In recent years, Un-plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride or UPVC doors have become popular and are being used widely in homes. The advantages and disadvantages of these doors are as follows.
Advantages:
- UPVC is also the most durable of the materials available. It is strong, tough and resilient. It is highly unlikely UPVC will need to be changed.
- UPVC doors never rots, flakes, rusts, fades, pits, peels or corrodes. It needs only a light soapy wash and a check of the seals for maintenance. UPVC requires virtually no maintenance making it very convenient and time-saving.
- UPVC is a stable material so it is pollution resistant, sea water resistant and chemical proof. Wood can swell and rot and aluminium and steel can corrode and have galvanic reaction to the fasteners.
- Fire tests have shown that UPVC materials, being naturally flame retardant throughout their product life, will not cause, support or enhance the development of accidental fire and are in fact self-extinguishing.
- UPVC materials are good insulating materials due to which, it keeps home warmer in winter and cooler houses in summer. UPVC prevents thermal bridging so prevents condensation unlike aluminium.
- When it comes to cost, UPVC doors are much cheaper than aluminium and timber doors.
Disadvantages:
- UPVC doors are unsuitable to be used as the front door as due to their light weight.
- They are not weather proof enough like wooden or aluminium doors.
- It doesn’t appear to be attractive due to its simple plastic look. However they are available in wide range of colours.
Structural complexity
UPVC Doors are complex in structure. These are light in weight, which to a great extent contributes towards their limitation. As a result of light weight, these are prone to sagging as well as sashing. It implies that these are not as strong as their alternates. Also, they lag in various aspects that the wooden doors tend to qualify in.
Issues with the Customization
Another limitation of UPVC Doors crops up when it comes to their customization. When it comes to customizing these doors, you have a very limited option. There is a limited choice of colours and varnishes available at your disposal. You can choose among one or two options unlike the wooden doors where you can paint them in say any colour.
Aesthetic appeal
Though these are good to look at but when it comes to ethnicity, these are not the chip of the same block. At places these look totally out of sync. They somehow tend to lag the beauty factor that the house demands. After all, door is the insight into the residence that directly gives a picture of the taste and reference pattern of people who live there.
All in all, these are the 3 Disadvantages of placing UPVC Doors. Irrespective of the above mentioned pitfalls, these are surely one of the best alternatives to the wood. Therefore, depending on your choice and preference patterns as well as the need of the hour it becomes important to place these in your house accordingly.