The best front doors for security are without doubt composite doors and it’s the amalgamation of various materials that makes them so strong. Composite door frames have a solid timber core, reinforced layers of UPVC and fibreglass (GRP) and several additional concentrated materials. While timber doors are susceptible to cracking, warping and weakening the older they get, composite doors don’t experience such downsides.

A composite door is reliant on having a multipoint lock, tough glazing and maximum-security hinges in order to fulfil modern security demands. With these constituents, they are significantly stronger than UPVC and traditional timber doors.

The choice of front door material is a vital consideration for preventing break-ins, as is having a tamper-proof lock to stop someone on the outside getting in.

Secure doors have a solid, reinforced core for strength and to fight off forced entries, while their impact-resistant materials demonstrate resilience in the face of brute force being applied.

• Which Door Material Is The Most Secure?
  Doors in composite form are recognised as the most dependable front door for security as the mesh of materials provide excellent durability and resistance. Composite doors sold by us contain solid steel hocks that slide into steel and a 3 star locking cylinder.
• What Locks Should I Look Out For?
  View the lock of a door with the same importance as the material used to construct the design as they work together to protect homes. Seek a high-security lock that conforms to British Standard BS3621, the minimum requirement. UPVC doors in South Wales and many composites come with multipoint locks, which engage a door at numerous points along a frame for maximum security.
• Will A UPVC Door Suffice For Security In The UK?
  UPVC is a robust and dependable material, absolutely. To amplify its secure nature, ensure it is paired with a multipoint locking mechanism so that your home benefits from the utmost security for years.
• Which Front Door Is The Hardest To Break?
  The intense strength of a composite door makes it the toughest to break, however that will only be the case if it features an intelligent lock, which it will if sourced from First Class Windows.

Always uncover the strength of the material and ensure that the door comes with a high-security lock and reinforced frame if you want it to reliably protect your property from thieves.

To discern the most secure front door, you’re also advised to check if a design has been granted PAS 24 accreditation and Secured by Design status.

Here’s a bit of insight into typical common door materials for when you come to shop around for a secure front door:

On first being installed, traditional wooden doors can be very strong, but they lose their strength as time moves on and issues like warping can manifest. If you’re insistent on having a wooden door, we recommend buying a modern engineered timber door.

Offered at a low cost, these doors perform admirably for security and are also low maintenance due to resistance to warping and associated issues.

Aluminium is a material with immense strength and is therefore a very reliable solution.

A hefty mix of materials make composite doors one of the best front doors for security, particularly because of their reinforced core and impact-resistant outer layers, a deterrent against forced entry.

See it as essential that a front door has these 5 security features:

Doors with a strong core (such as composite) are much harder to break than doors that are weak or hollow.

A multipoint lock engages a door at various points along its frame. A door with just a singular lock is far easier to force open.

A front door is less liable to be kicked in or forced open when it has a reinforced frame and strike plate.

Burglary tactics won’t be easy to pull off when a thief encounters an anti-pick, anti-drill and anti-snap lock.

Doors can’t be taken off their frame or forced when there’s tough, tamper-proof hinges involved.

The best lock for a front door would be a cylinder lock and lever lock, but it’s enormously crucial that they fulfil high-security obligations. British Standard BS3621 rating needs to be the minimum.

Cylinder locks function by using the grooved edge of a key to shift spring-loaded internal pins within the cylinder upon the key turning.

Lever locks operate with a bitted key that lifts each lever to an exact height. This allows the locking bolt to slide into the metal boxed strike plate within the door frame.

There are other lock types out there, including the mortice lock and the rim lock (also called a nightlatch). A mortice lock gets fitted into a door’s edge and is secured with a bolt that slots into a boxed strike plate. A rim lock is a surface-mounted lock that you operate with a key on the outside and thumb turn on the inside, usually paired with a mortice lock.

When evaluating composite doors in South Wales, always opt for one that has a multipoint lock so that you get a design that locks in multiple points along the frame and gives you a robust defence against thieves.

A strong front door with the right lock is the perfect combo. Here’s a rundown of some of the most common locks you will find in the UK, each providing a different standard of security:

• Mortice Locks
  Often used in wooden doors, mortice locks are embedded into the door itself, making them vastly secure.
• Rim Locks/Nightlatches
  Instead of being fitted within the door, nightlatches get fitted to the door’s surface and are commonly found in timber doors. Although they conveniently lock internally, they are best supplemented with a high-security lock.
• Cylinder Locks
  Typically employed in UPVC and composite doors, cylinder locks are vastly reliable, particularly if used with a multipoint lock. Choose a 3-star cylinder lock to benefit from snapping, drilling and bumping resistance.

Reliability varies between locking systems, underlining the importance of the BS3621 certification. This is issued to locks that have proved in testing to sufficiently resist forced entries.

A lot of home insurance providers demand that external doors have BS3621-compliant locks, as they adequately protect against forced attacks, picking, drilling etc.

Glass doors are largely safe, but their glazing needs to be reinforced and laminated and also be double or triple glazed for strength and safety. Standard glass is inadequate as it is easily broken and removed.

It’s significantly harder to break a door containing toughened or laminated glass than one with standard glass. Beaded glazing puts a stop to glass being lifted out of a door frame.

Something else to be wary of is the glass and lock being too close together, as it’s feasible for an intruder to break the glass and then easily be able to reach in and undo the lock. You’re either advised to select a door where the glass and lock are well separated or that has a lock requiring a key from both sides e.g. double cylinder lock.

Glass panels are featured in a lot of front doors for decoration and attracting light into hallways. They don’t pose a security issue if the glass is reinforced and double or triple glazed.

Evaluating locks for front doors cannot compare to the enjoyment of assessing the best front door colours, but they deserve the same level of focus as they’re central to home safety.

Hopefully, we’ve encouraged you to go and check if your front door’s current security is up to scratch. If you uncover that it isn’t, First Class is here to get a more reliable door replacement organised.