The single change that most alters how a house is seen from the road. Panelled, cottage, flush or glazed, individually specified in the colour, glass and hardware that suit your home.
It is the part of the house visitors stand in front of, the part that has to keep weather and intruders out, and the part that decides whether a hallway feels warm or draughty. A composite door is specified to do all three at once.
Composite construction means a solid insulated core within a thermally broken frame, finished in a colour-through skin. Compared with the timber and older uPVC doors we usually take away, the difference is not subtle: the door does not swell in wet weather or shrink in a dry summer, so it keeps closing properly for years rather than needing to be shouldered shut each winter.
Across the Cotswolds and the Thames Valley we specify front doors for stone cottages, Victorian terraces, Georgian townhouses, 1930s semis and new family homes, and the right answer looks completely different in each case. A recessed cottage porch usually wants a simple panelled or cottage-style door with restrained glazing. A Georgian elevation wants divided glass and correct proportions. A contemporary house is often best served by a flush slab with a long pull handle and a single vertical light.
Practical detail is settled at your free home survey. We check the condition of the existing frame, the reveal, the threshold and the cill, look at how the door is approached from the path, and talk through where the light in the hallway actually comes from. Where a low threshold matters — for a wheelchair, a pram or simply a step that has always been awkward — that is designed in rather than discovered on installation day.
The doors come from established British manufacturers and are fitted by our own directly employed installers rather than subcontracted labour. A standard front door is normally installed in a single day, with careful removal of the old door, safe disposal and a full clean-up included. The work is registered under our Assure registration and covered by an insurance-backed guarantee alongside our 20 Year Guarantee, and everything agreed at survey is set out in a fixed written quotation before you commit.
Kerb appeal is the reason most homeowners start the conversation. It is rarely the thing they mention afterwards.
A well-chosen front door lifts the whole elevation, and it is the one improvement that is noticed from the pavement the day it is finished.
Style, colour inside and out, glass design and hardware finish are all chosen for your house rather than picked from a fixed package.
Multi-point locking, high-security cylinders and PAS 24 tested frames, with laminated glass available wherever glazing sits near the lock.
A solid insulated core and thermally broken frame remove the draught that runs along the floor of most older entrance halls.
Colour-through skins and stainless hardware mean washing the door occasionally is the whole of the maintenance.
A standard front door is normally installed in a single day by our directly employed fitters, with the old door removed and taken away.
Four families of design cover almost every house we work on. Within each, the proportions and glazing are set to the opening.
Moulded panels in traditional arrangements, the most widely suited design and the safest choice on a period or transitional elevation.
A lower, wider proportion with a small glazed light in the upper section. At home in stone cottages and recessed porches.
A single smooth slab sitting level within the frame. Quiet, contemporary and particularly effective in a dark colour with a long pull handle.
A large glazed panel where a hallway has no other source of daylight, specified with obscured or laminated glass as the position requires.
Glazing in the upper half over a solid lower panel. Light where you want it and durability where bikes and boots meet the door.
Arched glazing and arched frames for openings built that way, so a curved head is followed rather than squared off.
A glazed light above the door for taller openings, keeping the door leaf at a comfortable height without losing daylight.
Standard and low thresholds, chosen with weather exposure and step access in mind and detailed properly at survey stage.
Arrange your free home survey, expert advice, accurate measuring and a fixed written quotation with no pressure.
Colour is chosen against your own brickwork, stone or render, not from a screen.
The most requested modern finish, and one that works as well on a rendered new build as it does against Cotswold stone. Restrained rather than stark.
A traditional choice for townhouses and Georgian porches, particularly alongside polished or antique hardware and a divided glazed panel.
From deep navy to softer heritage blues. Confident on a painted or rendered elevation without dominating the front of the house.
Chartwell and the deeper heritage greens are a natural fit for cottages and country homes across the Cotswolds and the Thames Valley.
Warmer than a bright white and easier on older stone and lime render, especially where the door sits within a recessed porch.
Oak and darker wood-grain finishes carry the texture of stained timber with none of the sanding, sealing or repainting.
A classic front door colour that reads well on brick and rendered elevations, and holds its depth because the colour runs through the skin.
Every finish is a colour-through skin, so the colour is part of the door rather than a coat of paint over it. That is why a composite door does not need repainting, and why scuffs from bikes, prams and deliveries stay far less visible than they would on timber. Interiors can be specified in a different shade to the outside, which is often the right decision where a hallway is narrow or north-facing. We bring samples to your free home survey so you can hold the colour against your own brick, stone or render rather than judging it from a screen.
