When it comes to homeowners choosing a new door for their home, it’s fair to say their first port of call are composite doors. They have become very well known, easily recognisable and the industry has done a very good job of getting the public to know about them. But, and this will come as hard to believe for some, not every customer likes composite doors! So, if you have a customer walk into your showroom looking for a new front door, but they don’t want composite, what road do you go down? I reckon these should do the trick…
PVCu, but not as you know it
When you say “PVCu door” to a customer, they probably have this sort of image in their minds:
Raised moulded panels, black gaskets, PVCu threshold, a shade of white that really isn’t white any more. That’s what is usually associated with PVCu doors when it comes to the opinions of homeowners. But if you have been following this site, or follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’m a big believer, and seller, of another type of PVCu door. If you have a customer in your showroom looking for a doors and they’re not into composites, try these:
Now before I go upsetting the aluminium and timber people, I’m looking at this from a purely PVCu perspective. I am fully aware that timber and aluminium doors exist out there and would make perfectly good entrance doors!
But most homeowners still go down the PVCU route when it comes to their doors, and these types of PVCu doors provide an excellent alternative to PVCu panels and composites. But why exactly?
Three reasons why
1. Ultimate customisation – these doors are made from mechanically joined framework. If you really want, you can design you’re very own.
2. Subtle wood grain effect – although there are plenty of composite fans out there, the ones that are not I have often found to comment on the wood grain effect. The types of doors above offer a more subtle effect.
3. Double rebated – now there are double rebated composite doors out there. But for those up against single rebated options, these are a nice addition to the product portfolio.
These are three, there are plenty more too, but you see my point. There is a great versatility in these types of doors. Plus, add into the mix things like full steel reinforcement, MACO’s new finger print locking and totally bespoke glass options, they become a powerful sales tool.
And here’s a tip for those wanting to differ from their rivals. Most sales people will want to sell a foamy slab because it’s easy and quick. These types of doors are not easy and quick, but they are visually stunning, built to last and unique. You offer these to your clients, chances are you’ll land a profitable sale.
That being said, there is absolutely plenty of room for both these and composite doors in any installer’s product portfolio. It’s important to give homeowners the chance to choose. And if you have these, and a quality composite door, then sales should be easy to come by.
I was thinking of creating a composite portcullis for some of the more dangerous areas of London!
I know you love these doors and the versatility that the profiles offer , but I really think that making doors like this out of standard window and door profiles is just asking for service calls.
They do have a certain allure if you like that sort of thing , but this is where you need to be careful that when you ‘design’ something like this, that you are confident that they will cope with 15 years use and abuse, personally I am a touch doubtful .
Ay up Kev! We’ve been selling these types of doors for more than 15 years and they have held up well so far. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been selling them. John Fredericks do a good job of putting them together and when it comes to adjustment and general fitting the fitters love them :-)
Fair play DGB, well done . I do think though , and not specifically aimed at these doors, there a lot of customers who do put up with niggles and are patient when things need a bit of setting up , and sometimes you don’t even get to here of problems as the customer doesn’t want to hassle you. But , if a tricky one hits a particularly demanding customer , well , hell hath no fury ;D We really try to design potential issues out of the product offer , and would be very picky as to who to… Read more »
How do they compare to composites on price?
Hi Mike
Depends on how you spec them up. I’ve had instances where they have been the same price, a bit higher and a bit lower. It’s good for the homeowner as they have two choices of doors without having to worry about one type being massively more expensive than the other.
DGB
We pushed these doors hard back at the first FIT Show in 2013. They look great and there are many USPs when comparing them to composite doors, however the perception is they HAVE TO BE cheaper! The reality is that they work out about the same price as some of the cheaper composite doors out there. We (TruFrame) offer these in addition to our solid core composite door offering, in order to provide an option for both ends of the market. This works well for us, however I expect that foam filled composite doors will continue to enjoy strong demand… Read more »
What are these doors called? I like them.