What Security Ratings Mean for Composite Doors: A Complete Homeowner’s Guide

Learn how security ratings protect your home and what to look for when choosing a composite front door.

Composite doors are often known for strength, durability and security. However, many homeowners struggle to understand security ratings like PAS 24, Secured by Design (SBD), and BS EN standards. This guide breaks down what each rating means, why it matters, and how to choose a door with the right certifications for your home.

Composite doors are often known for strength, durability and security. However, many homeowners struggle to understand security ratings like PAS 24, Secured by Design (SBD), and BS EN standards. This guide breaks down what each rating means, why it matters, and how to choose a door with the right certifications for your home.

Why Are Composite Doors Considered Secure?

Composite doors, or composite front doors, are often lauded as extremely strong and secure. So, what makes these doors gain this reputation of security? Let’s look at some of its capabilities:

• They are manufactured using a multi-layer construction system using materials like timber, foam, and GRP skin.
• The multi-point locking systems enhance safety measures.
• They are often built with steel or reinforced frames.
• They come equipped with exceptional thermal and structural stability.

Why Security Ratings Matter for Homeowners

It has been established that modern composite front doors are chosen by homeowners because of their added safety and security features. So, how to be sure of the offered level of security? That’s why homeowners put their trust on security measures. With that being said, let’s look into what makes security ratings crucial:

• They act as objective performance verification factors.
• High security ratings usually imply consistent safety standards.
• Security ratings are required for insurance compliance in many cases.
• They also act as reliable metrics that help compare door options.

There are several notable security ratings, such as PAS 24, SBD, and BS EN 6375. Let’s look into each of them with a significant level of focus, and understand their importance in deeming the appropriate security level for composite doors. 

PAS 24: The Essential UK Security Standard

Starting with the PAS 24, it is the most important security standard for doors in the United Kingdom. With that being said, let’s look into how this standard actually works. 

What PAS 24 Means

In the UK, PAS 24 stands as the minimum security standard for external doors. It assesses resistance offered by composite door frames to forced entry using tools like crowbars and screwdrivers.

Getting the PAS 24 certification is important for external doors or front doors as safety and security are crucial to their functionality. However, to get this rating, there are certain tests that need to be passed by the doors. Here’s a look at the tests conducted:

What Tests Are Included

The PAS 24 tests include:

Manual attack test: This test assesses the product’s resistance to being forced open as the test simulates the potential actions of an attacker using tools such as chisels, crowbars, and screwdrivers. 

Mechanical load test: Testers apply forces to the most vulnerable areas of the doors, such as locks, hinges, and the frame. The results of this test determine the structural integrity, especially when simulating the use of tools like crowbars. 

Impact testing: The product is hit with objects to assess the strength of its materials based on how well it withstands impacts.

Successfully passing these tests leads to an external door, usually a composite front door to gain a PAS 24 certification. 

What Homeowners Should Look For

Now, let’s look into what you, as a homeowner, should look for, when checking the PAS 24 certification. Here’s a list of the things that you need to keep track of:

• The door comes with a label or certificate. They should reflect “PAS 24:2016” or a later version.
• The PAS 24 compliance should be coming from both the door slab and the hardware.

Secured by Design (SBD): Police-Backed Security Certification

Following the PAS 24 rating, the Secured by Design (SBD) is another key certification that is essential when purchasing composite or double composite doors. Now, let’s keep going to understand what an SBD certification implies.

What SBD Means

The SBD is a UK Police initiative promoting crime prevention. And this certification is a secondary measure of security of external doors, as it requires an existing PAS 24 compliance as well as other additional yet basic hardware standards.

So, what does this certification imply? Let’s look into it by exploring some of the benefits of the SBD testing:

Benefits of Choosing SBD Composite Doors

Here are some of the benefits that you get from choosing SBD-certified composite doors:

• They offer increased protection from opportunistic and skilled burglars.
• These composite doors are generally recognised by insurers.
• The doors come with higher quality hardware, such as cylinders, hinges, and handles. 

How to Know It’s Genuine

So, how can you tell if the SBD rating on an external door is genuine? There are two key indicators to understand whether or not the product has the SBD rating. 

The first indicator is that the official SBD logo is present on the product literature. While the second indication is often provided by the manufacturer, especially in the form of a certificate that confirms the SBD rating. 

BS EN 6375 & Other Relevant British/European Standards

And now, we look into the most relevant British/European standards that support the security standards in different types of composite doors, including composite French doors and uPVC composite doors:

BS EN 6375 (Performance Testing)

The first one to look at will be the most important BS EN standard, the BS EN 6375, which is also known as the performance testing rating. This because:

• This standard tests weather resistance, air permeability, and wind load.
• This standard also ensures with its testing that the door stays secure even in the case of extreme weather conditions, such as storms and so on. 

BS EN 1303 (Cylinder Security)

The second standard that we’ll look into here is the BS EN 1303 which is more focused on the state of the door’s cylinder locking system. That is why, the tests of this standard cover the lock cylinder durability and the presence of anti-pick and anti-drill protections to prevent forced unlocks. 

BS EN 12209 (Lock & Hardware Strength)

The final BS EN standard that your attention needs to be diverted to is the BS EN 12209 rating. This standard, much like the BS EN 1303 also focuses on the locking systems. However, instead of looking at the safety aspects, it tests the mechanical and hardware strength of the lock of the external doors. 

Why These Standards Matter

These standards are extremely critical when it comes to understanding the security levels of composite external doors. They understand that the door is a sum of its parts, and any one or few of those parts can end up being the weakest link. It could be the hardware or the security offered by locking systems, and these tests ensure that the weak links are found and long-term security is ensured, even with repeated usage. 

Comparison: PAS 24 vs. Secured by Design vs. BS EN Standards

Having discussed all the three key standards and ratings, let’s see how each of them are different and how different are the aspects that each of these standards observe or measure:

Table 1: Comparison of the Security Standards

Summing Up

Security ratings, such as the PAS 24, Secured by Design, and BS EN standards help homeowners choose composite doors with the utmost security ratings. Understanding these certifications will ensure that your new door offers long-term protection, weather resistance, and peace of mind.

Purchasing a Front Door? Here’s the Standards that Matter

Planning to install a new composite front door? Look for certified security ratings to keep your home safe, and choose an installer who provides proof of compliance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is PAS 24 a better certification than SBD for choosing the right composite front door?

Both certifications are official ratings that are offered to composite external doors based on their safety ratings. They can be both considered as valid ratings and one cannot be rated as better than the other. 

2. Is an anti-snap cylinder type better than an anti-drill type to maximise the locking system safety? 

A three-star anti-snap cylinder lock can be considered a top choice for maximum composite door security. However, anti-drill cylinder locks also offer substantial security. 

3. Are highly secure composite doors generally expensive?

The prices for highly secure composite doors can often be on the higher end. However, this price acts as the cost of the level of security. Therefore, this can be considered an investment for a secure and worry-free lifestyle. 

4. Can composite doors be fitted with reinforced glass?

Yes. Many composite doors come with glass panes. They can be fitted with reinforced glass, which can add to the protective hardware that the doors are manufactured with. These glass panes can also be designed to obscure visibility from one end, to restrict the view of the indoors.