The 8 Different Types of Doors For Your Home

Discover what doors are available to refresh your home’s appearance. From old to new styles, there’s a door out there for everyone!

8 of the UK’s door types

Keeping in touch with all the door styles that are presently being sold by Eden Windows and fellow door specialists is difficult due to the wealth of them. Being aware of how they each work and look is equally challenging.

Lucky for you then to have us guide you through the myriads of options, our knowledge of them built up over many years.

It seems apt to go into door types in October as it marks National Home Security Month and doors are a vital component in securing properties.

Read on and unearth what doors will complement your space, what their best attributes are and whether they fit classical or contemporary dwellings.

A short description of all the door types described in this article

Flush

Largely supplied as internal doors, a flush door’s restrained, and simple design befits new builds.

Glazed

A reference to all glass-panelled doors, inclusive of entrance doors, conforming to countless living locations and surroundings.

French

A double and identical pair of prolonged glazed panels that coordinate terrifically with vintage residences.

Patio

Functions with a sliding motion, which sees one panel overlap another, ideal for any application.

Panel

Containing exclusively square or rectangular panels or a blend of both, fitting for any age of home.

Stable

Divided into top and bottom sections that you can individually open, typically seen at properties in rural areas.

Fire

Designed to stem fire spreading and offer an escape route when fire occurs, the law stipulates their inclusion in domestic homes with three or more storeys.

Bi-Fold

Opening and closing in an accordion-like fashion, the individual sections neatly fold together, a popular addition in modern homes.

Flush Door

Flush doors are easy to discern when confronted by a collection of doors in a showroom as they have a completely flush finish with no protruding parts.

The modest aesthetic of a flush door is enticing for those who value simplicity and tend to deviate away from doors that are elaborately detailed.

Of all its impressive capabilities, acoustic performance is a particular high point, making it a fine choice for home offices where an element of quiet is crucial.

Flush doors are typically employed in modern apartment buildings and up-to-the-minute home accommodation.

Flush Door in a living area
Panel Door

Panel Door

A panel door will encompass one or more framed panels that are flat, raised or recessed.

Most panel doors are crafted from solid wood, engineered wood or composite materials and are often seen in places like bathrooms and bedrooms, as well as entryways.

Robust and quite heavyweight, panel doors deliver an excellent standard of insulation and some element of soundproofing.

Whether used internally or externally, there are very few home settings that panel doors won’t suit.

Glazed Door

When you hear the term ‘glazed door’, it correctly suggests a door featuring glass panels set within a framework.

Abundant light can pass through glazed doors, ushering an open feel in spaces and giving them an airy atmosphere.

Maximisation of a pleasant view from home is best achieved with a glazed door as an external opening.

The magnified visibility and heightened light capture that glazed doors provoke will excel in properties on the new and old side, underlining the versatility of them.

Green glazed Door
Stable Door

Stable Door

There are two parts to a stable door, a top and bottom section that you can separately open and close, useful if for instance you want to let some fresh air into the house by unfastening the top portion but want to safeguard children by keeping the bottom portion shut.

Stable doors manufactured using genuine timber or that have a wood-inspired effect add a dash of rustic charm to homes and are generally chosen as back entrances.

If you need a new door for a cottage or house located out in the countryside, a stable door would be a fine selection.

French Door

For pure elegance, a French door is just about unbeatable. You cannot fail to be entranced by the masterfully stylish and prolonged glass panels.

Produced to either provide an inward or outward opening, the gateway generated is significantly generous, making for trouble-free transitions to the garden or patio when outdoor living is sought.

Have a decorative pattern implanted into the glazed inserts of the double doors or bars applied to advance their beauty.

Whether your property is modern or traditional, French doors will match its aesthetic.

French Door
Fire Door

Fire Door

Fire doors tend to be fitted in the middle of adjoining sections of a building, in corridors and stairwells. If a fire breaks out, they help to prevent it from spreading.

Most fire doors are fashioned out of steel or specially treated wood and have a fire rating, which symbolises the standard of fire protection they deliver.

Townhouses and properties with a garage attached to them are popular locations for fire doors, but they can be employed as a safety precaution elsewhere.

Patio Door

One of the best recognised glass sliding doors, the patio door is regularly selected as a method of connecting homes to their gardens and enticing more natural light internally.

