Door FAQs
Here at Seal-Lite, we want our customers to feel completely comfortable about the products they’re paying for. That’s why we’ve curated this list of frequently asked questions we receive about replacement doors.
What’s the difference between a uPVC and a composite door?
uPVC doors are made from a plastic material called Unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride. The material is easy to manufacture and only requires minimal maintenance. Composite doors, by contrast, are manufactured from two or more materials, glued together under high-pressure conditions.
They also tend to have insulating foam cores to minimise the rate of thermal transmittance through the door. Welding together the best aspects of multiple materials, composite doors exhibit incredible strength, style, and thermal performance, while still being easy to clean and maintain.
Are uPVC doors better than wood?
uPVC doors are immune to all the problems that old timber doors can face. Timber doors are prone to splitting, which causes moisture to get inside the door frame, leading to rotting or warping. As uPVC doors are made of plastic, it’s impossible for them to split in the same way that timber does.
Timber doors also require a lot of regular maintenance like waxing and repainting. By contrast, uPVC doors are resistant to colour-fading, and only require the occasional wipe down with soapy water to keep in top condition.
What are the advantages of a composite door?
Some of the advantages to composite doors are:
• Exceptional thermal performance
• Increased kerb appeal and property value
• Fully customisable – you can design your own composite door with a full range of styles, colours and additional decorations
• Incredible strength and durability – Seal-Lite supply the market leader Solidor composite door range, known for their exceptional strength thanks to their timber cores.
Do composite doors warp in the sun?
No. Composite doors are immune to the warping problems that timber doors can face. They are coated with a Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) skin that prevents them from suffering damage from exposure to sunlight, or any type of extreme weather. Not only are they resistant to warping, they’re also resistant to fading and splitting. Even Solidor composite doors, despite their timber thermal core, are resistant to warping, and are one of the most durable doors on the market.
Do composite doors scratch easily?
No. They are exceptionally robust and resistant against all forms of damage. As well as no scratching, there is also no danger of rotting, cracking, or fading, as there can be with timber doors. Composite doors are also very low-maintenance, and only require the occasional wipe down with soapy water to keep them looking pristine and like new.
Can I replace an old door with a composite?
Yes. Any entrance door can be replaced by a brand new composite door. You can give your entrance a new lease on life with a stunning new design, and a full range of decorative glazing and security features. It’s most likely that you’ll require a new frame to support the new door, but other than that, a replacement door is completely possible for all properties.
What are bifold doors used for?
Bifold doors are doors with large, glazed panes and 2, 3, 4 or more panels that fold over each other in a neat stack. Interior bifold doors can act as a stylish separator between rooms that doesn’t negatively impact the passage of light through your home.
Exterior bifold doors, similar to patio doors, seamlessly blend the inside and outside world and flood your home with natural light. They offer fantastic access to and views of your garden, without taking up much floor space at all. This makes them ideal for hosting social occasions like barbecues in the summer.
What are patio door sightlines?
Sightlines refer to the distance between the patio door’s panels when they are slid over each other. The term can also be used for bifold doors when their panels are folded over each other. The slimmer the sightline, the clearer your view, and the more natural light enters your home.
Stronger, slimmer frames help patio doors to achieve slimmer sightlines.
What’s the difference between bifold doors and patio doors?
Both types of doors are made of multiple panels with large panes of glass. The panels of bifold doors, as the name suggests, fold over each and pile up in a neat stack. The panels of patio doors, however, slide over each other, moving along tracks embedded into the frame.
Both types of doors typically lead into the garden, helping to fill your home with light and providing a great social space for barbecues and other social gatherings.
What’s the difference between a patio door and a French door?
Patio doors have 2 or more glazed panels that slide over each other via tracks embedded into their frames. By contrast, French doors have two central panels that both open outwards using handles in the centre of the structure.
Both are fantastic additions to any South West home, and are particularly ideal for leading out onto gardens. They let a huge amount of natural light into your home, with high-performance glazing that improves the energy efficiency and increases the value of your home.
What colour door should I get?
Some of our most popular colours for uPVC doors include Cream, Irish Oak, Hazy Grey and Chartwell Green. For composite doors, our customers love Duck Egg Blue, Aubergine, Red and Anthracite Grey.
What is the difference between a composite door and Solidor?
The standard composite door has a foam core, helping it to achieve outstanding thermal performance. A Solidor composite door, by contrast, has a 48mm dense timber core. This harnesses the natural insulating powers of wood, without succumbing to the problems of all-wooden doors like splitting and warping.
The results are a door that is incredibly strong and thermally efficient. Both regular composite doors and Solidor doors give your home’s interior and exterior an exceptional appearance, helping to increase your property’s kerb appeal.
What are Residence doors?
Residence doors are a luxury range of composite doors that imitate authentic wooden doors. The provide all the charming aesthetics of timber, without demanding all the maintenance hassle. They’re also immune to problems that wooden doors face, such as warping, splitting and rotting.
Made from top-of-the-range composite material, they are exceptionally thermally efficient. They help to keep your home warm throughout Winter, and cool throughout the Summer. We also have an extensive range of door Fab ‘n’ Fix hardware to choose from, including letter plates, balmoral handles and knockers to name but a few. With such a range of looks and accessories, they’re perfect for both modern and traditional homes across the South West.
Why Choose Seal-Lite?
Made in Britain
10 Year Guarantee
30 Years Experience
No Pressure Sales
Quality Products
Aftercare Service
Excellent Aftercare Service and On-Site Service Engineer for Complete Peace of Mind
Always striving to look after our customers wherever possible, we are extremely proud of the high standards of craftsmanship, fabrication, installation and aftercare services that our highly skilled team continue to excel at delivering.
Our excellent aftersales service and on-site service engineer proactively deal with any issues that occasionally occur with our products directly – no job is too small for our service engineer.
Visit Our Showroom
It’s important for homeowners and businesses alike to actually see the quality of our products up close. So, why not visit our showroom in Clevedon and see the products for yourself.
New Build Projects
With an outstanding range of uPVC and aluminium products supplied directly to our trade customers, we are highly experienced in working alongside architects and contractors on new build projects.
Trade Supply Windows
As well as serving the local community, we have many established connections with various different trade customers across the South West who value the high-quality products that we produce.
Factory & Showroom in Clevedon
We understand how important it is to homeowners and businesses alike, to actually see the quality of the products up close. So, why not drop into the Seal-Lite showroom? Come in and see the products for yourself.
Factory & Showroom in Clevedon
We understand how important it is to homeowners and businesses alike, to actually see the quality of the products up close. So, why not drop into the Seal-Lite showroom? Come in and see the products for yourself.