When choosing a door leaf, you need to examine not only how it looks, but also take into account a number of other characteristics, since the selected model door leaf a lot depends: the degree of protection of property and apartment residents, insulating properties, general impressions on the design of external and internal living space. How to do right choice– read on.

First of all, you need to study what the best entrance doors are. Basically, they are made from solid wood or various metal alloys.

Let's look at what these doors are made of:

1. Entrance doors made of wood. The most common materials used are pine, oak and other types of trees.
2. Entrance doors made of metal. They are made from various alloys based on high-strength and stainless steel.

If the appearance of steel products is not to your liking, the inside of the door can be refined by finishing it with wood or other material you like. When wondering how to accurately select a door, you should study its components and make sure of their quality.

Steel doors are considered more reliable, so preference is most often given to them.

When purchasing an entrance door, you most often have to select small components, such as locks, hinges, peepholes, and seals. Fortunately, an increasing number of manufacturers have begun to provide modern entrance doors in a fully equipped form, thereby relieving buyers of unnecessary headaches.

How to choose the right entrance door to your apartment

Installation of the door will also not be complete without components. Platbands - frame the doorway, designed to hide joints door frame with a wall. Extensions - will fill the extra space of doorways that are too wide. Thresholds - protect the room from various dirt, water and dust entering it, and also minimize the possibility of drafts in the apartment.

When choosing a high-quality entrance door, you need to pay attention to the following characteristics and know the requirements for the products:

1. Strength. The door must be made of quality material. If wood is solid wood, metal requires a high-quality steel alloy.
2. Tightness. An ideal fabric should have a certain level of insulating properties. This characteristic depends both on the selected material of the main fabric and on the presence of high-quality seals.
3. Lock. The choice of a lock should not be taken lightly; it must be reliable, made of high-quality material and have a high level of protection against burglary.
4. Loops. High-quality hinges must be selected, taking into account the weight load of the leaf; they must ensure free use of the door when opening and closing it, and have maximum resistance to unauthorized use of mechanical influences on them.

In most cases, a panoramic peephole is installed for observation. It is also possible to use video surveillance; for this, a special video surveillance unit is installed. The sash of the structure should not cause any inconvenience when opening and closing it.

It is important that the door trim fits into general interior apartments.

The presence of guarantees and certificates of compliance with GOST requirements confirms the manufacturer’s statements about the quality of the products they sell. The warranty period usually varies from 1 year to 3 years. It is important that all these points are observed, because the safety and service life of the product depend on it.

Choosing a modern entrance door

According to experts, an iron door is considered the most reliable. Wooden doors are mainly used for installation in interior spaces. It is important that the steel door is made of high-quality alloy. The product must consist of steel profiles interconnected and a solid metal sheet, 2–5 mm thick.

The presence of heat and sound insulating materials in the structure is important; this is an integral part of the structure.

Also, a high-quality entrance door is worth noting the presence of a sealing material, which is located around the perimeter of the door leaf, with duplication on the door frame. Most often, silicone or rubber is used as the material. Pay attention to the cost. It shouldn't be low. Low cost indicates that low-grade fittings were used in the configuration. Therefore, when selecting a canvas, it is necessary to carefully approach the selection of its components.

Please pay attention to the following components:

• Lock;
• Loops;
• Blocking the canvas in the box;
• Observation tool.

Absolutely any door, if it is of high quality, has 2 different types of locks. This is necessary to ensure the greatest safety of the apartment. According to security experts, best choice installation of lever and pin locks will be possible, these types of locks are the most resistant to hacking, and an attempt to open them can take on average 30–40 minutes; thieves give up the idea of ​​opening the lock if it takes more than 15 minutes. The best durable materials for making locks are steel, cast iron, and sometimes brass. Avoid locks made of aluminum - it is too soft and easily deformed, and silumin - it is easily destroyed.

Locks are divided into 4 levels according to the degree of protection against burglary: 1 and 2 - not very reliable, 3 and 4 - more expensive, but their level of security is higher. Be sure to check the level of security when purchasing a lock.

When selecting hinges, you must remember that they must be designed for the weight of the installed door structure and have high resistance to deformation. They come in two types: hidden and open.

Open ones, in turn, are divided into:

1. Universal - have a long service life. To break into and remove the canvas from such fasteners, you will need to unscrew them.
2. Removable – practical to use, do not require unscrewing when removing the door from its hinges.
3. Screw-in – used for doors with a Euro-rebate.
4. Swing – allow you to open the door in both directions.

It is recommended to choose hidden ones, since such a door is much more difficult to remove from its hinges. The main criterion when choosing hinges is the high quality of the materials from which they are made. Experts recommend metals that are resistant to corrosion and friction: brass, steel, brass-zinc alloy.

In high-quality models of apartment entrance doors, anti-removal pins must be used to prevent the door leaf from being dismantled when it is closed.

Review of models: how to choose the entrance door to an apartment (video)

When choosing a quality entrance door, every detail is important. It is necessary to remember both about the mandatory availability of certificates and manufacturer warranties, and about the material used to manufacture the product and all its components. If you comply with all the nuances and requirements when selecting the entrance material, you can be confident in the guaranteed safety of the apartment and the reliability of the chosen design, which will last for many years.

