I need to get a porch replaced. The house is aligned gable end NE/SW, with the NS line going more or less straight across the diagonal. There is an attached garage/porch combo on the non-gable NW face, all flat roofed, with the front door facing NE. Its a wet and windy area and the wooden sill around the base has rotted and the door frame dropped that side.
The present porch has an internal garage door on the SW side, full width 60% height single glazed window on top of a wooden lower half down to floor level, with 3-5 (I can't remember) layers of bricks below on the NW side, and the front door plus 30-40cm wooden side panel that fills in the gap to the main brick wall of the house on the NE side. I'm happy with all of this layout.
The most important thing I want right is choice of door material and manufacturer. I can see an advantage in going for a wooden doorset in that if the frame goes out of true for any reason it is simple enough to move the strike plate to suit. Plus it means being able to use a 5 lever lock. I've also seen composite doors listed with 5 lever lock options though. So:
1) which should be more rigid, a wooden door + set, composite + set, or PVC + set please?
2) if I want the reassurance of being able to adjust strike plate positioning through the life of the porch (hopefully not necessary), is there any option except a wooden frame?
3) are any composite doors supplied in wooden frames or are they always in PVC?
4) are there any brands that people have had particularly good or bad experiences with please?
As for the rest of the porch, with there being an internal garage door I can't see the point in even considering triple glazed. But even going DG will add considerable weight which I'm concerned about the ability of any wooden panel below to support. Plus there are the insulation properties of having the 2 wooden panels replaced like for like compared with switching to brick. And on top of that (literally) is the way the present flat roof must have no insulation at all. So:
5) Is there any point considering TG, given that the porch has the internal garage door?
6) Can a 40% height wooden panel support the weight of a 60% height DG window, or must I switch to brick?
7) Is brick much better insulating than wooden panels?
8) Are there any types of thin insulation materials I should consider having fitted in the porch walls or roof?
Of course, should I simply go for an off the shelf PVC pre-built porch?
Sorry for this being such a long thread with so many questions.
The present porch has an internal garage door on the SW side, full width 60% height single glazed window on top of a wooden lower half down to floor level, with 3-5 (I can't remember) layers of bricks below on the NW side, and the front door plus 30-40cm wooden side panel that fills in the gap to the main brick wall of the house on the NE side. I'm happy with all of this layout.
The most important thing I want right is choice of door material and manufacturer. I can see an advantage in going for a wooden doorset in that if the frame goes out of true for any reason it is simple enough to move the strike plate to suit. Plus it means being able to use a 5 lever lock. I've also seen composite doors listed with 5 lever lock options though. So:
1) which should be more rigid, a wooden door + set, composite + set, or PVC + set please?
2) if I want the reassurance of being able to adjust strike plate positioning through the life of the porch (hopefully not necessary), is there any option except a wooden frame?
3) are any composite doors supplied in wooden frames or are they always in PVC?
4) are there any brands that people have had particularly good or bad experiences with please?
As for the rest of the porch, with there being an internal garage door I can't see the point in even considering triple glazed. But even going DG will add considerable weight which I'm concerned about the ability of any wooden panel below to support. Plus there are the insulation properties of having the 2 wooden panels replaced like for like compared with switching to brick. And on top of that (literally) is the way the present flat roof must have no insulation at all. So:
5) Is there any point considering TG, given that the porch has the internal garage door?
6) Can a 40% height wooden panel support the weight of a 60% height DG window, or must I switch to brick?
7) Is brick much better insulating than wooden panels?
8) Are there any types of thin insulation materials I should consider having fitted in the porch walls or roof?
Of course, should I simply go for an off the shelf PVC pre-built porch?
Sorry for this being such a long thread with so many questions.
