Most sellers spend weeks tidying the inside of the house and about ten minutes on the outside. Buyers do the opposite. They form a view from the pavement, before the key is in the lock, and everything they see indoors is then filtered through that first impression. If the front door looks tired and the path is green with algae, a buyer walks in already looking for problems.
This guide is a practical outdoor checklist for UK house viewings. It covers the front door, the path, the boundary, the gutters, the walls, the windows, the planting and the threshold where outside becomes inside. It is written from the perspective of a supplier that sells the parts sellers most often end up replacing, so where a job involves a product we tell you what it actually costs on our own shelves rather than quoting an industry average we cannot stand behind.
Doors2Floors has supplied doors and flooring to homes and businesses across the UK. Our current range includes over 90 external doors, 18 composite external doors, over 30 glazed external doors and over 30 items of door hardware, so the advice below is grounded in what we sell and fit every week.
What a buyer actually judges in the first ten seconds
Estate agents talk about kerb appeal because the pavement is where the decision starts. Note the spelling: in the UK it is kerb appeal, with a k, because a kerb is the edge of the pavement. Curb, with a c, means to restrain something. The American spelling is everywhere online and it is worth getting right in your own listing copy.
The view from the pavement
Stand at the far edge of your own boundary and look at the house as a stranger would. You are checking the balance of the elevation, the state of the paintwork, whether the door reads as the focal point, and whether anything is visibly out of line. Photograph it on your phone, because a photo strips out the familiarity that makes you forgive faults.
The front door as the focal point
The door is the single element every listing photograph is built around. A faded, chalky or swollen door drags the whole frontage down, and it is one of the few exterior jobs a seller can complete in a weekend. Our external door range starts at £86.79 for the LPD ledged and braced redwood door.
The path and the approach
Buyers walk the path before they touch the door, so it carries more weight than its cost suggests. Loose slabs, weeds in the joints, a wobbly step or a lip that catches a toe all register as neglect. Cleaning and re levelling a path is unglamorous work with a disproportionate effect on how cared for a house feels.
The boundary and the gate
A sagging gate that has to be lifted to close, or a fence panel that leans, tells a buyer that small jobs get left. Boundaries also raise legal questions in conveyancing, so a tidy, obviously maintained boundary quietly removes a worry rather than creating one.
The roofline, gutters and downpipes
Experienced buyers look up. Sagging gutters, plants growing out of a hopper and staining down the render are the visual shorthand for water getting in. You do not need a new roof to fix the impression, but you do need the gutters clear and the downpipes running properly.
Bins, wheelie bins and the side return
Bins are the most photographed mistake in UK property listings. Move them out of the frontage entirely for viewings if you can, and if you cannot, screen them. The side return is worth ten minutes too, because buyers walk down it and it is usually where the ladders, hoses and broken pots live.
Smells, sounds and the things you have stopped noticing
Wheelie bin smell, a dog on the neighbouring side, a security light that clicks, an extractor discharging near the door. None of these are structural but all of them shape a viewing. Walk the approach with your eyes closed for a moment and you will notice what you have tuned out.
What your neighbours contribute
You cannot control the house next door, but you can control whether the eye is drawn to it. A strong, well presented door and a clean, planted approach pull attention to your frontage. If a shared path or shared boundary is scruffy, a friendly conversation before the marketing photographs is worth having.
Start with the front door, because it frames every photograph
If you only do one exterior job before viewings, do the door. It is the highest visual return per pound of anything on the frontage, and unlike a driveway or a roof it is a job with a clear end point.
How to tell whether a door needs repainting or replacing
Press a screwdriver gently into the bottom rail and the lower corners of the stiles. If it sinks, you have rot and paint will only hide it for a season. If the timber is sound but the finish is chalky, cracked or peeling, you have a decorating job. Our guide to cleaning and maintaining a wooden front door covers the middle ground.
Never paint over rot before a viewing
It is tempting and it is a bad idea. A surveyor will find it, and a buyer who feels something was concealed renegotiates on everything else too. Cut out and repair, or replace the door. Honesty is cheaper than a renegotiation at the survey stage.