Choosing an entrance door is a rather important moment, since the safety of all the property of the house or apartment, and sometimes the life of the owners, will depend on its design. Today, the assortment of specialized stores is formed by many manufacturers presenting their products, which have a wide range of prices - from the most modest to the very high. Therefore, you can always choose a door that will fully meet the capabilities of the homeowners.

The purpose of the front door is not only to protect the home from intruders, as it should prevent the penetration of external noise and cold air masses. In addition, there are models that can create a reliable barrier even to intense flames during a fire. How to choose a metal entrance door - advice from a professional - they are necessarily given depending on where it will be installed: at the entrance to the apartment or in private house, as well as taking into account many criteria that directly affect the performance of this design.

Criteria for choosing an entrance door

To clarify all the nuances, we turned to the Moscow manufacturer of entrance doors, the ProfMaster company, where more than 80% of orders are individual production "to order" because this is the only way to choose a door without compromising on quality.

There is a list of key points to pay attention to special attention when purchasing an entrance door:

• Installation location. The door can be installed on the street in a private house or at the entrance to an apartment, that is, in an entrance area protected from direct external influence. The choice of insulation material and external cladding will depend on this.
• Level of protection. Several aspects can be attributed to this criterion:

- the thickness of the metal used to make the door;

— frame design;

— the number of metal layers in the door leaf;

— the number of stiffeners inside the canvas frame;

- number and design of locks and hinges;

— presence of an overview element.

• Insulation material. To prevent the door from letting in cold masses and extraneous noise, it is insulated with mineral wool, polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam or cardboard. Some cheap models may have no insulation at all.
• Number of seals. They can be installed on the door leaf or frame, in one, two or even three rows. For fire-resistant structures, sealing contours made of special materials are used.
• Door weight. Quality product should be heavy, as it has reliable stiffening ribs and is made of high-quality, fairly thick metal sheet.
• A design solution that will harmoniously fit the door into general design facade, if the door will be installed in a private house.
• Fireproof qualities of materials, if you plan to purchase a door that has protection against the spread of flame.
• Anti-vandal coating - especially necessary if there are animals in the house that can scratch door trim, or in an apartment where there is no combination lock at the entrance to the entrance.
• The door must have a quality certificate or product passport, which will indicate all its characteristics.

Assessment of the main characteristics of doors

The price of such products is quite high, but you can be sure of the safety that they will fully provide. Therefore, recently more and more apartment residents and house owners prefer this particular door option.

So, the design of the entrance doors must fully meet all the criteria for safety and comfort when opening and closing them, as well as satisfy homeowners in terms of its design. Therefore, when making a choice, you need to make a list of requirements for the door structure in advance, and if the model meets them, then this option will be ideal for a specific entrance to a building or apartment.

Choosing an entrance door to an apartment turns into a real headache for the buyer - the market is oversaturated with products that take into account any needs: price, design, reliability, sound and heat insulation. Under these conditions, how can we balance the consumer properties of a door so that it is beautiful, affordable for the family budget and, at the same time, reliably protects the home from “uninvited guests” and is easy to use? Only specialists know this.

Let's fill the gap in the knowledge of the average consumer and consider which entrance door is best installed in an apartment.

Main structural elements of the entrance door

The question of what material the entrance door to the apartment should be made of: wood or metal is not discussed. A priori this metal door. It consists of many structural elements that many consumers are not aware of. And they play an important role in protecting your home from thieves and robbers.

In order to warn owners against possible mistakes when installing doors in an apartment, we will consider in detail, in the most accessible language, each element of the door structure, the terms that denote them and their role in the design of the door.

1. External cladding. The door must not only perform protective functions, but also have an aesthetic appearance. For this purpose, several methods of external finishing are used:

• painting with powder paint, as a result of which several problems are solved at once: anti-corrosion coating, the doors are given a pleasant appearance, the door leaf is protected from mechanical damage;
• the door is upholstered with leather or its substitutes;
• covered with laminated film;
• sheathed with MDF sheets, precious wood veneer, etc.

For reference: the door leaf is a moving part door block, blocking the doorway with its size. It consists of internal and external metal sheets, an internal frame, stiffeners and filler (insulation).

2. Loops- Allows you to open and close the door.

3. Peephole (door)– provides the opportunity to inspect the space directly outside the door.

4. Handle (door)– allows you to control the lock and the door when it is opened.

5. Armored plate for lever lock– protects the lock cylinder from breaking, drilling, knocking out.

6. Outer metal sheet– closes access to the apartment through the door leaf, protects the locking mechanisms from breaking.

7. Inner frame. One of essential elements door design. The geometry of the inside of the door block and the protection of locks from breaking when trying to press the bolts from the door frame depend on its strength.

For reference: to give the door leaf rigidity, a metal profile is welded inside the door frame. In the language of experts - stiffeners.

8. Filler– protects the room from the penetration of cold and various noises from outside. In everyday practice, experts say that this is insulation.

9. Anti-removal pins. Installed only with external hinges. Hold the door leaf in the frame while trying to cut the hinges and remove the door.

10. Lock (door)– a mechanical device for locking the door in closed position.

11. Rigel(from German Riegel, which means bolt, bolt) - an element of the lock mechanism in the form of a metal rod that directly locks the door.

12. Vertical transom for locks of “crab” design.

13. Deviator. Additional horizontal bolts located outside the lock area - if a criminal manages to press the lock bolts, the door will not open. It will be held by a deviator, the location of which is hidden from the burglar.

