Retrofit or complete set: the support decides
Both routes exist in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, but they are not chosen the same way from one quarter to the next. Retrofit armouring keeps your leaf, clads it in folded steel, protects the frame with angle sections and takes a multipoint lock. A complete set replaces leaf, frame, hinges and lock together. The choice is made after opening and closing the door several times, never from a photograph.
In the town houses of the old centre the frames are old, sometimes bedded into irregular stonework. Stone anchors superbly, provided whoever works it knows the material; rotten timber will hold no angle section at all. It is the inspection of the frame that settles the question, not the catalogue.
In the terraced developments of Chavril and the Plan du Loup co-ownerships the support is concrete and takes a fixing without trouble. The constraint moves elsewhere, to getting the thing there. A winding staircase in the old centre, or a basement corridor, is measured before ordering, because an armoured set does not bend. Weight counts too: two people must be able to carry the leaf up without leaning on the handrail.
Reinforcement only counts as part of a whole
A door that becomes the strongest point moves attention to what surrounds it. In a house standing alone in its grounds, at La Gravière or high in Chavril, the ground-floor glazing, the terrace French window and the cellar become the easier route long before the front door does.
In a co-ownership, at the Plan du Loup in particular, the flat door opens onto common parts: its outward appearance is governed by the building’s rules, and a tenant needs the owner’s written agreement. Ask the managing agent before ordering, because the question is settled far more easily then than with an armoured set standing at the foot of the building. The rules sometimes specify the colour and the type of facing allowed on the stairwell.
Fitting matters as much as the product. An armoured set poorly anchored in old masonry is worth no more than an ordinary door, and retrofit armouring on a split frame simply throws the load onto its fixings. The survey on site comes before the choice, and the itemised quote before the work.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our door reinforcement page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon.