What door is better to put in the private house entrance from the street so as not to freeze

Reliability and good thermal insulation are the two basic requirements for entrance street doors. The huge variety of such products only makes it difficult to choose. Someone falls for the “bait” of advertising, someone is seduced by discounted prices or a beautiful appearance, and some simply succumb to persuasion of good sellers. But most of the time in this way people only get problems. If you can not decide which front door is better to put in a private house from the street, we offer you the basic rules for the selection of such structures.

This material will talk about metal and metal-plastic doors. The use of wooden doors, as input, today is not advisable for fire, strength and other characteristics. The main problems that can be expected by the owner of a street entrance door are the formation of condensate, frost, corrosion and a damaged appearance. As part of this material, we will tell you how you can solve all these problems.

Metal entrance doors

Most consumers prefer metal door structures, considering them to be stronger, more durable and reliable. But is it really? What characteristics will indicate that this or that door is really made qualitatively, will be able to protect the house and its inhabitants from uninvited guests, and it will last a long time? How to get rid of the problem of freezing metal doors? All this in order.

Construction of the entrance door

Consider the question of which entrance doors are best to put in a private house in terms of the reliability of their design. The strength of the door depends on two main factors - design features and manufacturing technology.

Preference should be given to entrance doors, for the manufacture of the cloth of which steel sheet is used with a thickness of 1.2 to 2 mm. The thicker the steel, the stronger and harder the door.

Entrance doors can have only an external metal leaf or can be equipped with a sheet and from the inside. The connection of structural elements is carried out by spot welding.

Armored doors can provide increased security. They are manufactured using the same technology as safes. Concrete is poured inside the structure, making it bulletproof. Such doors are usually equipped with safe types of locks and have a number of protective options. But this article is not about that.

We do not recommend to purchase as street ones, doors from too thin tin (less than 1.2 mm). Especially in this regard, Chinese manufacturers sin, tin on these doors can be easily cut with a knife to open canned food.

Door frame. The reliability of the entrance door is determined not only by the web device, but also by the design of the door frame. Ideally, the box should be made of rather thick steel (0.3-0.5 cm) and have a U-shaped profile.

Entrance door arrangement:

1. Stiffener; 2. MDF panel; 3. Insulation; 4. Thrust bolt; 5. The armor plate on the lock; 6. Compactor; 7. Box; 8. Door leaf; 9. Hinge with bearing; 10. External clamping plate; 11. Metal sheet; 12. Anti-detachable pin.

Additional protection systems

Thermal insulation and solving problems with the freezing of the front door

In our harsh climatic conditions, the question of which doors to put in a private house so as not to freeze is of particular importance. In the absence of an external protective and decorative panel, frost and frost on a metal sheet are common phenomena, and especially if the door goes directly to the street. However, even if there is a bilateral facing and an unheated vestibule, the interior will not be protected from the cold if the door does not have insulation.

A mandatory component of any entrance door is a reliable internal thermal insulation layer. Mineral wool, polystyrene foam and other materials with low thermal conductivity can be used as insulation. To maximize thermal insulation, it is recommended to place insulation in the hollow frame of the door frame. When buying the front door be sure to check this point.

There are several ways to solve the problem of freezing of entrance doors:

1. Installation of a metal door in a cold vestibule or veranda. At the same time, a metal-plastic door is installed from the heated room into the vestibule, which has a low thermal conductivity and cuts off the penetration of cold air into the room from the vestibule. As a result, the entrance door will not come into contact with the warm air of the room, but will perform protective functions. This way of solving the problem of freezing is very effective, but it can not always be applied, especially if the construction of the house has already been completed.

2. The second way to solve the freezing problem is the choice of a metal door with thermo gaps in the profile. An effective solution is a polyamide thermal insert. This material perfectly neutralizes the effects of low temperatures. For example, if from the street side the door is “crushed” by -25ºС, then the temperature of its internal part will be + 10ºС. However, this option has disadvantages: firstly, the castle zone is still not protected from freezing, and, secondly, door designs with this type of insulation are twice as expensive as the usual options.

The device of a metal door with thermal shrinks:

1. Compactor; 2. Inner sheet of sheet metal door; 3. Styrofoam; 4. Foiled Izolon; 5. Polyurethane foam; 6. Cork; 7. External sheet of sheet metal door; 8. Thermo insert from foiled isolon for thermal break; 9. Canopies on bearings.

3. Good thermal protection is provided by doors with an electric heating system. The heating cable is placed along the contour of the door, around the locks and inside the box of such a door. This prevents the formation of condensation and ice. Electricity consumption ranges from 2 to 8 kW / day. Thus, even at very low temperatures, the door will always remain dry. The only drawback of this solution is the additional cost of electricity.

Regardless of the type of internal insulation, the entrance door must be equipped with a double or better triple sealant circuit, the main function of which is to prevent cold air from entering the street through the gaps between the door and the box.

Exterior finish

Before you choose the front door to a private house, you must first take into account the architectural features of the entrance itself. With direct contact with the street (we do not take into account the visors), the door lining must withstand not only significant temperature differences, but also the influence of precipitation, as well as UV rays.

So, for doors that are in contact with the street, it is absolutely not recommended to use wood trimming materials (chipboard, MDF, etc.), even in the presence of PVC coating. They do not tolerate the effects of moisture, and under the snow and rain will quickly become worthless.

Hammer paint will be able to repulse moisture. It is best to use this type of protective coating in our harsh conditions. You have probably already seen this color, see below for examples:

Hammer options.

Vinyl plating is also resistant to atmospheric precipitation, but it is not cold-resistant enough - already at -20 ° C this material becomes brittle and badly withstands even minor mechanical damage.

