In another thread SteamyTea wrote:

Post box on the outside seems sensible, except my parking is arouind the back and I sometimes don't open the front door for months.

Thinking about the houses of various friends in more rural houses, access always seems to be via the back door into the kitchen. In fact, I'm not sure I've even seen the front door of one lot's house.

Therefore for my house I'm planning to have only a backdoor - well, only one door which will open on to a small hall which mostly gives access to the kitchen first.

Assuming the presence of appropriately placed escape windows, can anybody see any problems with that?

kerb appeal?

If you only have a back door, then perhaps the purpose of the front door is to meet fire regs. The other thing to consider is to make sure that at least one door provides a wide access for bringing awkward furniture etc in and out.

Is it easier to achieve wheelchair access ( part M ) via front door ?,

Well, my front door is for getting into the house. Like many houses, the front door faces the road, through the front garden. The back door is all the way round the back, through the side gate. The side gate, this being london, is always locked.

I've never actually lived in a house where the "normal" entrance is through the back door (out of 4)

Posted By: dimengineerI've never actually lived in a house where the "normal" entrance is through the back door (out of 4)

Yes, the houses I'm talking about are all rural with the front door facing onto the road but with parking at the side or back.

I'm not overly concerned whether you call it a front or back door, though; more whether building control are likely to make a fuss if there's only one.

I used to have a Victorian Terrace, I put the kitchen in the front and used the front door as the main door. The back door was blocked off and the window was replaced with large opening doors into the living room. All the neighbours thought it odd at first but 2 of them did the same in the end. Was better than the galley kitchen.
I seem to remember that there were rules about moving furniture about, saw it on a TV program many years ago.

It does seem to be a rural thing that we use the back door. If you are lucky people can fall down the semi-hidden mine shaft. Or front room:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-420263/Bargain-house-swallowed-1-000-ft-shaft.html

Posted By: Ed Davies
I'm not overly concerned whether you call it a front or back door, though; more whether building control are likely to make a fuss if there's only one.

Can't see any problem there, it will just have to meet all the disabled access requirements, might have a negative effect on any house valuation though, just depends on the specific layout and how easy it is to get shopping in etc without trailing through house.

Posted By: Ed DaviesHaving lived in a croft house with very narrow external doors (wouldn't be legal on new build, I think) and awkward turns for the last two years I'm very aware of this.

The old croft houses either side of us both have only 1 door each.

Some recently built (less than 10 years) 'pseudo'[1] croft houses just up the road also have only 1 door each. They were specifically built as sellf-catering rentals, not sure if that is relevant?

[1] They look like stone built thatched cottages. In practice they are timber frame, plus blockwork 'outer' skin, plus a thick 'decorative' layer of stonework! They are very cozy.

The rural tradition round here is that you should use your front door only on your way home from your wedding, and on your way out to your funeral.

The kitchen should be the heart of the home and the back door gives access straight into it, sometimes via a lobby where you leave your boots coats and dogs.

Having said that, many trad buildings now have had conservatory/sunroom type extensions grafted over the original front door, which then becomes an internal door.

We had only one functioning door from our (old) house for many years, but now have 3 including patio doors from a sunroom and a recent door added to give direct access from utility room out to washing line / woodstore area.

Don't under estimate the difficulty with the disabled access regs (Part M). We had to persuade the BCO to allow us to have a gravel driveway. He agreed on condition we had a hard standing for the car near the house and hard surfaces from the hardstanding to the door. He said this was ok because in such a rural location (on a slope as well) a disabled person was most likely to come and go by car. That argument might help if you want the primary entrance around the back and can get the car there..

I think many houses would look odd without a front door but in the right situation/design it could work fine.

In about 1950, I think, our house was re-orientated.
The present front door faces the road, which originally ran through the farmyard, with the house on one side and various outbuildings on the other. That was then the back door.
The front door with drive was on the other side, but is now the back. The staircase was also moved round. Formerly it opened straight off the large entrance kitchen, but now it runs the other way, from a small hall behind the (now) front door.
I deduced this from traces of old wallpaper preserved on the section of wall covered up by the staircase, and also a strip of Victorian wallpaper inside the edge of a later partition wall.

But we often use two other doors, one also at the front but from the scullery, another at a higher level from a storage room.

The more doors the merrier I say.

Posted By: Cliff PopeThe more doors the merrier I say.

But well insulated and airtight doors are expensive. I'd rather spend the money elsewhere if possible.