Locking mechanisms acknowledged by British Security Standards are incorporated into a patio door, which offers generous sightlines for an expansive view even when in a closed position.

It would be logical to include a patio door when you have a garden space that there’s to be embraced whenever the opportunity arises.

Patio Door
Bi-Fold Door

Bi-Fold Door

A bi-folding door can span a considerable width, rewarding you with a giant opening, just the ticket for occasions involving the entertaining of guests at homes and drawing in extra light and ventilation.

Multiple configuration options lend themselves to a heavily personalised design, with you invited to dictate the number of panels it encompasses and specify its size.

Functional and stylish, you barely need to put in any effort to create an opening using a bi-fold, working like a concertina as it’s guided along the track.

Homes with an open-plan layout are where you will often come across a bi-folding door.

Significance of Door Material

Added to your desire to secure a door that’s great value and won’t require continual upkeep will be a yearning to select a suitable door material.

The chosen material will have an impact on energy efficiency, durability, security, maintenance, styling, endurance etc.

Recall the significance of material choice when you are examining replacement doors and ready to buy one.

 
UPVC
Composite
Aluminium
Timber
Price
UPVC
Composite
Aluminium
Timber
Security
UPVC
Composite
Aluminium
Timber
Lifecycle
UPVC
Composite
Aluminium
Timber

Door Materials

UPVC

UPVC (Unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride) is the principal material harnessed for the crafting of front and back doors.

The upsides of UPVC are almost innumerable, resistant to weathering, rotting and corrosion, besides also being incredibly thermal efficient and providing a touch of soundproofing.

Because no warping or fading will transpire over the course of a UPVC door’s life, maintenance is minimal, and you don’t need to ever apply a fresh coat of paint.

It’s undeniable that UPVC doesn’t exhibit the stylishness of aluminium or timber, but you may be willing to forgo that when you discover the affordability of it.

White UPVC door
Composite door

Composite

A composite door frame consists of a series of constituents, including a glass-reinforced plastic, UPVC, timber and foam filling.

These multiple layers give a composite door its amazing toughness, exactly what’s desired in a front door if it’s to successfully protect an entrance area.

Weather-resistance is guaranteed thanks to the outer GRP skin, stopping any cracking of the frame and distortion.

The likeness between a composite door and genuine timber door is quite staggering from the perspective of looks, however the former is considerably stronger and easier to preserve.

Aluminium

It defies belief quite how light aluminium is when you discover just how robust it is as a material. Similarly startling is the flexibility of aluminium and how it can be fashioned into countless shapes.

To define aluminium doors, mention would need to be given to their slimness and sleek appearance, something that permits a larger glazed area to be housed than in doors built from other materials.

Colour application to aluminium door frames involves an 11-stage powder-coating procedure, a thorough but essential formula.

Committing to regular maintenance could see an aluminium door endure for 40+ years.

Grey aluminium door
Timber door

Timber

Timber that is responsibly sourced is ecologically friendly, sustainable and renewable, on top of also emanating warmth and possessing boundless character.

Cheap timber is liable to rot and decay very easily once weathering beds in and it can be an impossible task attempting to restore it back to a suitable condition, whereas quality timber suffers with no such issues.

The versatility of timber is hugely beneficial if you have eyes on extensive door personalisation and want to govern the shape and size of the door ahead of its integration at your home.

Further to the unique charisma of a timber door, it demonstrates serious resolve in all weathers and will be a timeless enhancement.

What door type will suit my property?

After reaching this point in the article, we hope that we’ve managed to extend your knowledge of replacement doors and left you in a position where you know what door to settle on for elevating flair and security.

As a finishing point, here’s a short summary of the doors we believe to most suit the different property types in the UK:

Detached

Composite and timber doors display the designer looks to grace larger dwellings.

Terraced

It’s hard to separate composite and UPVC doors in terms of their suitability for terraced accommodation.

New Build

Being ultra-sleek and sophisticated would point towards an aluminium-built design corresponding beautifully with modern home architecture.

Semi-Detached

For a property that shares a common wall with a neighbouring home, a composite door’s security and resilience prevails.

Period

Georgian and Victorian homes need a very specific door type to uphold their original character, satisfied by timber doors.

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