Timber external doors
Timber suits period frontages and can be repaired rather than replaced. Hardwood options in our range include the LPD 2XG two panel glazed hardwood door at £321.14 and the LPD Carolina four panel glazed hardwood door at £321.14. Both take a paint or a stain, so you can match a conservation area palette.
Composite front doors
Composite doors are the low maintenance answer, factory finished and dimensionally stable. Our 18 composite external doors include the Slate Grey composite door with a white frame at £795.00 and the Anthracite Grey composite door with matching frame at £850.00, both supplied as a door and frame set.
Glazed front doors and hallway light
A dark hallway is one of the most common complaints at viewings, and glass in the door is the cheapest fix. Our over 30 glazed external doors start with the LPD Stable one light glazed hardwood door at £274.81. If the hall is very narrow, a door with side glazing may suit better.
Doors with side lights
Where the opening is wide enough, a door with a side light throws light deep into the hall without sacrificing security. We list this as a small specialist group, so check our doors with side lights page for current availability rather than assuming a size is in stock.
Do not forget the frame
A new door in a rotten or out of square frame will bind within a year and it looks wrong immediately. We supply external frames and the LPD external hardwood door frame and cill at £109.15 for exactly this situation. Composite doors in our range are generally supplied with their frame.
Colour choices that photograph well
Very pale doors bleach out in bright listing photographs and very glossy finishes throw reflections. Mid to deep tones hold their shape on camera. Our front door colour ideas and the dedicated black front door guide and grey composite door guide go through the options in detail.
Measure before you order anything
UK external openings are not standardised in the way people assume, and a door ordered to the wrong size is an expensive lesson. Follow our how to measure a door guide, measure in three places, and work to the smallest reading.
What it costs at the honest end
If the budget is thin, a hardwood lipped blank at £96.31 or a framed ledged and braced redwood door at £111.58 will transform a side or back elevation cheaply. Our clearance doors section carries over 20 lines and is worth checking before you commit.
Fitting is not a beginner job
Hanging an external door involves weathering, security fixings, threshold detail and, on a fire escape route in a flat, regulated performance. If you are not confident, get a joiner. Our front door costs and considerations article sets out what to budget for.
Kerb appeal, honestly assessed
Kerb appeal is real, but the internet is full of invented percentages about how much it adds to a sale price. We are a door and flooring supplier, not a valuer, and no honest supplier can put a reliable figure on it.
What kerb appeal actually does
It gets more people through the door and it removes reasons to haggle. That is the mechanism. It affects the volume and the confidence of interest rather than acting as a fixed uplift you can bank.
Why we will not quote a percentage
Any number depends on your street, your local market, the condition of comparable homes and the month you are selling in. If you want a figure for your specific property, ask two or three local agents and a RICS surveyor, not a blog.
The cheap wins, ranked by effect
Clean the path, clear the gutters, wash the windows, cut back anything overhanging the door, move the bins and either repaint or replace the door. That list costs very little and changes the photograph completely.
The expensive jobs that rarely pay before a sale
A new driveway, full render, replacement windows across the whole house and major landscaping are usually poor value in the last month before marketing. They eat the budget that should have gone on presentation.
Where to spend if you have one weekend
Saturday morning on the path and the gutters, Saturday afternoon on the windows and the bins, Sunday on the door and the ironmongery. That is a realistic weekend and it covers everything a buyer notices from the pavement.
Decluttering the outside, not just the inside
Every seller is told to declutter indoors. The same logic applies to the frontage, where clutter is more visible because there is less to look at.
Bins and recycling
Bins in the frontage make a house look like a rental. Store them at the side or behind a screen, and wash them, because the smell carries to the front door on a warm day.
Children and pet clutter
Trampolines, paddling pools, scooters and dog toys date a property to one household. They also make a small garden look smaller. Move them for photographs and for viewings, then put them back.
