If you have started pricing a new front door, you will have noticed quotes vary wildly, from under a thousand pounds to well over three. Most of that gap comes down to a handful of choices: the door slab itself, the glass, the frame, and who fits it. Here is an honest breakdown of what you can expect to pay in the UK right now, and why.
For a standard single composite front door, supplied and fitted, most UK homeowners pay somewhere between £1,000 and £2,500. Supply-only doors start lower, often £600 to £1,200 for the slab and frame, but fitting is not the place to cut corners on an external door.
At the top end, premium solid-core doors from brands such as Solidor or Rockdoor, with bespoke colours, decorative glazing and upgraded hardware, can reach £2,500 to £3,500 fitted. Adding side panels or a top light pushes the total higher again, sometimes past £4,000 for a full entrance set.
The core is the biggest single factor. Cheaper composite doors use an insulated foam core, which performs well thermally but feels lighter and can be less robust. Solid timber-core doors cost several hundred pounds more and feel noticeably more substantial, with better security and sound insulation.
Glazing and colour come next. A solid door in standard white or black is the cheapest option. Obscure glass, decorative or leaded designs, and dual-colour finishes (one colour outside, another inside) each add to the bill, typically £50 to £300 per choice. Hardware matters too: upgrading to a high-security multi-point lock with a 3-star cylinder, or fitting a smart lock, adds anywhere from £50 to £250.
Coastal and exposed properties, common around Aberdeen and along the North East coast, take a battering from wind-driven rain and salt air. A composite door handles this far better than timber, which is one reason they have largely replaced painted wooden doors here, but hardware quality still matters. Stainless steel or corrosion-resistant furniture is worth the modest extra cost near the coast, because cheap handles and hinges pit and tarnish quickly.
Granite properties, which make up a large share of Aberdeen's housing stock, can also complicate installation. Openings in granite walls are often deeper and less uniform than in modern brick, so allow for the possibility of extra trimming, packing or cill work in the quote. A good installer will survey the opening before giving you a final price rather than quoting blind from a photograph.
Always ask whether a quote is supply-only or supplied and fitted, and whether it includes removal and disposal of the old door, a new frame, and VAT. These are the usual culprits when a headline price grows by several hundred pounds later on.
Check that the installer will certify the work. In Scotland, replacement doors should meet building standards for thermal performance, and any glazing in a door must be toughened or laminated safety glass. Ask about the guarantee too: reputable manufacturers typically offer around 10 years on the door slab, and the installer should separately guarantee their workmanship. Finally, be wary of heavy discount sales tactics. A door discounted from an inflated starting price is not a bargain; two or three written quotes from local firms will tell you quickly what the fair market rate is.
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