PVC (metal-plastic) entrance doors to a private house

Not so long ago, metal-plastic doors were installed only on balconies. With the development of technology, wider and more reliable profiles have appeared, allowing them to be used as entrance to private houses and cottages. They are devoid of the main drawbacks of wooden doors - they do not swell from moisture, do not require regular renewal of the paintwork, but they can look exactly the same or completely different - it's up to your taste. Of course, they cannot compare with the reliability of metal entrance doors, but in cottages and private houses such a margin of safety is not needed. First, you can enter through the windows. They are now no smaller. Secondly, they protect the territory fences, goal and wickets. So, plastic entrance doors are a completely justified choice. Especially when you consider that they have many advantages and not very many disadvantages.

Plastic entrance doors can be part of the entrance group - with windows on the sides

Pros and cons of a plastic front door

Advantages:

• Flexible manufacturing technology that allows you to make PVC entrance doors of any configuration, color, design.
• Good performance in cold / heat protection.
• Various opening systems.
• They can be used in hot and cold climates.
• They do not react to changes in humidity.
• Provide good protection against noise and dust.
• Compatible with alarms.
• The ability to install locks of any complexity - conventional and with closing in all directions.
• They require minimal maintenance and are easy to clean.

Of all the advantages, it is often decisive that you can order plastic entrance doors according to your own project. Without any restrictions. Another plus is the possibility of implementing a swing or sliding system. The sliding system fits perfectly with French windows. The glazing area and they practically do not differ from the windows, as a result we get a very harmonious solution. Thus, they make out the exit to the terrace, to the garden, to the back yard. Other materials do not provide such an opportunity - they are not compatible with the sliding system.

Sliding plastic entrance doors are a great way to decorate the exit to the terrace, to the garden to the backyard

Despite all the advantages, they have plastic entrance doors and disadvantages:

• High price.
• Complexity of installation.
• Not too high resistance to burglary.

Most of the questions arise during installation. To increase reliability, a metal reinforcing strip is installed around the perimeter of the doorway. This also increases the complexity of the installation. In addition, it is necessary to observe the technology that provides a high degree of heat and sound insulation. All this makes the installation more difficult.

Plastic entrance doors: types, materials

How well the entrance plastic doors meet your expectations, how well they will work, whether or not they will cause inconvenience depends on whether the materials and fittings are correctly selected. Shape stability depends on how consistent the technology is (whether there is reinforcement in the corners, how holes for fittings are cut in the profile). The combination of these points ensures that even plastic outdoor doors work without problems. Therefore, pay attention to every nuance.

PVC entrance doors can repeat the binding of windows one by one, or they may differ

Opening method

According to the number of leaves, entrance plastic doors are one, two, three and four-leaf. Most often, in private houses, doors with one or two wings are installed.Bivalves can be with two or one movable leaves. The second sash also opens, but only in certain situations - if you need to let more air into the house or bring in something voluminous. For such models, the second sash is fixed with bolts at the top and bottom. Tricuspids most often have one fixed and two movable valves, in four-leafed ones - a ratio of two to two.

The number of leaves is determined by the width of the doorway. Up to 90 cm, you can make one sash, from 1 meter to 1.8 m - two. A wider aisle requires a three-leaf door.

By the way of opening, the doors are hinged (with opening inward or outward) and sliding. Swing doors can be conventional or swing doors (when they can be opened both inside the building and outside). In private houses, pendulum ones are very rarely installed, mainly if doors lead to the terrace.

Another point: the entrance doors to a private house usually open outward. This is not a rule, but it is so accepted. Firstly, it is more difficult to knock them out from the outside, and secondly, it is easier, if necessary, to take out from the inside. But we must remember that this increases the cost of the structure, since the loops are required of a different type, more expensive.

Profile

The quality and properties of entrance plastic doors is determined by the quality and properties of the profile from which they are made. Therefore, be very careful about choosing a profile. It is advisable to use products of well-known companies. Rehau, Veka, KBE. They are tested, you know exactly what you will get. Anonymous or obscure producers are a big risk. It would not be necessary to change the doors soon because of their unsatisfactory quality.