Shoes, mats and the porch
A porch full of shoes is the first thing a buyer sees at close range. Reduce it to one clean mat and nothing else. If your mat is worn, replace it, because it sits in the frame of every doorway photograph.
Hoses, ladders and half finished jobs
A coiled hose, a leaning ladder and a bag of hardcore all say the same thing: this house is a project. Even if the job is nearly done, put the evidence away before anyone arrives.
Parcels, notes and the letterbox
Clear the mail from the mat and the parcels from the step. A letterbox stuffed with post reads as an empty or neglected house, which invites a lower offer.
Cars, drives and blocked access
Move your own cars off the drive so the buyer can see the parking and can park themselves. If parking is the strong point of the property, do not hide it behind two vehicles and a trailer.
Signs, stickers and old fittings
Faded alarm stickers, an old satellite dish bracket, a defunct cable and a broken bell push are small, cheap removals that clean up the elevation more than people expect.
Paths, paving and trip hazards
The approach is the part of the exterior buyers physically interact with, and it is the part most likely to be quietly held against you.
Cracked and lifted slabs
Lift, re bed and re lay rather than patching with mortar over the top. A lifted slab is a trip hazard and a viewer who stumbles remembers nothing else about the visit.
Weeds in the joints
Hand weed first, then brush in fresh kiln dried sand or a jointing compound. Weeds return fast, so do this in the week of the photographs rather than a month before.
Moss, algae and the green film
The green film on a north facing path is algae and it is slippery when wet. Treat it, let it die back, then rinse. Do not simply blast it off and leave the spores in the joints.
Pressure washing without damage
Keep the lance moving, work at a shallow angle and stay well back from pointing, render and timber. Concentrated jets strip sand from joints and force water into brickwork, which creates the damp patch you were trying to avoid.
Levels, lips and the step at the door
Where the path meets the threshold, check for a lip. A raised threshold is a genuine accessibility question for many buyers, and it is worth being able to explain what could be done rather than hoping nobody asks.
Drainage and standing water
Standing water beside the wall is the single most damaging thing on a frontage, both for the building and for the impression. Clear the gully, check the falls and be able to say what happens in heavy rain.
Path lighting for winter viewings
Between October and March many viewings happen in the dark. Two low level lights along the path and a working porch light change the entire experience of arriving.
Gutters, downpipes and the story a surveyor reads
Rainwater goods are cheap to maintain and expensive to ignore, and they are one of the first things a valuation surveyor photographs.
What a blocked gutter signals
Water overflowing at one joint stains the wall below, saturates the masonry and eventually shows inside as a damp patch on a bedroom ceiling. Buyers know this, which is why the stain matters more than the blockage.
Working at height, safely
Most gutter cleaning accidents are ladder accidents. Use a ladder on firm level ground, tie it or have it footed, never overreach, and never work on a wet or windy day. If the gutter is above single storey height, pay someone with a tower or a vacuum system.
Downpipes, hoppers and gullies
Check that water actually leaves the property. A downpipe discharging onto a blocked gully simply floods the base of the wall. Rod the gully and clear the leaves out of the hopper heads.
Staining on render and brick
Once the leak is fixed the stain often stays. On painted render, a masonry paint touch up removes the last visual trace. On brick, allow it to dry fully before deciding, because most staining lightens considerably.
Fascias, soffits and the temptation to overclad
Replacing timber fascias with plastic during a sale rarely reads as an improvement, especially on a period property. Clean and repaint instead, and keep the money for the door.
When to bring in a professional
If you see internal damp, spreading staining, sagging plaster or salt bloom on a wall, stop and get a qualified surveyor or a damp specialist. Cosmetic work over an active leak is the fastest route to a failed survey.
Walls, render and exterior paintwork
Paint is the cheapest transformation available on a frontage, and the most commonly rushed.
Hairline cracks and what they mean
Fine cracks in render are common and often historic. Cracks that are wide, tapering, stepped or that run through brickwork and lintels are a different matter and need professional assessment before you sell, not after.
