uPVC door problems. 6 of the usual suspects

uPVC doors problems are possibly the most common type of job that locksmiths get called out to in the UK. This is both due to the fact that they are the most common fitted doors in the UK and without regular care, they do break.

The first thing to remember with UPVC doors is that these doors are made of plastic type material that have pieces of metal to strengthen them internally. Then the glass is put into the apertures that weigh anything up to about 50kg.

The door then operates for a number of years with the seasons doing their worst on the materials. During the life of a door they encounter a good odd few slams, kicking’s shut, the Sun doing its worst to give it sunburn and wind knocking on it.

Industry standard says that if well looked after uPVC door should last 35 years. Oddly most manufacturers only offer a 10-year guarantee on their products. 

However, there are some issues with uPVC doors. In this post, we will go over these uPVC door problems and how to fix them.

6 UPVC Door Problems & Fixes

1. The door has dropped

Early indications of this upvc door problem starts with a little bit of binding or resistance when you close it. Getting a UPVC door to shut as it used to close when new becomes a forgotten memory. Operating becomes harder over time until it cannot be locked or the handles have fallen off from too much exertion.

Mostly noticeable if you look across the top of the door. On the hinge side if there is a smaller gap to the top than on the opening side, the door has dropped and is sitting on the locking mechanism.When you lift the handle to lock it you notice that the door raises slightly. A matter of 5-10mm to the eye but in tight closing space, it is more than enough to give problems and cause draughts.

A locksmith should be able to come and adjust the door as an inexpensive fix if caught early enough. This can be done in most cases by either adjusting the hinges or toe and heeling the glass of the door. This is not guaranteed. But in most cases, it does work and gives a uPVC door a new lease of life for a few years.

2. The mechanism or lock gearbox has broken

More of an issue for homeowners in the last decade or so.  Most doors are produced with ‘multipoint’ locking systems. Manufacturers are vying to make affordable mechanisms to fit in doors whilst at the same time trying to make them more secure. This can create ongoing uPVC door problems if the design is flawed.

Closing mechanisms are getting both safer and intricate, being produced on such scale does mean that they do fail. Some broken lock gearbox can be repaired cost and time effectively but the majority cannot.

A lot of manufacturers recommend that you should use oil on these mechanisms every 18-24 months. Look at the strip on the front of your uPVC door, where the bolts come out and you may see it. Some manufacturers decide to tell you that way, others do not. Mechanisms are robust on the whole and tend to last the life of the door, however, there are exceptions and many do fail before they are of any age.

3. Door Hinges

This is one of the most common problems on older doors. However, UPVC hinges have gotten better over the years, it is now more commonplace to have more hinges down the length of the door than in the past. Many older doors were only 2 fitted to support the weight of the door and glazing.

There are commonly 3 types of door hinge fitted to UPVC doors

1. Butt hinges

2. Rebated hinges

3. Flag hinges

Hinges normally do not all go or break at the same time. It is however good practice to replace all once one has gone.

A tell-tale sign of a failing hinge is the hinge pin rising or an increase in the torque needed to open a door from closed. Catch it early enough and you can just knock it back to where it belongs or adjust it before it becomes too loose.

If you are operating a uPVC door with a failed hinge chances are you are breaking the others too.

There was a door on a property where the top hinge failed and the customer thought it’s not that bad I have two more which will take the weight. The final broke hinge off and took a big piece of the door frame with it. Most uPVC doors have uPVC frames. After 10-15 years in the UK’s changing seasons, even this durable material can become more brittle and prone to breaking if too much weight is put on a singular load point.

4. Anomalies and bits of stone stopping the door locking – 6mm piece of trauma

Check the thresholds of your doors particularly if you have a gravel drive, stones and dirt can cause friction under a door.

A tiny piece of gravel if left long enough can wear the uPVC out in places and even warp the door over time, 5-6mm diameter is all it takes.

Short term they can cause a restless nights sleep, because it is stopping you locking your door when you want to go to bed. Calling an emergency locksmith out of hours may not be affordable.

Anomaly. A customer had to wait in for a delivery that never came at the allocated time. After making a few calls he then had to take another 1/2 day off work as his new white goods were not delivered until mid afternoon.

Once the delivery people had departed and the new appliance was in place the home owner found out he could not close and lock his front door. The client was at his wit’s end by this point it was past 5 and he was thinking he was going to have to sit in a chair by his front door all night.

When we arrived it was obvious that as the delivery people had delivered his fridge or whatever it was and they had knocked the weatherstrip out of position and it was stopping the door shutting. The client was not happy with himself for getting all flustered and not taking a moment to check and was also annoyed that this had happened because of a clumsy delivery.

5. Door frame not secured and subsidence

UPVC doors are hung on frames that are fixed using frame fixes. These are basically long screws that come with a plug that you hammer into a hole. Over time these can come loose and give the same sort of symptoms to a dropped door.

A lazy builder may have even drilled out the holes for the frame fixes just into the mortar as it’s easier to drill than brick. Sometimes just a little bit of tightening can help, a few millimetres on the frame fixes could be the difference between the door closing and it not.

Conservatories are notorious for having bad footings or foundations. This is because they are not subject to building regulations and anyone can build them. Over time the weight of the conservatory settles and takes everything that was plumb and level with it, door and window frames included. There is little you can do about this short term. Using a spirit level will confirm your suspicions.

6. It needs a new door mate

UPVC doors will probably not last forever even with little abuse and plenty of maintenance. On a plus a new one always looks better. Sometimes we have to accept it needs a new door.

If you have experienced UPVC door problems and would like to solve them, get in touch with Pip Lockout Locksmith

6 PVC Door Problems & fixes

6 PVC Door Problems & fixes