Back Doors

Double Glazed Back Doors

Designs, styles & prices for exterior back doors.


With so much focus on the appearance of the front entrance of a house and the popularity of patio doors at the rear, the humble back door often gets overlooked. However, if you don’t have the space, budget or desire to go down the patio door route at the rear of your home, what options do you have when it comes to finding the best type of back door for your home?

There could be any number of reasons to replace your back door, but whatever that is, this guide is intended to explore the different types of back doors, their features and prices.

The page contents:

1 Typical back door designs.

  • Visual styling, appearance & construction material options. Go to section

2 Basic specifications & features.

  • Performance ratings, security features, types of glazing, colour & finish. Go to section

3 How much do back doors cost?

  • What kind of back door prices can you expect to see? Go to section

4 Links to other door designs.

  • Maybe you want to do more than just change your back door. Go to section

Having an energy efficient, long lasting and secure back door is every bit as important as for the front door. In many cases, the back door is the preferred entry point for intruders, as it is generally out of site of passers-by or other potential observers of an attempted break-in.

Your home is only as secure as its’ weakest point. If your back door is vulnerable, then your whole home is vulnerable.

Popular double glazed back door designs.

Visual appearance & manufacturing materials.


There are a lot of similarities to front door designs, in that there are full length glazed, half glazed, part glazed or solid back door versions in the market. The main differences are found in the visual department with functionality and security being broadly the same for both front & back doors.

Back doors don’t often get seen with furniture such as letter boxes, numbers, door knockers or spy-holes, but will have energy saving properties and similar locking systems to a front door.

It’s quite normal to find much more glass used in a back door, with many either featuring half or full length glazing.

Given the other shared features, it’s not unexpected that the dimensions of the average double glazed back door in the UK is the same as those for front doors. Again, should the aperture be too wide for just a single door, side and top panels can be introduced to make up the difference in size.

Average UK back door sizes, without frame
Height (inches & mm) Width (inches & mm)
78″ or 1981 30″ or 762
78″or 1981 33″ or 838
80″or 2032 32″ or 813

Back doors are usually less elaborate than those at the front of the property

The four “templates” of style of back door are Half Glazed / Fully Glazed / Solid Door / Part Glazed
Double Glazed Back Doors

Half Glazed | Full Glazed | Solid | Part Glazed

Basic specifications & features of double glazed back doors.

1 Back Doors construction material.

Composite Stable Style Back Door

Composite Stable Style Back Door

The choices for back doors are either to use natural or engineered wood, uPVC, composite or there are some constructed from timber clad aluminium.

Wooden back doors can made from hardwoods and are strong and durable, solid Oak back being a popular make. However, if you want the appearance of a hardwood at a lower cost, you could opt for a hardwood veneered back door. The core of the doors is likely to be engineered timber with a thin layer (possibly 3mm) of hardwood bonded to the outer surfaces.

Engineered timber is popular because it is a composite of  layered and treated wood, made in such a way that the grain is “crossed”. This cross grain laminated strand lumber (LSL) is less prone to distortion (expansion & contraction) and is very suitable for use as a door material.

Back doors made from uPVC are priced competitively and have a huge range of designs from which to choose. Purpose built to be energy efficient, easy to look after, they can last for decades. The frames are reinforced as are parts of the door core. All uPVC back door designs have plain or wood-effect options with about 20 different colours in the market.

Composite back doors are a hybrid of GRP (Glass Reinforced Polymers), uPVC and timber & insulating rigid material. The outer skin is GRP, the edges are banded with uPVC and the core can be timber or rigid insulating material. The most favoured are the wood-grain effect versions which are very difficult to distinguish from the “real thing”. Engineered to last a long time with very little being needed in the way of maintenance.

Timber clad aluminium back doors are also a hybrid utilising timber frames that have an aluminium outer “skin”. The unique feature of this type of back door is that you get the superior durability and lifespan of modern aluminium doors on the outside, combined with the “warm & natural” features and benefits of timber on the inside of the door.

All three types of back door will carry at least a 10-year warranty

Our Back Front Door Ratings

TIMBER UPVC COMPOSITE ALUMINIUM
VISUAL APPEAL 90% 80% 95% 90%
ENDURANCE 60% 90% 90% 90%
FORCED ENTRY 60% 90% 90% 80%
ADVERSE WEATHER RESISTANCE 60% 90% 90% 90%
ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL 70% 90% 90% 90%
PURCHASE PRICE Lowest Medium High Highest

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Energy Savings & losses.

Modern double glazed back doors close tightly with no gaps under, or around, the doors.

A standard width door with even just a 3 mm gap under the door at the threshold, can allow as much cold air to come in as having a 75 mm hole in the wall of your house.

Secured By Design (SBD) Back Doors

The latest back door designs can have approval from APCO (Association of Chief Police Officers). Secured By Design Doors are some of the most secure in the market.

Quick Statistic

35%

Of heat loss in the average home is through badly insulated windows & doors

Basic specifications & features for double glazed back doors.

Energy ratings, features, glazing, colour & finish.


Most examples of the latest back door designs will have a number of features included as standard. Other items of  personalisation will come under “optional extra’s”. Here is a list of features you could expect to see as either standard or optional.