14. Inner metal sheet. Strengthens the protective functions of the door. In a number of door models, there is no door - an MDF panel is installed.

15. Internal lining. Made from MDF, valuable wood veneer, etc.

16. Door frame– the fixed part of the door block. It is a frame structure supporting a door on hinges. Attached anchor bolts to the wall.

17. Metal platband , is part of the box.

18. – installed on a box indoors.

19. Mounting pins- attach the box to the wall.

20. Sealant– installed in the contour of the vestibule.

For reference: a door ledge is a small protrusion on the door leaf for a tighter connection with the door frame (see photo).

21. Eccentric– regulates the force of pressing the leaf against the door frame.

22. Night watchman– blocks the door with inside without the ability to open it from the outside. Only hacking.

23. – allows you to close and open the lock from the inside without a key.

24. – covers part of the wall indoors, performing the function of a slope.

25. End latch. Opens the second leaf of a double door.

What to look for when choosing

Of the above elements, the greatest attention should be paid to the door leaf and frame, locks, hinges, seal, filler and peephole - they are the ones who ensure safety and comfort in the home.

Let's consider the features of each of the above elements so that the consumer, when choosing the entrance door to the apartment, consciously comes to a compromise on the parameters of the product when purchasing it or takes into account all the nuances in the contract when ordering.

Door leaf

The front door has many functions, but the choice is always made according to two criteria - security and reliability. Only then are other consumer properties considered. Therefore, first of all, the buyer (customer) is interested in:

• thickness of the cladding (metal sheet) outside and inside;
• presence of stiffeners;
• dimensions of the door leaf (more precisely, its thickness).

At first glance everything is clear. The thicker the sheathing sheets and the canvas itself, the better. But do not rush to buy such doors - the heavy weight of the door will very quickly require replacing the hinges.

How to choose the right door based on the thickness of the elements? More on this below.

Door leaf thickness. Let us immediately note that the thickness of the door leaf has practically no effect on the security of the apartment. The level of protection against noise and cold depends on the indicator. Therefore, in apartments with heated entrances, 7 cm is enough - the filler successfully solves its problems.

For reference: in private houses, doors with a thickness of 9-10 cm are usually installed - a thicker layer of insulation is needed, and in garages, workshops and other utility rooms, 5 cm is enough.

Steel thickness. Door manufacturers weld iron sheets with a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm onto their products. In principle, a door leaf with cladding of any thickness can be installed in an apartment. But what is the end result?

A metal sheet up to 1.5 mm thick can be easily opened with a simple can opener. From 1.5 to 2 mm can also be cut, but with metal scissors. Sheathing with a thickness of more than 3 mm dramatically makes the door heavier, as a result of which the hinges quickly wear out.

Therefore, in practice, one sheet of 2-3 mm thick is placed on the door leaf on each side. One can argue with such a decision. Here are a few points:

• At the entrance, no one will cut out the door leaf with a grinder. This is not a private house, where sometimes no one is home at night, and vigilant neighbors are far away or behind a high fence. Therefore, a thickness of 2.0-2.5 mm is sufficient.
• If the first barrier is impassable, why install a second sheet of metal, increasing the load on the hinges and increasing the cost of the door itself.
• The second metal sheet conducts noise and heat well. Installing a removable panel made of a different material instead increases the level of heat and sound insulation.

Conclusion: the front door will successfully protect the apartment from burglary with one 2.5 mm thick metal sheet welded on the outside.

Stiffening ribs. Any metal under influence mechanical force deformed. This is what burglars take advantage of, squeezing the door leaf away from the frame in the area of ​​the locks. The use of thicker sheets of sheathing or door frame practically does not solve the problem - burglars use a longer lever.

What saves you in such a situation are stiffening ribs - pieces of ordinary angle or rolled steel with a complex profile welded inside the door leaf. Minimum allowed quantity: two plates vertically and one horizontally. Increasing the number of horizontal ribs reduces the probability of pressing the door to zero. But you shouldn’t get carried away either - increasing the weight of the canvas has a negative effect on the hinges.

Frame. The degree of resistance of doors to burglary also depends on the frame of the door - solid profile pipe, with one welded seam in the corner near the hinges. Making a frame from 4 pieces sharply reduces its strength - the welding breaks under strong bending loads. The quality of the frame can be seen by visual inspection of the door leaf - welding is difficult to hide under a layer of paint.

Door frame

A quality door frame should have:

• metal thickness 3-5 mm;
• closed loop - the U-shaped profile does not provide reliability;
• profile pipe as load-bearing element– a box made of two bent sheets is less resistant to deformation: bending and twisting;
• one weld seam;
• minimum 6 mounting points: 4 on the hinge side and 2 on the lock side;
• one, or better yet 2 porches;
• thermal break - insulation inside the profile.

Castles

The door should protect the apartment not only from brute force (a crowbar or a sledgehammer), but also from intellectuals, called “safeguards” in the criminal community, who are capable of opening any lock. All attempts by manufacturers of locking devices to complicate their design sooner or later become accessible to burglars. Therefore, rely only on locks, no matter what complex design they wouldn't be, it's not worth it.