The properties of a plastic street door largely depend on the profile you have chosen.

Profile thickness and number of chambers

Outdoor plastic doors are made from a special profile. It is wider and "thicker" than the one that is used for the manufacture of balcony doors and certainly wider than the one that goes to the windows. A reinforcing element is installed inside the profile. For plastic doors, a contour made of durable plastic is placed, in metal-plastic reinforcing contour made of aluminum.

For metal-plastic entrance doors, a class A profile is used, the minimum thickness of which is 70 mm, the maximum thickness of 118 mm, the thickness of the outer wall is at least 3 mm. In addition, it has more chambers and is reinforced with thicker aluminum.

Different profiles for PVC entrance doors at Veka

The choice of profile thickness depends on several factors. The first is the climatic zone. The colder / hotter it is in your area, the thicker the profile should be. The second factor that must be taken into account is whether there is a vestibule in the house. If there is one, you can try to save money - the vestibule will be a buffer zone. At the same time, do not forget about the cost - the thicker the profile, the more expensive it is.

Another important point is the number of isolated chambers in the profile (the more, the better, and at least 3 chambers, but 5 is better), as well as the wall thickness of the outer bulkhead. A thicker outer wall - its greater strength, better protection against temperature extremes.

Doors without imposts have limited dimensions

Also, to make the entrance PVC door more rigid, reinforcing elements are placed in the corners. This is an important point to prevent distortions from severity or temperature differences. All these features affect the final quality and ease of use.

Profiles for outdoor plastic doors with thermal break

There is also a so-called "warm profile for a plastic door". It has an additional plastic insert - a thermal break. It insulates the outside and inside of the profile. This improves the thermal insulation characteristics, and has a positive effect on sound insulation.

Reinforcement

For the manufacture of the frame and sash, a profile is used, inside which a reinforcing element is inserted - an aluminum profile. It can be C-shaped, U-shaped and closed - in the form of a rectangle.The most reliable is closed. It has great rigidity, which guarantees the preservation of the shape of the door during temperature extremes. Moreover, please note that such a closed reinforcing profile should be both on the frame and on the sash. Then, even with large temperature drops, the door will not "bend".

The difference between the profile for making a plastic entrance door in thicker plastic, more chambers and a reinforcing contour made of thicker metal

At the same time, the reinforcing profile is used with a thickness of 2 mm - this is the minimum, and there is also 3 mm metal. This makes the structure heavier. It is by the mass of the door that the balcony block can be indirectly distinguished from the entrance plastic door. It makes no sense to take too thick metal, but thin one simply will not withstand the load.

How the holes are cut

There is only one very important point. At many firms, when making doors, holes for installing locks are cut out with a grinder. And the holes are made with a solid "margin". It is easier and faster, but such holes significantly weaken the structure.

This is what holes made by a router look like.

It is with this method of cutting holes that the door bends with a "saber" at large temperature differences. This is when it is -20 ° C outside, and + 25 ° C in the house. In principle, the profile begins to bend at less significant differences - from about -5 ° C. Just as the difference increases, the gap grows at the top and bottom. Before ordering plastic doors, make sure the holes are milled and not cut with a grinder.

Hinges

Since the profile and double-glazed windows for exit plastic doors are heavy, the hinges must be reliable. Models are only overhead, window models are not applicable. It is desirable to choose the best available - PVC outdoor entrance doors to a private house open / close very often. Only good quality guarantees many years of trouble-free use.

Three loops are placed on a sash of a standard width (60-80 cm), on wider ones - 4, rarely more. Each of the loops is designed for 150-200 kg, so that their total "carrying capacity" is very high. But you shouldn't install less powerful ones - the doors open often, so the fittings must be reliable. That is why it is better to order hinges from well-known manufacturers. It is they who are responsible for how long the door will serve, whether or not it will warp.

