Plastic entrance doors to private houses are increasingly beginning to compete with metal ones. Modern technologies make it possible to make them no less reliable and durable, and if we add to these important advantages the best heat-saving and sound-insulating properties, the ability to adjust, non-corrosion and other advantages, it becomes clear why country property owners choose them. However, when purchasing both a metal and plastic door, it is easy to make a mistake and purchase a product of not the best quality.
Metal-plastic entrance group Source lorel-spb.ru
What types of plastic doors are there?
The main load-bearing part of the doors is a powerful steel frame located inside the structure and rigidly connected to an external plastic profile. They also produce plastic-aluminum and plastic-wooden entrance doors for private homes. As a rule, aluminum panels are fixed on the outside of the door leaf, and wooden panels on the inside.
Sectional view of a door made of wood and plastic Source 1okna.at.ua
A feature of any design is the presence of several air chambers inside the profile that retain heat. The more there are, the better the heat saving effect.
Such doors can be equipped with any locks - mechanical single- and multi-point, special anti-burglary, automatic.
Plastic door profiles can be given any shape - regular rectangular, arched, with a beveled top edge.
In addition to standard single-leaf doors, you can order double-leaf doors with the same or different widths of the doors, and the door can be built into a frame of double-glazed windows. Unlike plastic windows, double-leaf doors are made with a hinge - instead of a fixed vertical jumper between the sashes, they are equipped with a movable profile attached to the sash, which remains closed (passive) during normal operation. The active sash is equipped with a lock and handle; it can not only open, but also recline.
Double-leaf sliding door Source techkomplect.ru
The filling of the canvases can be transparent, opaque or a combination. Regardless of the type of filling, insulation of plastic doors is not required.
- The opaque filling is warm insert sandwich panels; additionally, overlay panels of various designs can be used.
- Transparent filling is a single- or double-glazed unit with triplex, mirror, tinted or embossed glass.
Additional thermal insulation is provided by rubber seals along the entire perimeter of the frame and box Source oknaking.ru
Advantages of plastic doors and their disadvantages
If you compare metal-plastic entrance doors for a private house with metal and wooden ones in terms of characteristics, you can find many differences. Some of them are better, others are worse, so when choosing a particular design, those that are most important for each home owner are compared.
Advantages
Perhaps the main advantage of plastic doors is their aesthetics and varied design. The vast majority of private houses are equipped with plastic windows, which, despite all their advantages, do not always look harmonious in an ensemble with an entrance door made of other materials.
This solution looks much more advantageous Source okna-magnit.ru
For reference! By ordering doors and windows as a set, you can save not only money at a decent discount, but also time searching for or ordering doors from another company.
In addition to the standard white profile, doors can be made of painted in any color or laminated, imitating different types of wood. And the internal filling can be continuous or divided by imposts (partitions) into segments of different sizes and shapes.
In addition to unique external parameters, plastic structures also have improved performance characteristics.
- They do not release heat, do not freeze, and condensation does not form on them.
Insulation for the entrance door is not needed; its functions are performed by the air chambers inside the profile and double-glazed window, seals that ensure tight pressing of the panel to the frame, and a “warm” threshold.
Profile for a warm threshold with a thermal break Source osnova.company
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in doors, windows and related work
- Allows sunlight to enter the hallway.
The hallway or vestibule usually has no windows and is artificially lit. Glazed doors solve this problem and visually expand the space.
- They isolate noise from the street well.
This is facilitated by a double sealing circuit with a multi-layer threshold, and the presence of several air chambers in which sounds are dampened.
- They serve for a very long time.
Entrance doors made of solid wood for a private home can swell and deform when the weather changes and the building shrinks. Metal ones are susceptible to corrosion. Both require regular repairs and renewal of the protective coating. This does not threaten plastic structures.
- They are easy to care for using regular detergents.
- The canvas is adjustable.
Any house, especially a new one, is subject to shrinkage, during which the doors may stop working properly due to misalignment with the frame. In metal-plastic structures, both hinges and locking fittings are easily adjustable, and the blade can be shifted both vertically and horizontally, as well as change the degree of pressure.
Methods for adjusting hinges Source lifehacker.ru
- You can install it yourself by removing the sashes and leveling the frames without unnecessary load.
On a note! Plastic has a high coefficient of thermal expansion, which could cause an increase in the dimensions of the canvas and problems with its entry into the frame. But the internal steel frame, fastened to the profile with self-tapping screws, does not allow it to change dimensions with temperature changes, eliminating this problem.
Installation rules
When building a house or during renovation, metal-plastic doors are installed according to the following algorithm:
- Installation of the box. It is leveled using levels and plumb lines relative to the horizon, since due to the skew the locks will not work normally and cracks will appear.
- Fastening to walls. After installation, the box is fixed to the load-bearing surfaces using special fasteners. The voids are covered with cement mortar or other building mixtures.
- A decorative panel or other facing elements is attached along the perimeter of the opening on the outer and inner sides.
- After the box has stood and the solution has hardened, metal-plastic doors are hung. At the same time, the functionality of all elements, the operation of constipations and locks is checked.
