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There’s a dog’s dinner of paint finishes across the windows and door frame. God knows what the guy who painted the window for me used but as you can see it’s falling off. I did the door frame with the dulux weathershield three part system and that has been a bubbling disaster. My repaint of the window sill was Little Greene exterior emulsion: that has held up relatively well, but a crack has opened up there as a result of the underlying issues. Thanks again to both you and Bobbo for the advice. I’ll order some repaircare for the door and see how I get on. I am hoping the frame issues and window will be addressed in the forthcoming works. I’ll be sure to pass on your thoughts to the contractors.
Sharkstar-
It's unusual for the weathershield system to fail but the formulation of the newer water based one is nowhere near as good as the old oil based one, especially the very thin initial primer that comes with the new version is not a patch on the old one. Apparently the old one is pretty deadly to fish or something like that.
Airhead
Looking at your photos it seems that you had a problem with the paint on the new wood. It's possible that it needed sanding before priming or it was just a bit damp and you didn't use a breathable paint system. It's a common problem with new carpentry, the paintwork lets it down way too quickly. Any signs of bubbling or cracked paint you should be stripping it and repainting that summer season.
Bobbo is right about the joints. Its common to rout those freehand with a die grinder and specific bit, it's all part of the deeper expenses in the Repaircare system.
I wouldn't attempt to change the panel professionally unless it had rotted a lot more than your current one. You can rebuild that entire beading and bottom edge of the panel in repair care and it will last a long time if it's well painted.
From a best practice point of view I would agree the panel could be replaced. At that point I'd probably be thinking about making an entire new door from scratch though, maybe working out some insulation for the panels. I did that for a door in a damp corner 7 years ago and it's still looking fresh. A lot of that is due to the paintwork though.
Overall that area looks a bit damp. You might want a metal cap on your door step anyway, any kind of wood gets worn by feet on it. I used to go to a brass shop with a template of the profile and they would bend it for me. It would at least stop the paint wearing off and the wood being exposed.
When it comes to exterior paint it's worth checking out Zinsser All Coat. You can get it gloss or matt in any colour but the best for exterior is white gloss. It's so easy to use but it drys very hard and stays white and glossy. You could coat the doorstep twice a year with it and it would help. It's also moisture vapour permeable.