Do I need a second front door

Recommendation points

• To be or not to be the second front door
• Installing the second door
• Door leaf material
• Installation rules for the second entrance door
• Door peephole or CCTV system

To put or not to put a second front door is a seemingly simple question. If the door is good, then why spend money on installing a second door. However, things are not so simple. In some cases, installing an additional door is the only solution to existing problems..

Where does a house or apartment begin? From the front door, of course. She is the very “dress” by which they are greeted. Entrance doors can be different, both in design and in their purpose. It is clear that, first of all, it is protection against unauthorized entry, as well as heat and noise insulation, but your door does not always do a good job with these functions. Here the question arises of installing a second entrance door, namely, which is better – to replace the old one with a new one, or to put a second one, in addition to the first. In addition, if you still need a second door, then which one is better to put.

To be or not to be the second front door

To answer the questions posed, it is necessary to clearly define why, in principle, a second front door is needed, what are the pros and cons it has.

Pros:

• additional thermal insulation is necessary if the front door is not sufficiently insulated. In addition, in cottages, the door of which goes directly to the street, frost often forms on the inside of a seemingly well-insulated door. Premature failure of fittings, destruction of decorative inner linings and deformation of the door leaf – all this threatens you if you do not take any measures. The only way to avoid all this is to install an additional door and create a vestibule, that is, a thermal buffer;
• additional sound insulation – this issue is especially relevant in apartment buildings, and it does not matter which door is currently installed. Even modern metal doors cannot boast of good sound insulation;
• additional protection – the second entrance door is another obstacle in the way of intruders. In addition, if you install an alarm that will go off when the first door is opened, then, while the thieves break into the second, the non-departmental security will have time to arrive. That is why the second door is a prerequisite for signaling the apartment. There is one more thing – an inconspicuous first front door can hide a reinforced second, thereby masking your apartment;
• aesthetics – if you care about how the entrance hall looks, then it makes sense to put a second door of the same design with other interior doors.

Minuses:

• reduction of the interior space of the hallway – the second door always opens inward, which reduces the useful area of ​​the hallway. In addition, it is not always possible to install a second door in houses with thin walls – too little distance will turn out between the doors. We’ll have to build an additional wall;
• material costs for the purchase and installation of a second door.

Conclusion: if a decrease in the useful area of ​​the hallway is critical, if in your apartment the entrance door opens inward (almost all apartments with small staircases), which means that it will have to be changed in any case, then it makes sense to install only one entrance metal door, but of high quality … In order not to be mistaken in choosing a metal door, you can read the article “How to choose a steel door for your home” or search the Internet for reviews of metal doors. If finances do not allow installing a new door, you can simply insulate the old one, as described in the article “How to insulate the front door and get rid of noise”, or in the article “Warming or upholstery of doors”. In any other case, installing a second door is always an additional plus in your home..

Installing the second door

So, you have decided – the second entrance door is necessary. The next question that will arise before you is what it should be, that is, what material it is made of.

Door leaf material

Generally speaking, according to the material of manufacture, doors are divided into:

• wooden doors – beautiful paneled doors made of solid wood;
• doors made of MDF – a wooden frame and on both sides lining made of laminated or veneered MDF, outwardly almost the same as doors made of wood;
• plastic doors – a rather limited choice of appearance imposes its own limitations;
• metal doors – imitation of almost any surface, plus decorative overlays.

A more detailed comparison of doors by material of manufacture can be found in the table:

Material	Design	Warmly – insulation	Noise – insulation	Moisture – tenacity	Udaro – strength	Price	Output
Solid wood	Chorus.	Ex.	Chorus.	Satisfied.	Chorus.	Average	A good option in any house and apartment
MDF	Chorus.	Satisfied.	Chorus.	Bad.	Bad.	Low	Due to its low moisture resistance, it is only suitable for apartments. Low impact resistance, makes it possible to use only for decorative purposes
Plastic	Bad.	Satisfied.	Chorus.	Ex.	Bad.	High	An excellent option in high humidity conditions, for example, in a bath, but the limited design makes them practically unused in houses and apartments
Metal	Ex.	Chorus.	Satisfied.	Chorus.	Ex.	Very high	An excellent option for additional strengthening of the entrance. If such a goal is not worth it, then due to the high cost, it is better to use other options.

Thus, having decided on the material and choosing a design, it is easy to buy a suitable door. Moreover, the modern market provides a wide range of different options.

Installation rules for the second entrance door

The door has been purchased, we are proceeding with the installation. There are several requirements that are mandatory when installing a second door:

1. Distance between doors. It should not be less than the total depth of the door handles, and, at the same time, not exceed 25 – 30 cm.When the distance is too small, the handles will bump against each other, if too large, the heat and sound insulation properties will deteriorate.
2. The outer and inner doors should hang on the same side of a common jamb. The inner one must open inward, the outer outward. This condition is necessary, rather, from the point of view of the convenience of using such a double door. However, remembering that we use the door every day, and more than once, we should take this requirement seriously.
3. The front door must be with a threshold.
4. If you have never installed the doors themselves, then entrust the installation of your doors to specialists, or at least carefully read the article “How to install doors”.

The first condition imposes, as mentioned, restrictions on apartments with thin walls. Most likely, you will have to make an additional, for example, drywall, wall. If the doorway occupies most of the width of the hallway, then it will be from wall to wall. Otherwise, you can mount the wall only to the width of the door (with a margin of 10 – 15 cm on each side). Next, it becomes possible to equip a niche, and, for example, hang shelves or install a clothes hanger. A door with a mirror will help you visually increase the volume of the hallway and save space on the wall due to a wall mirror.

Fulfilling the second condition, you should remember not only about your own convenience. But also about the convenience of neighbors. It’s not very pleasant when someone knocks on your door with the handle of a door opened by neighbors..

The third condition can be partially bypassed by making the second door to the floor, but, at the same time, providing it with either a folding threshold or a dust-proof brush, similar to the one that is supplied with the doors of sliding wardrobes. Otherwise, such a door will not properly perform thermal insulation functions..

Door peephole or CCTV system

The doorbell rang for you. What are your actions? Of course, before opening the door, you need to find out who is behind it. For this, there are door eyes and all kinds of video surveillance systems. If there is only one door, then, as a rule, the choice is obvious – this is a door peephole. It is cheaper and easier to install, and, given the huge variety of models, you can always choose the one that is most convenient for you to use. And if there are two doors? To find out who has come, you must first open the inner door and only then use the peephole. Not the most convenient option. This is where it makes sense to remember about video surveillance systems, or rather video eyes. It is written in great detail about them in the article “Video door peephole – remote control of the staircase.” Unfortunately, few people think about insignificant details, even if they come across them several times a day. It is such a detail that is a door or video peephole. Insufficient attention to this kind of trifles can negate all the positive feelings from the work done on the selection and installation of the second entrance door.