But it is possible and necessary to complicate the thief’s task. To do this, professionals recommend installing two locks on the door leaf different designs or one, but electronic, which is much more expensive. This will require the thief to have higher qualifications and more time to open the doors. The time factor in most cases becomes decisive - fearing to get caught by someone, an attacker often abandons his idea halfway: after devoting a lot of time to selecting master keys for one lock, he leaves.

For metal doors you need to use lever and cylinder locks.

U level locks the secret part is made in the form of a set of plates (levers), which either block the bolt or move it when the key is turned to the “open”/“closed” position. It has its advantages and disadvantages:

• a massive key allows the use of a “crab” design for locking doors with vertical bolts and deviators - it turns the mechanism without deformation;
• a durable shell protects the locking device from impacts (knocking out);
• there are no protruding parts (mortise locks), resulting in access to the internal mechanism only through the keyhole;
• the through hole serves not only as a bridge for the penetration of noise and cold, but also of various kinds of master keys;
• If you lose your keys, you have to change the lock;
• are easily opened with master keys, although in the latest models this process is complicated - levers with false grooves are installed, electronic systems key recognition, force burglary blockers, etc.

U cylinder lock (it is also called “English”) the working part is made in the form of a cylinder, which is fixed in a certain position by a secret mechanism. The inserted original key removes the blockade, after which the locking mechanism can be moved: to close or open the door.

This castle also has its strengths and weaknesses:

• The simple design allows for many improvements to be made to improve burglary resistance. Therefore, there is a choice of cores on sale from simple to very complex, with several technical solutions;
• standard cylinder size, allowing you to simply replace it if you lose your keys;
• low resistance to mechanical force - knocking out or drilling the core, after which access to the crossbars appears, is not very difficult. The problem is solved by armored linings, plates or balls made of special steel that do not allow drilling, manganese pins, etc.

Electronic locks have not yet found their way into Russia, unlike in Western countries. Opening them is much more difficult - you need special electronic equipment that reads the signal from the magnetic key card.

Loops

An analysis of crimes related to unauthorized entry into a home through a door showed that most often this is done through locks. In second place is the door leaf, and in third place are the hinges. Having cut them off, the attacker simply removes the door from the frame. This statistics is also available to door manufacturers. They took into account the negative experience and took action.

Today in metal entrance doors you can find:

• familiar to everyone external loops. They are easily cut off, but the designers took this point into account and began installing special anti-removal pins. They fit into the frame and hold the door firmly in the closed position even with the hinges removed;
• internal, installed inside the box and canvas. It is impossible to cut them for two reasons: they are not visible; you need a grinder, but if you use it, it’s easier to cut the outer sheet of the canvas in the area of ​​the locks.

Hidden hinges have several disadvantages that need to be considered:

• the cost of fittings and its installation is much higher;
• special grooves in which hinges are hidden reduce the doorway;
• opening angle is limited – max 160 o;
• There is a risk of deforming the door leaf when opening sharply.

Another point that needs to be paid attention to is the presence of a support bearing on the outer hinges. With it, doors open easily and without extraneous noise.

Peephole

A peephole in the door is mandatory. Thanks to him, the owners can always make a choice: to let guests into the premises or not. In addition, it is possible to control the situation on the landing - if strange noises arise, look and, if necessary, call the police.

To make it easier to navigate security issues, let’s summarize. All doors, depending on the combination of the listed door design elements, are divided into 7 safety classes. For apartment best option– 3rd grade, country house – 4.

We figured out how to choose the entrance door to an apartment to protect it as much as possible from burglary. Now let's find out how to ensure comfort.

Sealant and filler

An apartment is comfortable when it is quiet and warm. The door, along with the windows, is the most vulnerable place in this regard. Noise and cold come through it. To combat them, various insulation and sound insulation techniques are used:

• fill the space between the door trim various insulation materials and noise absorbers;
• a one-, two- and three-circuit vestibule is made, which is covered with a sealant.

Appearance

Professional builders, when setting priorities, in the process of choosing entrance doors, their design is pushed into the background. For buyers, if it is not the main one, it is certainly not the last one on the list.

The door leaf, on the one hand, must be practical and resistant to mechanical damage, on the other hand, it must have a presentable appearance from the outside and fit into the interior of the apartment inside.

On the outside, these requirements are best met by powder paints, under the influence of high temperatures forming a beautiful and, at the same time, very durable polymer film.

The inside of the door leaf can be finished:

• MDF panels;
• leather or its substitutes;
• tree;
• PVC panels;
• laminated film.

Of the listed materials, the most expensive finishing method is MDF panels. The simplest and cheapest is laminated film. If you don't have the funds, you can simply paint the door acrylic enamel and varnish the top.

Rating of entrance door manufacturers

No one will deny that the door in an apartment must be of high quality. But each consumer has a different concept of quality and depends mainly on financial capabilities. In this regard, we present a rating of manufacturers in different price segments, which will help you make the right choice.

"Elbor". A domestic company with over 25 years of experience. It produces doors from economy class to luxury series. According to customer reviews, the company's products:

• high quality;
• interesting model range;
• the level of protection against hacking in each segment is the highest;
• very good heat and sound insulation.

The impression is slightly spoiled by the high cost of the products (prices are in the lead in each product class) and the level of service (service lags behind production).