When to get a structural opinion
If a crack is wider than a pound coin is thick, if it has moved recently, or if doors and windows nearby have started to bind, get a qualified surveyor or a structural engineer. Do not fill it and hope.
Lead paint in older homes
UK homes decorated before 1992 may contain lead paint. Do not dry sand it and do not burn it off. Use appropriate methods and protection, or have it dealt with by someone competent, particularly if children live in the house.
Masonry paint and the weather window
Masonry paint needs dry conditions and a surface temperature above the manufacturer stated minimum, which is usually higher than people assume. Painting in a cold snap or on damp render is how you get flaking within a season.
Timber trim, bargeboards and window frames
Sand back to sound material, prime bare timber, then two thin coats. Two thin coats last far longer than one thick one, and thick paint around a door or window is exactly what makes it start to bind.
Painting a front door properly
Take the ironmongery off rather than painting around it, and let each coat cure. Our guides on painting a door and maintaining painted doors apply the same method that keeps an external finish alive.
Oiling rather than painting
If you have chosen an unfinished timber door, a hardwax oil gives a repairable finish that suits period frontages. We stock LPD clear flat matt hardwax oil at £21.96 and the soft satin version at £21.96. Follow the manufacturer instructions for external use.
Oil soaked rags are a fire risk
Cloths used with oil finishes can self heat and ignite as they dry. Lay them out flat outdoors to dry fully, or soak them in water in a sealed metal container. Never leave them screwed up in a bin or a bucket in the garage.
Windows, glass and frames
Clean glass is the cheapest thing on this list and one of the most noticeable.
Inside and outside, both
Buyers look out of windows constantly during a viewing. Grime on the inside of the glass flattens the view and dulls the room, so do both faces and dry the frames.
Misted double glazing
A misted unit means a failed seal. Individual units can usually be replaced without changing the frame, which is far cheaper than new windows and removes an obvious talking point.
Sills, seals and trickle vents
Clean the sills, check that the seals are not perished and make sure trickle vents are open and clear. Never seal up ventilation that serves a room with a gas or solid fuel appliance. If you are unsure, ask a registered engineer.
Net curtains and blinds
Old nets make a room read as dark and dated in photographs. Take them down, wash the glass and use blinds or nothing at all for the viewing period.
Security fittings that reassure
Working window locks and a sound door cylinder answer a question buyers rarely ask out loud. We stock over 720 items in locks and latches, including the Deanta euro cylinder lock in satin nickel at £18.95 and the black steel finish version at £19.85.
Planting that reads as cared for, not as a project
The aim is not a show garden. The aim is a frontage that looks like it takes twenty minutes a week, because that is what most buyers want to inherit.
Two pots by the door
A matching pair of pots either side of the door is the single most effective piece of exterior styling available, and it draws the eye straight to the entrance in every photograph.
Evergreen structure first
Evergreens look the same in February as they do in June, which matters when your listing photographs stay online for months. Flowers are the accent, not the structure.
Low maintenance, honestly low
Choose plants suited to the aspect and the soil you actually have, not the aspect you wish you had. A struggling plant looks worse than no plant.
Cut back anything touching the house
Climbers on render, shrubs against the wall and branches over the path hold moisture and hide the building. Cutting them back improves the elevation and reduces the damp risk at the same time.
Lawn edges and the ten minute trick
A cut edge does more for a small front lawn than a full feed and scarify. Edge it, cut it, and sweep the clippings off the path.
Seasonal styling without going overboard
A single wreath or one seasonal arrangement at the door is enough. Our guide to hanging a door wreath, the front door wreath ideas article and our autumn decor ideas keep it on the right side of restrained.
Front garden layout
If the frontage is doing nothing at all, our front garden inspiration guide covers layouts that work with a short path and a small area.
Boundaries, gates and fences
Boundaries carry both a visual and a legal weight during a sale, so a tidy boundary is worth more than it looks.
A gate that closes first time
A gate that drags or has to be lifted is usually a hinge or a post problem rather than a gate problem. Check the post for movement at ground level before you buy anything new.