Special hinges for plastic doors provide for regulatedto

To ensure that the doors do not warp during operation, it is important to adjust them well. The sash weight must be evenly distributed over all hinges. Then, under any conditions, there will be no bias and other problems.

Glazing

Plastic entrance doors can be without glass at all. Also, the glass can be located in the upper part of the door (its height is any). There is a third option - full glazing.

If the glass is made from the very top to the bottom, it is usually divided by a transverse crossbar - an impost. This is not necessary - there are firms that make solid glass, but there are few of them, since the technology is complex. Such glazing is much more expensive, and there is also the possibility that it can change the geometry. So they basically try to persuade them to divide by impost. Such double-glazed windows are easier to manufacture, cheaper and more reliable. The location of the crossbar is determined depending on the design - if the entrance group assumes the presence of windows nearby, they are made either at the same level or with a significant gap.

With a large glazing area, it is important to choose the right glass unit for entrance plastic doors

For outdoor plastic doors, double-glazed windows are usually used. They provide a sufficient level of sound and heat insulation. Single-chamber energy-saving double-glazed windows also have good performance. In general, there are the following types of double-glazed windows:

• Energy saving. Silver ions are deposited on the glass surface.Heat is reflected from this spraying. This keeps the warmth inside the house.
• Multifunctional. Silver is sprayed onto several surfaces. Due to this, both heat and cold are retained.
• Noise protection packages. To improve the noise insulation characteristics, the cameras are made of different widths, and the first glass is 6 mm thick.
• Shockproof (triplex). Several glasses, which are bonded together with an adhesive, thanks to which they better resist impacts.
  

  Street plastic doors and double-glazed windows for them

Glasses can be ordinary, patterned, colored, satin (matte) with mirror coating. There are also armored ones. All this makes it possible to select the characteristics of double-glazed windows for entrance plastic doors according to your requirements. Each company has slightly different characteristics, the photo above shows data on Ruhau companies.

Threshold

Outdoor exit plastic doors can be equipped with a threshold of two types:

• Aluminiev. They have a low height. With such a threshold it is convenient to walk, but because of this, inflation is possible, although the seal should prevent this, but it is not always effective enough.
• Plastic. In fact, it is part of the frame. The height of such a threshold is greater and it is not very convenient, but in some cases this option is chosen, since it is necessary to protect against cold air.
  

  A flat threshold is more convenient, but may not protect against blowing

Threshold selection is not the most difficult point, but it also contributes to the level of comfort. For entrance groups, it is advisable to make the threshold with a thermal break. This will prevent the cold from penetrating the threshold.

Locking systems

Plastic entrance doors can be equipped with conventional locks - with one fixation point (single-point) or multi-clamp. Multi-clamp have several "tongues" coming out of the sash.

There are two types of locks with several locks - multi-pin and multi-point. The hold-downs are designed for better clamping of the sash to the frame. This ensures heat retention, so such locks should be used if plastic entrance doors separate a warm room from the street or a cold vestibule.

The second type - multi-point - have a hanged burglar resistance. They have longer crossbars (tongues) that are more difficult to squeeze out. These locks are worth using if you have to put great emphasis on security. More specifically, the walls are stone, the windows are small, with installed roller shutters and alarms. Then it makes sense to put a more reliable lock. Otherwise, intruders will simply bypass the doors using the windows.

Locking systems for plastic external doors

If you need both characteristics - both good thermal insulation and reliability - you can supply a multi-clamp anti-burglar. They have pins (tongues) in the form of a mushroom. They cannot be easily hacked.

Locks in multi-press locks are located vertically (from 4 to 6) and in the corners (at high heights, add additional ones). This helps to improve the fit of the door. They can be driven by a key, or they can be driven by a handle. It is more convenient to use the handle. But it should be borne in mind that multi-press locks require a certain sequence of actions when closing. Over time, the owners get used to it, but at first it is inconvenient.

Video on assembling a plastic door

It is unlikely that anyone decides to assemble plastic doors on their own. It's just that after watching these videos, it's easier to understand the structure of the door, the purpose of each of the elements.