Refined appearance and excellent protection against moisture to the door leaf can provide waterproof ship panels made of oak, alder, walnut, pine. With such a lining, the door will look as if it is made of solid natural wood, but you should immediately take into account that beauty and reliability will have to be paid accordingly.

Door Locks

It is difficult to imagine an entrance door without two or three locks. These mechanisms provide 60% of the protective functions of the structure. Therefore, choosing the front door for a private house, you must pay particular attention to the locks. Doors must be equipped with two different types of mortise locks, most often, with lever and cylindrical. But there are cruciform and disc locking devices. We will not discuss the topic of electronic locks, but consider only mechanical versions of locking mechanisms.

The most important element of any lock is a bolt (in a simple way - a deadbolt). It is he who does not allow to open the closed door. For intruders, a deadbolt is a major barrier blocking unauthorized access to a home. High-quality and expensive mortise locks for entrance doors are equipped with bolts of hardened high-strength steel. Most often they have a cylindrical shape and can freely rotate around its axis, so it is not possible to saw them.

When locking the door with the key, the bolt enters a special-shaped hole in a metal box that is directly opposite it. The door in the covered state is fixed with a spring-loaded latch. The movement of the bolt is carried out by a turning cam made of hardened steel. And the immediate "command to action" cam gives the key, which is inserted into the "secret" mechanism.

Metal-plastic entrance doors

An excellent alternative to metal entrance structures are PVC profile doors. Currently, they are widely used in low-rise construction, since they are characterized by durability, durability and aesthetic appearance. But most importantly, they solve the problem of condensation and ice formation. Some believe that these doors are not reliable enough, but these fears are not always justified. The thing is that detractors can get into a private house through the same windows. Therefore, your solid metal door, even no one will touch. It turns out that the use of metal doors is not always justified.How to choose the entrance street door to a private house, made of metal, will be discussed further.

Immediately it should be noted that the production technology of PVC windows and doors is similar, however, in their design, these products are significantly different. Since higher requirements for reliability and safety are imposed on the entrance doors, they are made of a particularly strong profile using reinforcement with steel profiles.

The door frame and the canvas

The door frame at the good entrance PVC doors are made of a five-chamber profile with a thickness of at least 70 mm. Strengthening of the structure is carried out with the help of a metal reinforcing frame of rectangular or complex cross-section, located along the inner perimeter of the frame. It has a reliable corner mount, providing rigidity of the frame. The presence of the frame allows you to equip the door with powerful hinges and reliable burglar-resistant locking mechanisms.

When ordering such a design, be sure to pay attention to the profile: the number of cameras should not be less than five.

The design of the door leaf also includes a frame with a metal frame stiffness. As a placeholder, the door is completed not with an ordinary glass package, as in windows, but with triplex or armored glass. This solution contributes to safety and protection against mechanical damage. Along the perimeter of the door and frame there is a rubber seal for heat and waterproofing.

For greater reliability, it is recommended to choose exterior doors with a glazing area not exceeding one third of the leaf area (the lower part is deaf, the upper one is with glass).

Doors can be single or double:

Bifold structures are put in wide openings to evenly distribute the load on the hinges.

The device of an entrance metalplastic door:

1. Door frame profile; 2. Rubber seal; 3. Door leaf profile; 4. Threshold; 5. Closed reinforcing profile made of galvanized steel; 6. Seal glass; 7. Triple glazed windows; 8. Closed reinforcing profile door frame, made of galvanized steel.

Accessories

Accessories are hinges, a lock, and a handle. Doors are equipped with at least three anti-hinges that can withstand a large weight of the door (50-70 kg).

The standard kit includes one lock with a multipoint mechanism. The locks of this type, in addition to the main locking point (the key turning point), actuates the powerful bolts of high-strength steel located along the perimeter. These elements protect the door from burglary and ensure a tight fit of the sash to the frame. Optionally, you can equip the door with an additional short lock (with one locking point).

It is also recommended to equip the door with a door closer so that the heavy sash does not shake the whole structure with inaccurate closing.

Advantages of PVC entrance doors:

• excellent tightness of the structure, providing excellent sound, hydro and thermal insulation characteristics;
• high resistance to various aggressive factors (temperature extremes, humid environments, UV rays, chemicals);
• ease of care (easy to clean with cleaning (non abrasive) products;
• a variety of design solutions (various designs and color options for the decor);
• affordable cost;
• easy installation.

Cracking Resistance

Each The entrance door belongs to a certain security class, although only serious and responsible manufacturers certify their products. The burglar resistance of the door structure is determined by tests.

• Class I - these doors can be easily and quickly opened using manual equipment;
• Class II - the design is able to protect against burglary with a simple power tool. Most entrance street doors fall into this category;
• Class III - massive doors with double steel lining on the outside and in addition reinforcing elements in the whole structure. For hacking, it will take about half an hour and a powerful (up to 500 W) Bulgarian.

Tip: When choosing a front door, ask who made it and where, and also find out whether this product has passed the official burglar resistance certification and what class it is assigned to.

Conclusion

It is of course impossible to answer unequivocally the question of which door is better for a private house. The choice is influenced by many factors: for example, the financial capabilities of the buyer, his personal preferences, home characteristics, climatic conditions of the region of residence, etc. However, there are mandatory basic requirements, based on which you can choose a reliable and durable door that can not only turn the house into a real fortress, but will also become his calling card.

Here are the main parameters for choosing a front door for your home:

• quality and reliability of the structure;
• good sound and thermal insulation;
• wear-resistant exterior finish;
• attractive design;
• reliable locking system.