Hinges, latches and alignment
Most gate faults are fixings. We carry over 350 items in door hinges and a wide selection of door hardware, and our guide on where to fit door hinges explains why hinge position, not hinge quality, is usually the cause of a sagging leaf.
Fence panels, posts and the honest comparison
People are often told a hedge is cheaper than a fence. Over twenty years that can be true, but a hedge takes years to establish, needs watering while it does, and needs cutting once or twice a year for the rest of its life. A fence is an immediate result with a defined lifespan. Choose on what you need before the sale, not on a slogan.
Privacy without building a wall
Screening a specific sight line, usually one window or the bin store, achieves more than raising the whole boundary. Check permitted heights with your local planning authority before you build anything at the front.
Shared boundaries and paths
If a path or wall is shared, tidy your side properly and be ready to explain the arrangement. Vague answers about boundaries slow a sale down more than the boundary itself ever would.
Rear access and the back door
Buyers do open the back door. A swollen, sticking or draughty back door is worth sorting, and our guides on stopping doors swelling, draughty doors and planing a door cover the usual fixes. A stable door or a set of French doors can transform a rear elevation.
Lighting, security and the evening viewing
From autumn onwards a large share of viewings happen after dark, and a dark house is a hard sell.
The porch light
Replace a dead bulb, clean the lens and choose a warm colour temperature. A cold blue white light over a front door makes even a good door look institutional.
Motion sensors, aimed properly
A sensor that triggers as a viewer reaches the gate is welcoming. One that blinds them at the door is not. Aim it down and across the path rather than out at head height.
Visible, working locks
A sound cylinder, a working handle and a door that closes without a shoulder behind it all signal a maintained house. Our door handles range runs to over 2,500 lines, with over 210 handles on back plates for traditional doors and over 280 pull handles for contemporary ones.
Matching the metal finish
Mixed finishes read as accumulated repairs. Pick one metal and carry it across the handle, the knocker position, the hinges and the numerals. Matt black options include the Carlisle Brass Manital matt black lever set at £45.65 and the matt black master lever on a round rose at £52.27.
Handle packs for a whole house refresh
If the internal ironmongery is a mix of thirty years of styles, a pack is cheaper and more consistent than buying individually. We list over 280 handle packs, and our door handles guide explains the difference between latch, lock and bathroom sets.
Brass that has gone dull
Unlacquered brass tarnishes and looks unloved, but it comes back with very little effort. Follow our guide to cleaning and maintaining brass door handles before you replace anything.
Never wedge the front door open for a viewing
Propping a door open with a wedge or a heavy object is a habit worth breaking, and on any door that is a fire door, in a flat or a shared entrance, it is dangerous and can be unlawful. Use a proper hold open arrangement or simply open and close the door. We stock over 30 door stops including the Zoo Hardware polished brass projection stop at £10.88.
The threshold, where outside becomes inside
The first three metres past the front door decide whether the good first impression survives. This is the part sellers forget because they walk through it every day.
The mat and the floor beneath it
One clean mat, sized to the opening, and a floor that is genuinely clean underneath. Lifting the mat and finding a grit line is a small thing that a buyer notices at exactly the moment they are deciding whether the house is looked after.
Hall flooring that photographs well
Hallways take the most wear and the most water in the house. Our flooring range is 12 lines of luxury vinyl, all of it suited to an entrance, including Karndean Knight Tile Dolomite at £33.40 and Knight Tile Rona at £33.40.
Vinyl in a wet entrance
Luxury vinyl handles a wet British hallway better than most timber options because it is dimensionally stable and easy to clean. See the full vinyl flooring group, the 6 Karndean Knight Tile designs and the 5 Karndean Da Vinci designs, and read what is Karndean flooring for the technical differences.
Darker floors in a hallway
Dark flooring looks superb in photographs and shows every footprint in real life. If you love the look, Knight Tile Midnight Black at £40.08 is in our range, and the Da Vinci Rustic at £50.06 is a warmer alternative.