The glass design and the ironmongery are what make a door look considered rather than ordered. They are chosen together.
Diamond and square lead patterns for period elevations, where the original door and fanlight would have carried divided glazing.
Softly etched and floral designs that admit daylight into a hallway while keeping the view in from the path obscured.
Geometric designs suited to 1920s and 1930s houses, particularly where the original stained glass has been lost.
Clean vertical and horizontal glazing for modern elevations, giving light and a sense of height without any decorative pattern.
Lever and lever-pad handles in polished chrome, satin, black or antique finishes, chosen to match the ironmongery elsewhere on the house.
Long pull handles for flush and contemporary doors, giving a clean vertical line and a comfortable, positive grip.
Traditional knockers, with or without a spyhole, for houses where a doorbell would look out of place on the face of the door.
Letterplates with brush and flap seals so the draught proofing of the door is not undone by the post, in finishes matched to the handle.
Laminated glass options are available throughout, which is worth specifying wherever glazing sits within reach of the lock or beside a quiet side path. All hardware is chosen at survey stage and set out in your fixed written quotation, so the finish on the handle, knocker, letterplate and hinges is decided together rather than left to chance.
The specification below is standard on every front door we install, not an upgrade path.
Multi-point locking secures the door at several points along the frame rather than at the handle alone, which is what makes forcing the leaf so much harder.
High-security cylinders resist the snapping, drilling and bumping methods most commonly used on older front doors, with upgrade options available.
Reinforced, thermally broken frames tested to PAS 24, the recognised British standard for enhanced security doorsets.
Laminated glazing holds together when struck, which matters most on glazed panels, sidelights and any glass within reach of the lock.
A solid insulated core and modern weather-sealing keep the hallway warmer and draught-free, a marked change from an older timber or uPVC door.
The same density and sealing that hold heat in also reduce road and weather noise reaching the hall and the rooms leading off it.
A selection of door photography showing styles, colours and glazed detailing.
A selection of recent Thames Frames door installations completed across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Berkshire.
A classic panelled composite front door in a deep, understated colour, replacing a tired timber original on a well-proportioned Georgian family home. Specified with laminated glazing and high-security multi-point locking.
A traditional stable door in heritage cream, sensitively specified for a stone cottage on the edge of Cirencester. Independently opening leaves with modern insulation, weather-sealing and security.
A composite front door flanked by full-height glazed sidelights, brightening a previously dark hallway on a period townhouse in the centre of Tetbury without compromising security.
A pair of composite double doors specified for a generous entrance on a country family home, balanced proportions, contemporary hardware and a considerably warmer, more welcoming entrance hall.
A colour-through composite front door in a soft, characterful shade, replacing a draughty uPVC unit on an established family home. Warmer, quieter and considerably more secure.
An anthracite grey composite door specified for a contemporary refurbishment near Hungerford, smart brushed hardware, laminated glass and a crisp, considered finish to the front elevation.
A golden oak woodgrain composite door with three stacked square apertures and a colour-matched frame, fitted within the recessed porch of a red-brick family home in Innsworth. Obscured glazing keeps the hallway private while still drawing daylight in, and the chrome furniture and low aluminium threshold finish it neatly.
A Chartwell Green composite door with a full-height decorative Art Deco glazed panel, set in a crisp white frame on a rendered Cheltenham home. The leaded design brings character and daylight into the hallway, while two solid lower panels and polished chrome furniture keep the door robust and beautifully balanced.
An anthracite grey composite door with vertical grooved detailing and three square apertures, with a colour-matched frame and threshold, fitted beneath a timber canopy on a new-build home in Trowbridge. A brushed stainless letterplate and slimline handle complete a clean, contemporary frontage.
"A calm, considered process from survey through to installation. The new door has completely lifted the front of the house."
"Sympathetic advice at survey and immaculately installed. Exactly the door our cottage needed, and beautifully finished."
"The hallway feels transformed. Honest guidance on the glass and hardware, and the finish is exceptional."
"Meticulous survey and a very high standard of installation. We couldn't be more pleased with the finished result."
"You can feel the difference the moment you step inside. Cleanly installed and beautifully finished."
"Balanced, honest advice at survey and a lovely, tidy install. The finished result is stunning."
Arrange a complimentary home survey with one of our door specialists. We'll measure the opening, bring colour and glass samples, and leave you with a fixed written quotation and no pressure at any stage.
Share a few details and a door specialist will be in touch within one working day. No pressure, no pushy sales.
Arrange a complimentary home survey at a time that suits you. We listen carefully, measure precisely and recommend the products best suited to your property.