Doors in our homes play an important role in different ways. From aesthetics and stylistic choices to practical issues like security and even the reduction of energy bills. When choosing the perfect doors for your home, a wide range of options are available, many in pre-made, standard sizes. But do you need to look elsewhere for custom-made doors, or are standard ones appropriate for your home?
In this article, we’ll look at the process of deciding on the right doors for your home and whether you can opt for pre-made ones or might need to choose a custom-made option. If you think it might be time to look into replacing your exterior doors with state-of-the-art composite ones, speak to the team at Rock Solid Doors.
In answering this question, the first step is to check whether your existing door frames are standard sizes. If not, you will have no choice but to opt for custom-made versions. So, grab a tape measure and get to work. Standard door sizes in the UK are as follows:
Exterior doors
Less common standard sizes
Because standard-sized doors are so popular, manufacturers feel comfortable producing them ahead of time. This means you can interact with the door you will take home and judge its qualities, colour, and styling. If you like what you see, it goes home with you there and then, and the door can be swinging on its new hinges the same day.
Standard-sized doors and door frames are made for each other. If you select a pre-made door, it should fit snugly and cause very few issues.
Pre-made doors can be made in bulk. Without the need to recalibrate machinery or interrupt the manufacturing process, they are cheaper to produce and those savings are passed on to the consumer.
Standard doors are often produced in various styles, colours, and materials to appeal to the widest range of people. From solid timber, metal, and vinyl to our personal favourites - composite doors. There is plenty of choice when looking for pre-made doors, making life much easier when designing your home.
Standard doors can be the perfect solution for your home, especially if your budget is tight. However, size restrictions might take standard doors out of the equation. You may need to have doors custom-made to fit your existing door frames or prefer something more individual stylistically.
If you live in an older home, cottage, or other building constructed before standardisation became the norm, you are unlikely to be able to purchase doors off the rack. Custom-made doors are your only real option if you need wider doors for accessibility purposes or have a unique home. Do you have an unusual space in your property that no standard door will fit? Custom-made doors offer the possibility to utilise such spaces and separate them from other areas if required.
Working with your chosen manufacturer to produce the exact door you need means you can add personal designs and features. Whether you need specific handles for less mobile visitors or want your door to match the existing style of your property, you can discuss options with your door-maker to get the desired result. Whether you want specific designs on your door or an arched top to fit an ancient doorway, custom door makers can help.
Doors made to your specifications can be produced to any standard you want. You can specify the materials and control every aspect of how they will look and feel. This all comes at a cost, and custom-made doors will never be the cheapest option. That’s not the point.
Although standard doors should fit reasonably well into their frames, nothing will fit better than a door built to the exact dimensions of an existing door frame.
Pre-made and custom-made doors have their benefits, and you must decide which aspects are most important to you and your property. If money is no object, custom doors will always be the better option, but pre-made ones have come a long way and are a perfectly acceptable substitute.
At Rock Solid Doors Ltd, we are proud of our reputation as respected, top-tier suppliers and fitters of composite doors across London and the Home Counties. Contact us today to learn more about our products and convenient, professional fitting service. You will receive a warm welcome and all the information you need about our incredible range of composite doors.
Graham Kidd2 November 2023100% recommend Paul and Harry a great father and son team! I'm so pleased that we used them to supply and fit our new front door. Straightforward to deal with from start to finish and communication throughout was excellent. They are extremely knowledgeable and were able to offer advice and suggestions when we were choosing the door we wanted. Nothing was rushed during the installation with great attention to detail. They took away our old door and frame and left everything clean and tidy at the end of the job. Thank you, Harry, for taking the time to go through everything with us at the end of the job, much appreciated. I would not hesitate in using Paul and Harry again. Thank you both so much, we are so pleased!
Andrew Brant30 October 2023Had a door fitted today. Extremely happy with the quality of the finish, attention to detail. Left site clean and tidy. Very impressed. Would highly recommend
Daniel Ashworth6 October 2023Had a door fitted by these very friendly chaps about 18 months ago. We're very happy with it. When an issue arose with the mechanism, they came out and fixed it in about 5 minutes and it's as it if is brand new again. Very pleased, would highly recommend.
L Edwards2 October 2023Communication with Paul was faultless throughout. He was polite, knowledgeable and efficient. Harry and Paul installed our new door, problem solving along the way. The finish was neat and tidy and they offered us excellent after sales service aswell. Would highly recommend.
Susie22 September 2023Highly recommend. We had our front door fitted by this lovely team. They were friendly, helpful, willing to listen to me debate options and provided helpful advice for choosing the right door for us. When he had a slight issue (no fault of their own) they came out to us the very next day and sorted it. Such a good supplier to work with!
Ed Barkham21 September 2023Brilliant service. No hidden costs or fees and no heavy sales tactics. Very open and clear from the start, and they worked really hard to fit a great new door in our thinner than average doorway! Great value and great result. Will be recommending to all.
fiona richards10 September 2023Highly recommend Rock Solid doors. We have used this friendly family company several times and have recommended them to others who have been equally impressed with the high standard of work and the product. We have received quick service and found them to be very reliable knowledgeable with no hard sell. The installations have been carried out professionally and they go the extra mile to ensure you are happy with everything. The external doors are robust and we are impressed with the quality of the product.
James Cooper24 July 2023Faultless customer service from a fantastic company to do business with. From start to finish it’s been a pleasure buying composite doors from Rock Solid Doors – in fact, we were so impressed with the front door and installation service they provided (we opted for a Solidor Ludlow 2 with 2 x fully glazed side lights) that we got them back to supply our utility door (Windsor Solidor – fully glazed) shortly afterwards. Paul dealt with our initial queries promptly, came to measure on site and provided a competitive quote very efficiently. These guys are first-rate craftsmen and know their stuff: evidenced by working around a couple of quirky construction issues without any problem – leaving us really impressed with the end product. It’s great to come across a local business that takes pride in what they do, going the extra mile for customer satisfaction – we cannot recommend Rock Solid Doors highly enough! Thank you Paul and Harry!
Simon Gould25 June 2023Brilliant service from Paul at Rock Solid; our letter box seal had gone causing a slight leak - he responded immediately, attended this week and fixed with a new gasket. Would highly recommend the product and the service.
Lidia Duncan16 June 2023I ordered my Vogue Rock door with the Ocean glass from Rock Solid Doors at the end of 2021. I had a number of criteria when searching for my new entrance door. It’s ability to insulate had to be A rated. I also wanted it to have a good quality locking mechanism that is smooth in action. My new door needed to be modern with a pane that lets plenty of light in and thus goes lower than the half line on the door, while leaving sufficient height for the letter box, so it is sufficiently high to be comfortably reached by our postman. The Vogue Rock door provided all that and more. I love sailing and the Ocean glass design evokes the lines of a sail in a beautifully minimalistic fashion. It also makes the door look unique, which is always a bonus. During my search for the perfect door I had lots of technical questions too. Only Paul and his colleague from Rock Solid Doors were able to answer all my questions and provide a door that offered what I was looking for. They supplied and fitted my new door in early 2022. My heating bill has gone down noticeably, as a result. With the golden oak wood grain on the outside, my door looks beautiful and elegant. Everyone who comes to the house for the first-time comment on it. The multi-locking mechanism has a smooth action and it is easy to use. The white wood grain on the inside finishes off the hallway like a designer window and door in one. Paul and his colleague went out of their way to make sure that I have the door and the finish just, as I wanted and that it worked seamlessly there on. We could not be happier. Thank You!