"Outpost". One of the few Russian manufacturers construction products that have begun to be counterfeited. There is an explanation for this. The doors have an affordable price, a wide range of products, beautiful design external and internal sides, high reliability. Disadvantages include low sound insulation and difficulty in replacing hinges and locks.

The company can inexpensively select doors for various utility rooms, apartments, country houses. In order not to run into a Chinese fake, you need to look at some elements of the doors. So, the original has an armored lining for the cylinder bell and a magnetic seal. The fake doesn't have this. And vice versa - the Chinese door is equipped with an electric lock, while the Russian door does not have one.

"Torex". If a consumer hesitates and does not know which entrance door to choose for an apartment, experts have a simple recommendation: take a closer look at the Torex doors. It has the widest range in terms of cost, level of burglary protection and design. And noise protection is the best Russian market, surpasses competitors by 15-20%. There is only one drawback - it is difficult to replace fittings.

"The Guardian". In fact, Guardian is the name of the holding company. The doors are produced by the Portal plant. They have been working in this direction since 1994. During this time, we have covered not only Russian regions, but also neighboring countries with a network of dealers.

The price of the holding’s products is one of the highest, but at the same time it corresponds to the quality: a certificate has been received fire safety; handles, locks and hinges from the best European manufacturers. Therefore, our advice: if your financial capabilities allow, opt for premium Guardian products.

"Condor". Another domestic company. She has perfect combination prices and quality. The products are aimed at buyers with average incomes. There are no frills, but no shortcomings have been identified - a good thing for standard residential complexes.

Among the imported entrance doors, it is worth paying attention to the products of the Belarusian enterprises “Steel Line”, “Metalux” and the Polish ones – “Galant” and “Novak”. They have good consumer characteristics, as well as a wide range of models, original designs, and affordable prices.

StroyGuru Editor's Choice

In the question of how to choose the right doors for your apartment, an interesting situation has arisen: employees have them from different manufacturers, including little-known ones, for example, the company “Barlock Doors”. No one has any complaints. Therefore, the editors decided to make their choice based on reviews on the forums.

The best door from the economy segment. In the budget segment of metal entrance doors, a dual power has developed:

• professionals believe that these are products of the Steel plant;
• consumers - the Neman door.

“Stal” doors have an interesting finish, well-established service, a wide range and, of course, an affordable price for people with low incomes. Neman has the best combination of price and quality in Russia at large selection models.

The highest quality door from the expensive segment. According to consumer reviews, the best premium door is the Monolith model (Guardian DS-4) from the Guardian holding. She has great design, confirmed by excellent technical indicators. But a normal (meaning not super-rich) person will not buy it. “Monolith” costs like an airplane wing – several thousand dollars.

Important: all ratings and lists are based on consumer reviews. The sequence is drawn up in any form. If some brands are not on the list, this does not mean that their products are inferior in any respect.

Conclusion

When arranging your home, it is very important to know how to choose a steel entrance door to your apartment. According to the editors, the front door should have:

• the thickness of the outer sheet of the door leaf is 2.5 mm;
• the inner sheet does not have to be made of metal;
• box frame made of profile pipe with a closed perimeter;
• external hinges with support bearings and anti-burglary pins;
• two locks: level and cylinder, with armor protection on the latter;
• thermal break (insulation inside the box profile);
• external metal trim;
• at least one narthex contour with a seal;
• peephole;
• stiffening ribs, at least 3 horizontally;
• external painting with powder paint (creates a protective film), although “taste and color are different.”

The specific choice is up to the consumer.

Entrance doors are the element of the home from which the first impression of the house is formed. Doors have a great influence on the perception of the interior, so their choice should be approached with full responsibility.
Doors should not only be pleasing in appearance, but also be reliable.

Manufacturers offer a huge selection of door leaves, differing in material, design and color design. It is very important to make the right choice, since the ultimate goal is reliable entrance doors to the apartment.
Let's figure out how and which one is better to choose, buy and install an entrance door - metal, steel - and why.

Features of entrance doors

Doors at the entrance to a house or apartment perform two functions simultaneously important functions: provide protection of the home from illegal entry and are one of the main components of the external and interior design living space.
A high-quality door leaf installed at the entrance is better protection dwellings.
There are currently many door designs on the market, but choosing suitable option It’s not so simple: buyers have different requirements for entrance doors.
For some, quality is of paramount importance, for others - price (many are looking for a cheaper option), and still others want to combine one with the other, also thinking about the design of the product, i.e. so that it is cheap, and reliable, and beautiful. What should be the best front door?

You should choose a door leaf based not only on your own preferences. The specifics of the interior and the architectural appearance of the building, in addition to personal taste, also influence the choice. For example, if you live in a country cottage, then a massive canvas with high strength will suit you.
For a small apartment in a metropolis located in a high-rise building, this option, on the contrary, is not best solution: a massive structure will look ridiculous.


Budget also plays an important role. Owners of luxury apartments who fear for the safety of valuables give preference to armored structures. And people with average incomes, as a rule, install panels made of wood or not too thick metal structures with leather covering.
The most popular among Russian residents are steel entrance doors, iron with thermal spraying and MDF panels. Such designs can be bought in stores offering similar products, or ordered online.

