What the security ratings actually mean

PAS24 is the one that counts

PAS24 is an attack test on the finished door, not on a component of it. A tested doorset is put in a rig and worked on with the tools a burglar would actually bring, and it either holds for the required time or it does not.

Every door in this range is tested to PAS24, and to BS6375 for weather performance. It is not an upgrade and there is no cheaper version without it.

Secured by Design is the police standard

Secured by Design is run by the UK police service and is stricter than building regulations. Where a new build has to meet it, an approved doorset is the simplest way of doing so.

The multipoint lock fitted as standard here meets that standard. If you are replacing a door on a house where a planning condition or a warranty requires it, this is the box it ticks.

The cylinder is where doors are usually lost

Lock snapping is the common method on uPVC and composite doors, and it targets the cylinder rather than the door. A euro cylinder that is not anti-snap can be broken in well under a minute by somebody who has watched a video.

The upgraded cylinder on the configurator adds forty pounds. On a nine hundred pound door it is the cheapest sensible thing you will buy that day, and it is the one line we would not leave out.

• Look for a three-star cylinder, or a one-star cylinder with two-star handles.
• Check the cylinder does not project more than a couple of millimetres past the handle.
• Anti-snap is about the cylinder, not the door. A good door with a poor cylinder is a poor door.

What your insurer will ask

Usually whether the door has a multipoint lock and whether it is key operated from outside. Both are standard here. Some policies ask for a British Standard lock, which is a phrase written for timber doors and does not translate directly to a composite doorset.

If a policy asks for something specific, send us the wording before you order rather than after. It is a two minute conversation now and an argument later.