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  • I have pretty low expectations of online doors around the lower price point. I've fitted a few without problems and they seem to all come from one factory or at least to be manufactured in a very similar way.

    Howdens is a good source if you can get a tradesman to get you in. You can look at them and reject anything damaged or out of shape. It's not like their stock is superb but at least you can see and touch it. I've just helped a neighbour fit some 4 panel fire doors over the last couple of weeks. From Howdens I think they were around £100 each.

    Its worth considering the construction too. You might want proper rail and stile panel doors in a hardwood or just press moulded and veneered. Sometimes you can't tell how they've put them together until you get up close.

  • I do have a carpenter who has a Howdens account however they don't do the style I'm after. I want flat panels with moulding and they only do profiled panels. I'm after rail and stile, probably in pine, not press moulded. Basically a decent repro of an original door, without the pain of collecting a pile of old doors in shit condition and refurbing them.

  • I just couldn't find that at a quality I wanted so made it myself. I was able to make an insulated lower panel too so that was another reason to go custom. Of course that whole project was on my partners place so I couldn't recommend it purely on budget.

    I did use a hardwood instead of pine because I don't have a good supplier of pine.

    Eventually after dealing with all sorts of doors for many years I started to resist changing doors for clients, especially exterior ones. I guess that's just me wanting to deliver top results but knowing it's too expensive for most of my clients.

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