Experts advise ordering entrance doors from specialized companies. It’s not enough to just choose a door and buy it - the door leaf still needs to be installed correctly, having previously made the necessary measurements, and it’s better to entrust this work to professionals.
Even if you buy an expensive and quality door- for example, armored or made of solid wood, if there are errors in installation, it will not be able to fully fulfill its purpose. Many people think that if the dimensions of the doorway are standard, then there will be no problems, but then they encounter difficulties.

Top sellers

Today, the most popular are canvases made of steel. A large number of requirements are imposed on such structures. First of all, strength: this parameter is of paramount importance. Steel products must be resistant to mechanical stress, including break-ins, strong impacts and minor defects such as scratches.
The presence of anti-removal pins plus additional reinforcement of the corners is mandatory. Such doors may also have additional characteristics, for example, dust resistance and fire resistance.
But not all designs have such properties; if you are interested in such properties, you need to find out the details from the manufacturer before purchasing.
For entrance door leaves made of steel, burglary protection is required. The armored structure is more expensive compared to conventional analogues, but the costs of its acquisition are justified. Good, high-quality steel doors look truly luxurious.


Noise and heat protection parameters are of great importance. When making your choice, consult and find out which product that suits you in terms of cost will meet these criteria.
Also pay attention to the presence of seals (they should be located around the perimeter), internal filler and thickness of the structure. In our country almost everything door designs made of steel, but high quality Not every canvas is different. Given this fact, you need to know how not to make a mistake in your choice.
The design of the steel product includes two sheets made of steel with an alloy coating (such steel weighs much less than regular steel). The minimum thickness is 1.5 mm, the maximum is 3-4 mm.
A high-quality door leaf has stiffening ribs that significantly increase the resistance of the entire structure to burglary, as well as preventing the steel sheets from bending under the influence of load and the door structure’s own weight.

The door leaf frame can be made in either a complex or simple version. The complex block outperforms the standard block in many respects and has held the lead for many years.

The complex production option is a single piece with no welding seams. Welding seams are known to “weaken” products.

Accessories

The main thing, of course, is the canvas itself, but you should not lose sight of such details as hinges, locking mechanisms, and eyes.

Many doors have a weak point that allows burglary to occur - the hinges. They can be cut along the weld seam using a grinder, or torn off with a sledgehammer. Anti-removal pins allow you to secure your home - they are called “crossbars”. When the leaf is closed, the pin enters the hole in the door frame, thus fixing the entire structure.

Even if the hinges are knocked down or cut off, the doors cannot be removed. To ensure maximum reliability, the blade is equipped with four pins: a pair at the location of the lock, one each at the bottom and at the top.

There is another method that allows you to protect the structure from removal - these are hidden hinges. Despite the fact that the canvas is hidden hinges cannot completely protect your home from illegal entry; even the most experienced intruder will need at least 20 minutes to remove such hinges; dealing with ordinary ones is much easier.

Hidden hinges have another advantage - they improve the appearance of the door leaf.

When choosing an entrance door leaf, you should take into account the number of hinges. This parameter depends on the mass of the structure. Consult with a specialist by showing him the design passport: he will recommend the optimal hinges.

If doors are opened frequently per day (about 50 times), then manufacturers advise installing at least four hinges, then the load will be distributed correctly.

Doors with such a security system are more expensive, but home safety should come first, so don’t skimp. It is inappropriate to save in this matter, otherwise you can lose more.

There is one more, at first glance, insignificant detail - this is the peephole. Choose a door leaf model whose peephole is made of armored glass.

Errors

As mentioned above, even the most reliable entrance door leaf will not be able to protect your home one hundred percent if errors are made in its installation.

To avoid mistakes, it is better to entrust the installation to specialists: they will take the necessary measurements and design the canvas for a specific opening.

Having designed the door for the opening, specialists will install it and dismantle the old one.

It is also necessary to properly seal the gaps formed between the door frames and the wall; It is best to use concrete for this. Many people choose polyurethane foam, but it is short-lived.

Advice. In pursuit of savings, avoid purchasing entrance doors from stores and companies with a dubious reputation that do not provide warranties for their products.

One of the most common mistakes is installing two panels: an outer steel one and an inner wooden one. Such a decision is made in the hope of increasing heat and noise insulation, but wooden structure will not cope with the assigned tasks.

It is much more practical to install a steel sheet with high sound and heat insulation parameters: this will take less time and money.

You can also increase the heat and sound insulation properties of your front door by upholstering it.

Doorways

It is not possible to perform installation in all cases steel structure into the opening that is available. It is rarely possible to select, buy and deliver immediately and independently. Sometimes it becomes necessary to cut the canvas on one side or on both sides at once. There is also a possibility that the doorway may not be wide enough, or the wall may be too strong and thick. In this case, the doors are installed outside.

Another option is to get approval from special authorities for work to expand the doorway. To reduce the size of the opening, they resort to concreting or make masonry from cement.

There is another solution - to purchase a door consisting of two leaves.

Castles

As for locks, mechanisms that cannot be opened have not yet been invented. An experienced attacker will be able to pick up a master key for any lock. But selecting a master key takes time, and the thief may not have the tools necessary to open a certain type of lock. It can take about thirty minutes or even more to open some locks.

The entrance door leaf must be equipped with at least two locks, one of which is a cylinder and the other is a lever lock. The lever lock is difficult to remove; it is massive. And it’s very difficult to find a master key for a cylinder one, so these two mechanisms complement each other perfectly.

To get into a house where such locks are installed on the entrance doors, you need to try very hard. While the thief is fiddling with the locks, he may be noticed.

Before installing the lock, get advice from a specialist: he will help you choose the model of the security mechanism and provide information regarding the pros and cons of certain devices.

Appearance

Finish is very important for a door made of any material.

As finishing coating For entrance doors, various materials are used, differing in quality, cost and appearance.

The surfaces of the door panels are upholstered and glued, thereby increasing the thermal insulation and sound insulation parameters and improving the appearance.

The result depends on the material used for finishing.

Materials for finishing doors are very diverse, including:

• plywood;
• leatherette;
• wood panels;
• plastic.

The design of the door structure is chosen based on personal preferences.

Remember: You only need to buy doors from well-established manufacturers whose products are in demand.

Elite door leaves

When choosing entrance doors, do not forget that their design should be combined with the interior of the hallway. Entrance doors should become part of the room, fit into it.

When choosing, pay attention to the quality and appearance of the fittings. Fitting elements largely determine the visual appearance of the entire door structure. Good quality fittings can transform the simplest door, while poor fittings, on the contrary, can ruin the impression.

Important point! When choosing upholstery (finishing) material, consider the factor of caring for it. The door leaf should be presentable and practical to use, and not require complex maintenance.

Manufacturers try to finish doors with materials that are easy to care for.

Which door should you prefer? Decide on the manufacturer, whether it will be Russian or foreign. High-quality entrance doors are produced by both domestic and foreign factories.

Which entrance door is best to install in an apartment, based on quality? In most cases, imported products still win in terms of quality, although they are more expensive than their Russian counterparts.

The cost of steel sheets produced by domestic factories is about 200-400 dollars, while foreign ones cost 300-700 dollars. In addition, apartment doors from foreign factories do not always fit our openings.

Corner set in a Khrushchev or any other small apartment - a real salvation. Take a look if you are selecting furniture for arranging your own small kitchen.

Read about the features of renovating an apartment in a new building with your own hands - all the secrets of step-by-step implementation of high-quality repairs.

When purchasing an entrance door for an apartment, be guided by: simple recommendations optionally, take into account the opinions of experts, and then you will certainly make a successful purchase.

Video

Timely advice from a professional would also be useful: in the video below, find out which is better and how to choose the right entrance door and a reliable lock:

The nuances of choosing an entrance door: choose, but check

Any home begins with the entrance, so the appearance and reliability of the front door immediately sets the overall tone and can tell a lot about the owners. When choosing a door, everyone wants to solve two, at first glance, opposite tasks: to attract respectful glances from neighbors and to frighten intruders. And this is quite possible!

Our reference points in the real sea of ​​entrance doors offered by modern market, there will be the words “reliability” and “appropriateness”: in addition to the quality of construction and finishing, it is important that the selected door meets the conditions of its use.

Differences between entrance doors: not single cladding

Let's forget about the door design for a moment and consider the problem based on the functional and technical characteristics of the product.

To choose the right door, you need to know what's hidden underneath. cladding panels and other finishing. So, the entrance doors differ:

• According to the material. The most traditional are wooden doors. Currently, they are purchased either as temporary or dacha option, if they are made from ordinary wood, or for premium private homes - if we are talking about solid wood of noble species. Wooden doors have been preserved in many apartments in old buildings, but at the first opportunity they are now trying to replace them with metal ones, which are the undoubted leaders in the entrance door market. There are also impact-resistant plastic entrance doors reinforced with metal inserts. It makes sense to install them in protected areas, where the likelihood of intruders is quite low, or in houses with common sections for two or three apartments. Then a metal door is installed in the vestibule, and a plastic one can be installed in the apartment. Safety glass doors are typically installed at the entrance to a secure residential or commercial building.

Among wooden doors Oak wood is considered to be the strongest and most durable. However, the record for longevity belongs to doors made of sycamore (German maple), found during excavations in Switzerland - they are more than five thousand years old, but they are perfectly preserved.

• By appointment. First of all, it is worth distinguishing between temporary and permanent doors. If you are building or renovating, it makes sense to install a wooden or thin metal door until you get around to installing a permanent one. The latter must withstand external shock loads, be non-flammable, and reliably provide heat and sound insulation. Depending on the specifics of the building or room, one of these qualities may be more important than the others. According to functional features There are shockproof, armored, soundproofing, fireproof (technical) entrance doors. According to their intended purpose, entrance doors can be for residential or commercial premises, external (at the entrance to the building) or internal (at the entrance to individual apartments, offices, floors, vestibules).
• According to the opening method. Mainly used at the entrance to a building, apartment or office. swing doors, but sometimes you can see sliding ones - as a rule, these are glass entrance doors to office and shopping centers. Based on the location of the hinges, doors are divided into left-handed and right-handed, and into ones that open inward or outward.
• By the number of doors. The most common are single-leaf doors, but sometimes the geometry of the doorway requires the installation of double-leaf or one-and-a-half-leaf doors. A one-and-a-half-leaf door consists of a regular single-leaf door and a fixed narrow part that fills the rest of the doorway. Such doors can be seen at entrances to hallways and vestibules of residential buildings.
• According to the shape of the opening. Standard doors have a rectangular shape, but there are also arched ones - with a semicircular extension upwards. This is a matter of purely aesthetic preferences and design: sometimes a rectangular opening is enlarged to an arched one, and sometimes vice versa - an arched opening is aligned to a rectangular one.
• According to the degree of resistance to opening. For residential premises, doors of burglar resistance classes 1–4 are used, and there are 13 of them in total. The higher the burglary resistance class, the more expensive the door, so when choosing, you should be careful. Doors starting from burglary resistance class 5 are installed in special rooms, for example, in bank vaults.

