What can go up, and what never will
Retrofit armouring keeps your door: a folded steel sheet over the leaf, angle irons on the frame, a multipoint lock, anti-lift pins. A full armoured door set is a complete unit — leaf, frame, lock, hinges — installed in place of the existing one. The second performs better, because its resistance does not depend on the original surround. On the moulded leaves of the old centre in Grasse, the first has the advantage of going over what is already there, mouldings included.
It still has to get up there. Lanes in the centre are sometimes a metre and a half across, buildings rise five or six storeys on minute footprints, and the staircases turn tightly. An armoured set is carried up those flights by hand: its weight and its bulk are part of the decision, as much as its rating.
Doors in the old town are frequently non-standard, which makes bespoke manufacture more common than exceptional. In exchange, the frame is bedded into stone masonry that offers a solid anchorage, provided whoever fits it knows how to work that material. At Le Plan de Grasse, recent developments return to ordinary sizes and the difficulty moves to the co-ownership rules.
External appearance, in a town that is looked at from below
Changing the appearance of a door visible from public space may require planning consent, and the opinion of the Architecte des Bâtiments de France inside protected perimeters. The old centre of Grasse, around the cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Puy and the place aux Aires, is directly concerned. Ask the town’s planning department before committing to any work.
In a co-owned building, the rules may require the landing doors to match. Retrofit armouring changes the look of the leaf, but timber finishes exist to sit properly in an old stairwell. As a tenant you need the owner’s written agreement, since this is an alteration to the property. In an older building in the lanes of Grasse, the managing agent’s view is asked for before the quote, not after.
Finally, armouring protects an opening, not a home. On a house among the restanques closed by a simple gate, or on a ground floor in a lane whose windows have neither shutters nor laminated glazing, reinforcing the front door alone moves the problem rather than solving it. On the Saint-Jacques slopes, a service door at the back deserves the same look as the main one.
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 Grasse.