Video description
The advantages of plastic entrance doors are described in this video:
Flaws
The main disadvantage of plastic structures is the instability of the outer surface to mechanical damage, the appearance of dents and scratches if used insufficiently carefully.
In addition, the PVC entrance door to a private house can be deformed under uneven load. For example, when blocking in the open position without disconnecting the closer, trying to close the door.
But the main problem is related to poor quality execution. During an external inspection of products, it is difficult to determine the thickness of the plastic and the reinforcing frame, and the strength of the connection of the internal elements. Therefore, you need to order them only from manufacturers with an impeccable reputation.
Cost of entrance group made of plastic
The cost of the entrance group is influenced by several factors:
- Dimensions - the price largely depends on the total area of all profile structures that are used during the assembly process.
- Shape – radius and complex products are always more expensive.
- Class of components - the choice of the type of double-glazed windows, fittings, profile systems, as with conventional windows, directly affects the final cost of the products.
- The presence of a porch, steps, canopy, railings and gratings.
- Security level of the entrance group.
- The method of opening doors and the presence of automation.
- Lighting fixtures and decorative elements.
You also need to immediately take into account the cost of installation, which cannot be saved on. If the entrance group is installed poorly, the PVC structure may move away from the load-bearing wall or become deformed during operation. All this leads to a violation of integrity and depressurization. To eliminate this possibility, installation must be carried out in strict accordance with GOST.
What to look for when choosing
If you don’t want to think about how to insulate an iron door or protect a wooden one from rotting and drying out, consider installing a modern metal-plastic structure at the entrance to the house. To ensure that it is of high quality and meets all your requirements, when choosing, pay attention to the following points.
Design Features
The main structural elements of the front door are a plastic profile of frames and sashes and a steel reinforcing frame. It is better not to skimp on their quality and choose profiles from leading manufacturers with a well-known name. Only in this case can you be sure that they will be durable and reliable, and the coating will not lose its attractiveness.
The most important criterion is the thickness of the door profile, which should be greater than that of the window profile, since plastic entrance doors for a private home experience much greater loads than window sashes.
- The minimum thickness is 70 mm; such doors are installed as backup doors in the vestibule or at the exit to a closed veranda.
- The profile of the door facing the façade of the house must be at least 90 mm.
Profiles come in different thicknesses and with different numbers of chambers Source atlantik74.ru
The number of air chambers is of great importance for heat and sound insulation, of which there should be at least five in the profile of the front door.
Strength, rigidity and reliability of the structure are ensured by the internal steel frame. The thickness of the steel used to reinforce the entrance doors must be at least 2 mm, and the frame itself must have a closed rectangular or square cross-section. Some manufacturers use L-shaped or U-shaped reinforcement to reduce costs. It is difficult to verify this, which is why confidence in the good reputation of the seller is necessary.
Closed reinforcement of PVC profile Source valenteshop.ru
Equipment
The degree of performance and burglary resistance that a plastic door to a private home will have depends on the quality and functionality of the fittings and locks. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the type, quantity and adjustment capabilities of door hinges, and choose suitable locking mechanisms.
Design features
Outdoor plastic doors can consist of one, two, three or four leaves. The best option for a private home is an entrance door with one or two leaves. In double-leaf structures, the doors are usually movable; there are options in which one door is in a fixed state (using bolts in the upper and lower parts of the leaf) until the need arises, and opens when, for example, furniture needs to be brought in/out. In doors with three leaves, one leaf is stationary; in structures with four leaves, two are movable and two are fixed. The number of sashes is calculated depending on the width of the opening. For a door portal with a width of up to 0.9 m, one leaf is sufficient; for doors with a width of 1.0 – 1.8 m, two leaves are sufficient. A width greater than these indicators requires the installation of a door structure with three to four leaves.
Depending on the type of opening, plastic doors can be hinged or sliding. Door structures of the first type open both inside and outside the house. Although it is strongly recommended to still install an entrance door that opens outward - it is easier to take something out or bring it into the house. In addition, such a door is more difficult to knock down. For an attic, an excellent option would be a swing door of the pendulum type, which opens in both directions.
Briefly about the main thing
With the advent of modern metal-plastic profiles for the manufacture of sealed door and window blocks, there is no longer a need to think about how to insulate a metal entrance door or maintain a wooden door in good condition. Plastic structures do not have many of the disadvantages of their steel and wooden counterparts - they perfectly insulate heat and noise, are adjustable if necessary, are characterized by a long service life and ease of maintenance, and a huge number of design solutions. But all their advantages appear only if they are manufactured with high quality and installed correctly.
Threshold assignment
The threshold of a PVC door structure has the following purpose:
- Improving the heat and sound insulation functions of a plastic door. It also prevents odors from entering the room and prevents drafts.
- Prevents the appearance of gaps between the floor and the canvas. Without a threshold, it is also possible for the door to fit tightly to the floor covering, which will lead to its damage and deformation of the door leaf.
- The threshold also serves as a strengthening link for the entire structure. By installing a horizontal bundle of vertical posts of a plastic box, its strength is improved.
- Protects the bottom of the plastic door frame.
