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
Quality criteria for the front door of a private house
A key indicator of the reliability of an entrance door is its design features and material of manufacture. Regardless of price and material, it should include the following elements:
- box;
- canvas;
- harness;
- platbands;
- seals;
- panels;
- middlemen;
- croakers;
- accessories.
The frame for the doors, if they are armored, is made from a thick metal corner or a profile factory pipe. And the door frame is made of high-quality steel sheet. The inside of the door must be equipped with stiffening ribs , of which there should be about 5-6 pieces.
As a rule, they are placed vertically, but can also be combined with horizontally located ribs to enhance their protective properties. Insulation and sound insulation are inserted into the door voids, and the doors are additionally equipped with reinforced hinges.
If the door is equipped with both a lever and a cylinder lock, it will be almost impossible to break it; you can also additionally install special pins to protect against burglars.
Previously, entrance doors for private houses were made only of wood, but now they can be ordered from different materials, including plastic.
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.
The nuances of installing a plastic entrance door
When deciding which plastic entrance doors to choose for a private home: photos and prices will help you make the right choice. An equally important issue is the door installation procedure.
You can install the structure yourself
Some recommendations will help to correctly install such structures:
- You should not construct the threshold yourself; it is better to purchase a door with a ready-made element.
- The box is inserted into the opening and two wedges are placed on the sides. Then the required level is checked with the door fixed.
- Holes are drilled for mounting the frame. An equal distance is measured from the slats of the box. Dowels are inserted into the recesses made.
- The bolts are screwed into the dowels. The level checks the evenness of the structure.
- The frame must be positioned vertically when cut.
- When the canvas is level, the installation is checked horizontally and vertically.
- The blades are put on the hinges, and the clamping and stroke are checked.
- The area between the box elements and the walls of the opening is foamed.
If the door becomes skewed, it needs to be adjusted well. When the door closes with great difficulty, this is due to sagging of one of the doors. In this case, you need to pay attention to the loops.
Adjusting the flaps and door pressure
If any part of the box is pressed weakly against the opening, you need to adjust the vertical pressure. In this case, it is necessary to remove the plastic covers from the hinges and reinstall the screws that are directed into the structure. If the sash is not pressed properly from above, it is necessary to adjust the screws located in the upper part.
For a tighter fit of the sashes, rubber seals are used
Expert's point of view
Dmitry Kholodok
Technical director of repair and construction
Ask a Question
“If the door is skewed to the side, then the leaf moves towards its hinge. In this case, it is necessary to adjust the location of the screws."
Video: adjusting the plastic leaf flaps
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.
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.
How to choose high-quality plastic doors
The entrance door leaf is selected taking into account a number of criteria:
- Appearance. It is important to remember that once you choose the color of a product, you cannot repaint it.
- Structural features: thickness and configuration of profile, frame; glass unit parameters; insulation; quality of fittings.
- Assess the tightness of plastic entrance doors in the closed position.
The height of the structure varies between 2000-2300 mm. The width depends on the number of sashes. When choosing single-floor products, pay attention to options within the range of 800-950 mm. In the case where it is planned to install plastic double-leaf structures, the following models are considered:
- one and a half;
- double-field.
The first group includes PVC entrance doors with a width of 1000-1300 mm. Double-floor plastic products occupy an opening of 1400-1800 mm. Functionality depends on the quality of the plastic, seal, and fittings.
Design Features
The frame and frame of the movable sash - these elements must be reinforced, for which metal parts are included in the structure. They are located in corner areas and along the entire perimeter. The door leaf differs in the thickness of the frame wall. For a plastic entrance door, 3 mm or more is considered sufficient. This is a necessary condition, since such products must ensure reliability.
The profile from which the frame and sash are made has a complex configuration and consists of several chambers. For the front door, you should choose products with a number of chambers from 3 to 5 (there is air inside). This will significantly affect the dimensions. For comparison, a 3-chamber sash is characterized by a thickness of 58-62 mm. The profile with five chambers is larger - from 70 mm.
The thickness of the metal sheet placed inside the plastic frame is 2 mm. For the home, a door leaf with average characteristics of reinforcement elements is used. Internal stiffeners can be located lengthwise and crosswise.
PVC doors
If necessary, the door leaf is additionally insulated. In this case, thermal insulation material is placed inside the plastic frame. Warm PVC doors significantly reduce the intensity of heat outflow from the room. However, the standard version of the design also meets the requirements for entrance doors - it can withstand down to -15°C. For this reason, if the climate of the area is not too harsh, you can install metal-plastic doors in their original form.
Seals help reduce air outflow. They are located around the perimeter of the plastic sash. Sealing rubber bands must be provided inside and outside the frame. Doors made without the use of glass inserts acquire color by lamination or painting.
Doors with glass
The transparent block can have different sizes, according to which the door leaf is divided into two groups:
- the design contains large area glass, such products only have a frame;
- The transparent block is located at the top of the door leaf.
If you plan to install the second option, you should consider models whose transparent part area is at least 1/3 of the entire sash. Glass must be characterized by increased strength. For this reason, it is better to use armored material or a triplex type option for a plastic entrance door.
Safety
To protect against burglary, glazing beads are provided. They are placed inside the frame of the movable sash. These elements do not allow opening the canvas through a double-glazed window. In addition, for the purpose of installing a plastic sash, massive hinges of a multilayer structure are purchased. They are called anti-removal. The fins inside the frame and reinforcement with metal are performed using high-strength materials of great thickness. The safest plastic entrance doors for a private home are those that contain armored glass inserts and are reinforced with thick metal.
Adviсe
Recommendations for choosing plastic sheeting:
- It should be taken into account that the threshold must also be equipped with a seal;
- even if there is no need to install thermal insulation, provision should be made for laying the material inside the structure, since most insulation materials also have soundproofing qualities;
- the plastic entrance door is decorated in the color of different textures (stone, wood), in addition, the product can be decorated with MDF panels;
- It is recommended to purchase a door leaf with a ready-made threshold.
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.
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