Established stereotypes about the unequivocal superiority of European-made doors over Russian and Chinese ones should be taken critically. The fact is that the products of each country have their own weak and strengths. Thus, European doors are prestigious and technologically advanced, Russian ones are optimal in terms of price-quality ratio, Chinese ones are ideal for temporary use or a summer residence.

Currently, single-leaf metal entrance doors are predominantly chosen for houses and apartments. Let's take a closer look at the features of their design.

Main structural elements of the entrance door

The reliability of a metal entrance door depends on the characteristics of the door frame and leaf, hinges, locks and fittings.

Door frame

This is a frame made of a metal profile that is installed in the doorway. It is on this that the door hinges are attached, and on them, in turn, the door leaf is hung. The door frame carries a large load, so the thickness of the steel in it metal profile more than in the frame of the door leaf. In modern models of door frames, a protected cavity is often made for the lock tongues and anti-burglary pins, crossbars, which complicate the opening of the door, even if part of the wall is knocked out by attackers.

Door leaf

• Steel cladding and stiffeners. The door leaf consists of a metal frame, reinforced with stiffeners and lined with steel sheets. Inexpensive chinese doors, which are often installed as temporary ones, are a frame made of a corner and sheets of metal up to 1.2 mm thick. A reliable steel door is made of stamped or rolled profiles, the thickness of its skin is from 1.2 mm. European technologies involve making doors from thinner sheets of steel than Russian ones.
• Filler. A hollow steel door easily conducts sounds and does not protect against cold, so the space between the steel sheets is filled with mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, rigid polyurethane, and non-flammable mineral wool board.

Accessories

• Loops. Ideally, they should not only withstand the weight of the door, but also be adjustable so that the structure does not warp. The most reliable, but also the most expensive - hidden adjustable hinges made of steel. They differ from traditional loops in that they are almost impossible to cut. One such loop costs on average 2000 rubles or more, which is an order of magnitude higher than the cost of a regular one door hinge. Installing adjustable hinges will also be more expensive. However, for many, the reliability and smooth movement of the door when opening and closing are sufficient arguments in favor of hidden hinges.
• Door handle. It should be durable and match the fittings as a whole. For example, if you are installing brass hinges, it would be logical to choose a handle made of the same material.
• Peephole. It can be cut into the door at the height you specify or installed directly at the standard level. The viewing angle is usually 180°. Keep in mind that the peephole should be selected not only according to the appearance, but also to the thickness of the door.

Castles

Pair locking mechanisms- lever and cylinder - has already become a classic for protecting doors from burglary. It is important that all family members feel comfortable using both locks. Everyone is familiar with the situation when only one of two locks is used in practice, since the second one turned out to be inconvenient.

You can additionally place manganese armor plates on the door in the area of ​​the locking mechanisms so that the lock cannot be drilled or knocked out. For door structures of burglary resistance classes 2–3, such linings are installed by default.

When choosing locks and fittings for a door, be guided by the principle of matching the price: there is no point in hanging cheap door on expensive hinges and vice versa. An expensive lock on a door made of thin steel can easily be cut by intruders, but a cheap one will be opened no matter how thick the steel is. Such inconsistencies sometimes involuntarily catch the eye.

How to choose an entrance door?

First of all, it is necessary to start from the conditions in which the door will be used. If you live in an apartment without a vestibule, and access to the entrance is not limited, you will need a powerful steel door with anti-removal hinges. The same can be said about the door to the entrance itself. In this case, finishing the door to the apartment is secondary - as a rule, they are limited to powder (hammer) enamel. You can opt for inexpensive leatherette upholstery. However, such a coating is not very aesthetically pleasing and is not protected from vandalism. The presence of a vestibule door somewhat expands the choice possible options decorative finishing, and also allows homeowners to pay more attention to door sound insulation, handle design and other properties.

Paint - inexpensive high-quality coating steel doors, which many find boring. However, steel cladding can be made with decorative reliefs, it doesn't have to look like a smooth sheet. Powder paint sometimes called hammer enamel. After application, it is baked in special industrial chambers, forming a relief. A variety of textures will help you choose a budget door to suit your taste. In addition, powder enamel is almost not subject to mechanical and chemical damage.

An inexpensive wooden or metal door without decoration is suitable for a dacha. IN in this case You should use common sense so as not to get into a funny situation when the door becomes the main target of intruders. If your dacha or private house is located in a gated community, you can pay more attention to the decor when choosing a door. In prestigious cottage villages with professional security, the front door often performs exclusively aesthetic and heat-insulating functions, which means it must be chosen based on these characteristics.

How much will you have to pay for the door, its delivery and installation? Prices for the same doors from different sellers can vary by one and a half to two times, and low price the door itself may be compensated by the inflated price of delivery and installation. Do not forget to check and compare all the conditions for purchasing a door, take an interest in reviews about the manufacturer and seller.