Rugs, runners and hall wear
A runner protects the busiest strip of floor and softens the acoustics of a hard hallway. Our rug ideas guide covers sizing and pairing rugs with hard floors without trapping dirt underneath.
Skirting and architrave
Chipped skirting and split architrave around the front door frame the whole view down the hall. We supply 16 skirting lines, including the Deanta white primed shaker skirting pack at £70.00, and 16 door architraves. Our architrave guide explains the profiles.
The first internal door a buyer sees
If the hall door is hollow, hooked with a coat and dented at the bottom, replace it. We list over 710 internal doors, and our guides on choosing internal doors for modern UK homes and internal door materials narrow the choice quickly.
Light, glass and a dark hall
Where the hall has no window, a glazed internal door borrows light from the room behind it. We carry over 280 glazed internal doors, and reeded glass such as the LPD Sutton black reeded glazed door at £232.50 gives light without giving away the view.
Panelling as a hallway fix
Panelling hides tired plaster on a stairwell wall and reads as an upgrade rather than a repair. We stock 15 wall panelling options and our wall panelling guide covers the layout maths.
Doors that stick, squeak or slam
Every one of these gets noticed within seconds of a buyer walking in. Fix them with our guides on squeaking doors, loose door handles and door slamming. If the door in question is a fire door, do not fit a wedge or a floor stop to it.
A realistic schedule, four weeks out to the morning of
Exterior work is weather dependent, so the order matters more than the effort.
Four weeks before marketing
Order anything with a lead time, which usually means the door, the frame and the ironmongery. Book a joiner if you need one. Treat moss and algae now so it has time to die back.
Three weeks before
Clear the gutters and check the downpipes, because this is the job most likely to reveal something you did not know about. Repair paving and re joint it.
Two weeks before
Paint, if the forecast allows. Fit the new door and ironmongery. Cut back planting and edge the lawn.
One week before
Wash the windows inside and out, wash the bins, plant the pots, replace the mat and clean the hall floor properly.
The day of the photographs
Move the cars, move the bins, sweep the path, dry the door furniture, open the blinds and turn every light on including the porch light.
The morning of a viewing
Ten minutes: sweep, clear the post, wipe the door, straighten the mat, open the curtains, check the porch light works. That is the whole reset.
If the viewing is after dark
Turn on the porch light and any path lighting fifteen minutes early, leave the hall light on and make sure the door opens smoothly with one hand while you are holding a phone and a torch.
What the parts actually cost from our range
These are our own live prices at the time of writing rather than industry averages, and they give you a real floor for budgeting.
External doors
From £86.79 for a redwood ledged and braced door, with hardwood glazed options such as the Carolina at £321.14. Browse all over 90 in external doors.
Composite doors
From £271.63 for the LPD Sierra Blanco glazed composite door, rising to complete door and frame sets such as the BCD Slate Grey set at £795.00 and the BCD Black set with a white frame at £845.00.
Frames and cills
The external hardwood frame and cill is £109.15. We also list over 30 internal frames for the doors behind the front door.
Ironmongery
Matt black levers from £38.23, and the mitred lever on a sprung rose at £38.23. Cylinders from £18.95. Full ranges in door hardware and over 40 door knobs.
Door stops
From £10.88 in brass, with chrome at £11.21 and polished nickel at £11.21.
Skirting and trim
Deanta primed skirting packs at £70.00 for the shaker profile and £70.00 for the half splayed profile.
Hall flooring
Karndean vinyl from £33.40. The full Karndean range we carry is 12 lines.
Finishes
Hardwax oil at £21.96 for matt or £21.96 for soft satin.
Where the brands sit
For like for like comparison we group by supplier: 502 lines from LPD, 258 from Deanta, 16 from BCD, 117 from our own Doors2Floors label, 1,461 from Carlisle Brass, 157 from Zoo Hardware, 849 from Atlantic UK and over 120 in D2F accessories.
Mistakes that cost sellers viewings
These are the recurring ones, and most of them come from doing the right job at the wrong moment.