Basic double glazed glazed door specifications:
  • Door & Frame, with standard height threshold
  • Left or right side hinge options
  • Set of 3 butt type hinges
  • Multi-point locking
  • Key operated cylinder lock
  • All glass double glazed
  • Factory finished or painted
  • Minimum 10-year warranty
Double glazed back door optional extras:
  • Excluding white, colours for uPVC or composite
  • Foiled timber-grain surfaces for uPVC or composite
  • Decorative, frosted or leaded glazing
  • Low threshold for wheelchair access
  • Side or top panels
  • Upgrades to “secured by design” standard
  • Warm-edge spacers, low-e glass for double glazing
  • Side panels, top panels, frame extenders

Specialised back door designs.

Cottage and Stable doors



Composite Stable Door Open

Composite Oak Finish Stable Door

Two rather nice options well worth considering for your new back door are Cottage style or Stable styles.  You could call these designs rustic as they are intended to create the look of a traditional “old county farmhouse” which has great appeal to many homeowners.

Stable style back doors are particularly unique and attractive due tro the signature split opening feature. This function is created by the door having 2 sections, the top and bottom half are separate pieces and have independent hinges and locking mechanisms.

Both the top and bottom can be latched together to open and close like a normal door. When the latch is released, the top half of the door can be opened on its own. This then allows the top section of the door to operate almost like a window – a nice view and lots of ventilation, whist keeping pets and children safely inside the home.

Cottage style back doors are, more often than not a solid door. Where they use glass it is usually just a small glazed section, much like a porthole on a ship (although not necessarily round!)

Both Cottage and Stable doors are available in timber, uPVC, composite and aluminium clad versions.
Stable & Cottage Style Back Doors

Stable & Cottage Style Back Doors

Glass & Colour Options

For areas where you want glass in your door, as we said before, it should be double glazed. Where glass reaches ground level it should also be toughened safety glass. Anything other than clear glass is likely to be an optional extra and come at an additional cost, in many, but not all cases.

Patterned glass

Patterned Glass Options

Glass options

  • clear
  • coloured
  • leaded
  • frosted
  • toughened
  • solar control
  • low-emissivity
  • laminated

About UK building regulations, there are rules covering glazing for doors here.

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Door energy ratings.

As with double glazed windows, doors are rated by the industry according to their energy efficiency. The BFRC (British Fenestration Rating Council) and BSI (British Standards Institution) are two of the institutions that issue Door Energy Rating labels.

The system is exactly the same as for windows – A to G rating with a colour code that goes alongside. F or G rated doors do not meet current UK building regulation standards.

Colour choice for uPVC, composite or aluminium back doors.

The standard “starting” colour for uPVC, composite or aluminium back doors is going to be white. If you want to change the colour, then in most cases this will be priced as an extra – for example, you could expect wood-grain effect uPVC doors to cost at least 10% more than a plain white version.

Finished surfaces can be smooth or timber-effect textured in combination with the colour. All 3 types of material offer both finishes. Aluminium clad back doors have the biggest colour range, more than 100, whilst uPVC and composite will be stocked in about 15 different colours.

uPVC Door Colours

uPVC Door Colours

A selection of  colours could include:
  • Plain shades: White / Cream / Barley Water
  • Solid colours:  Green / Red / Slate Grey / Black, Brown / Dark Blue
  • Wood effect: Light Oak / Irish Oak / Mahogany / Rosewood / Walnut
  • Twin colour: Black-white / Light Oak-white / Grey-white / Rosewood-white

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How much do double glazed back doors cost?

What are the average back door prices in the current market?


You should take into account that every job is different and just because the people down the street paid “£x” for their doors, it does not mean that your new doors will cost the same to buy & install.

There are so many variations that you can make to the basic door that can have an effect on the final cost to a smaller or larger degree, such as colour, furniture, energy ratings etc.

HOW MUCH DO UPVC BACK DOORS COST?

 Approximate size Basic Details Price range
 762 x 1981 mm 2 panel top glazed in White  £650 to £690
 762 x 1981 mm 2 panel top glazed in Black  £900 to £950
 762 x 1981 mm  Cottage Door, mid rail, uPVC Oak effect £900 to £950

HOW MUCH DO STABLE DOORS COST?- fitted.

Max Size (w x h) Basic Details Price Range
838 x  1981 mm White uPVC, Solid  £1,100 to £1,300
838 x  1981 mm  Black uPVC, top section glazed  £1,200 to £1,400
838 x  1981 mm White uPVC, part glazed  £1,200 to £1,300

HOW MUCH DO STABLE DOORS COST? – supply only.

Max Door Size (w x h) Basic Details Price Range
838 x  1981 mm White uPVC, Solid  £700 to £800
838 x  1981 mm Black uPVC, top section glazed  £850 to £950
838 x  1981 mm White uPVC, part glazed  £750 to £900

Compare quotes for all types of front doors

Fully Fitted Front Doors Prices

More External Door Design Options

Why not check out some other styles of doors for your home?
Back Doors

French Doors

Whether you use them as a set of patio doors or as an upper floor window opening, French doors are classy and have all the latest features.
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Back Doors

Front Doors

The “face” of your home. A great looking, strong, secure and long lasting front door makes a big impact on visitors and make your home more desirable.
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Back Doors

Bifold Doors

Spectacularly wide opening and super easy to use, Bifold doors are fast becoming “the must have” type of patio door design to fit in any home.
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Back Doors

Patio Doors

Patio doors are a super solution to bring in more natural light and have great access to your garden. Sliding, Tilting and Bi-fold options.
Read More

Have your windows fitted by professionals – look for these trade accreditations.

  • FENSA
  • GGF
  • DGCOS
  • CERTASS
  • TRUSTMARK