If you want more light than one panel gives, combine a glazed design with a side panel. The side panel is a fixed light next to the door, with its own glass.

Clear, satin obscure or laminated

For the glass in a door there are three properties you choose separately. Clear glass is simply see-through. Satin obscure glass lets light in but stops people seeing in; on a front door facing the street, that is often the choice. Laminated glass is a safety glass: if it breaks, it stays held by the interlayer between the panes.

On top of that you choose between double and triple glazing. Double glazing has two panes with a gas filling between them; triple has three panes and two cavities and insulates noticeably better. In a door with a lot of glass that difference counts for more than in a door with only a vision panel.

Privacy without a dark hall

A vertical strip of clear glass next to the door handle shows passers-by exactly what is in your hall. With satin obscure glass in the same strip you keep the light and lose the view in. A middle way is a design with the glass high in the door: you can see who is at the door, but nobody on the pavement can look in.

Glass and security

A burglar looks for the easiest way in: a pane they can break to reach the handle. So where the glass is close to the lock, choose laminated glass. The lock itself matters too: every lockable handle carries SKG 2 stars, a Dutch rating for the hardware. That is not a UK security certification for the whole door.

Matching the panel and the side panel

If you have a glazed door and a side panel, check that the glass looks the same in both. A satin obscure door panel next to a clear side panel stands out straight away, and that is rarely the intention. The lines count too: vertical strips in the door go well with a narrow, tall side panel, while horizontal bands work better next to a wider one.

A side panel is at least 180 mm wide. Two side panels, left and right of the door, make the front symmetrical and light both sides of the hall.

Further reading

• uPVC doors
• Composite front doors
• Coloured uPVC doors
• Cheap uPVC doors
• Composite front doors supply and fit
• Cottage style composite front doors