Painting over a problem
Rot, damp and movement all reappear, usually at survey stage, and always at the worst possible moment in the negotiation.
Blocking ventilation to hide a smell
Never block an air brick, a vent or a trickle vent, and never block anything that serves a gas or solid fuel appliance. It is a safety issue, not a presentation issue. Speak to a registered engineer if you are unsure what a vent is for.
Sealing a threshold gap under a fire door
In flats and shared entrances the gap and the seals around a fire door are engineered. Do not pack them, tape them or fit adhesive strips. If the door will not close properly, get a competent person to look at it.
Over strong air fresheners
Heavy scent at the front door reads as something being covered up. Open windows for twenty minutes before the viewing instead.
Artificial grass laid badly
Poorly laid artificial grass with visible joints and a scruffy edge looks worse than a tired lawn and is harder for the buyer to undo.
Leaving the ladder up
An in progress job is the fastest way to make a buyer mentally add a contingency to their offer. Finish it or hide it.
Ignoring the back and side elevations
Buyers walk the whole perimeter. The side return and the back door get the same ten minute treatment as the front.
Buying a door without measuring
It happens constantly. Measure the opening in three places, read our measuring guide, and if you are replacing like for like, keep the old door until the new one is hung.
Frequently asked questions
Is it kerb appeal or curb appeal in the UK?
Kerb appeal, with a k. Curb with a c is the American spelling and it also means to restrain something, which is not what you want your listing to say.
How much does kerb appeal add to a UK house price?
Nobody can give you an honest figure, including us. It affects how many people view and how confident their offers are. For a number specific to your property, ask local agents and a RICS surveyor.
Should I replace the front door before selling?
If it is rotten, swollen, insecure or badly dated, yes, because it is the focal point of every photograph. If it is sound, clean it, repaint it and change the ironmongery instead.
Is a composite or a timber front door better for a sale?
Composite is lower maintenance and factory finished, which suits most modern homes. Timber suits period and conservation area frontages and can be repaired. Both are in our range.
What is the cheapest way to improve my frontage?
Clean the path, clear the gutters, wash the windows, move the bins, cut back the planting and add two pots by the door. Then look at the door itself.
Do I need permission to paint my front door?
Usually not, but listed buildings, conservation areas and some leasehold flats have restrictions. Check with your local planning authority or your freeholder before you start.
Should I clean my own gutters?
Only at safe single storey height with a properly footed ladder and someone else in the house. Anything higher, or anything that involves leaning, is a job to pay for.
Will a jet wash damage my paving or pointing?
It can. Keep the lance moving, work at a shallow angle, stay away from mortar joints and render, and re sand the joints afterwards.
Is a hedge really cheaper than a fence?
Not in the short term. A hedge is cheaper to buy but takes years to screen anything and needs cutting for life. A fence costs more up front and works immediately.
What flooring is best for a hallway?
Something dimensionally stable and easy to clean. Our range is luxury vinyl, which handles wet feet and grit well. Read what is Karndean flooring and our laminate laying mistakes guide before you fit anything yourself.
Do buyers really notice door handles?
They touch every one of them. Loose, mismatched or sticky handles are noticed even when they are not mentioned, and they are among the cheapest things on this list to fix.
How far in advance should I start?
Four weeks if you are replacing a door, one week if you are only cleaning and styling. Weather is the limiting factor on paint and on treating algae.
What should I never do before a viewing?
Never conceal damp or rot, never block ventilation, never wedge a fire door open, and never leave a half finished job on display.
Where do I start if I only have a hundred pounds?
New ironmongery on the front door, a new mat, two pots, a bag of jointing sand and an afternoon of cleaning. That is the highest return hundred pounds on the frontage.
Prices quoted are our live prices at the time of writing and are subject to change. Building regulation and planning requirements vary by property type, tenure and nation within the UK, and requirements for fire doors in flats and shared entrances are stricter than for private houses. Confirm anything structural, damp related, electrical or fire related with your local building control body, a qualified surveyor or another competent professional before you act.