Quick answer
A correctly fitted, PAS 24-tested composite door with a fully engaged multi-point lock is extremely difficult to kick in - the mechanical impact test within PAS 24 specifically simulates this attack. Failures happen almost exclusively where the mechanism wasn't fully locked, the keeps weren't fixed into masonry, or the door was cheap and untested.
Overview
PAS24:2022 includes a mechanical impact test simulating a kick attack. A properly-installed composite door with a working multi-point mechanism passes this test - the load is distributed across 5-7 locking points and the 44mm slab flexes and returns.
What a kick attack actually does
A kick concentrates a short, sharp force at roughly waist height, usually aimed near the lock. Against a weak door this either splits the leaf, tears the keep out of the frame, or shears a single-point latch clean off. Against a composite door with a multi-point mechanism, that same force has to overcome five or seven separate locking points simultaneously, spread from top to bottom of the door edge.
That distribution is the whole point of multi-point locking. Even if a kick were strong enough to damage one hook, the remaining points are still holding, which is usually enough to stop the door opening and buys time for the attacker to give up or be noticed.
Why 'PAS 24 tested' actually means something here
The mechanical attack element of PAS 24 testing applies a defined force, repeated, against the doorset for a fixed duration, using methods that mirror an opportunist kick or shoulder-barge attempt. A doorset only earns certification if it resists that attack for the test period. It's not a marketing claim - it's a pass/fail lab result carried out by an accredited test house.
The installation detail that decides the real-world outcome
Here's the catch: PAS 24 tests the doorset as a whole unit, including how it's fixed into a test frame that represents typical masonry construction. If an installer on site doesn't replicate that fixing - for example using short screws that only bite into the uPVC outer frame rather than reaching through to the brick, block or timber behind it - the same 'PAS 24' door can fail at a fraction of the tested force.
This is the single most common reason we see kicked-in composite doors that were supposedly tested and certified. The door and lock did their job; the keeps pulled straight out of the frame because the original fitter used short fixings to save five minutes.
Granite, cob and older Cornish walls
A lot of Cornwall's older housing stock has granite, cob or rendered stone walls rather than standard brick or block. Fixing keeps and frames securely into these substrates needs longer fixings, sometimes resin anchors, and a fitter who's done it before rather than treated it as a standard cavity-wall install. Get this wrong and you can have a fully PAS 24 certified door hanging in a frame that gives way before the lock does.
What actually fails first in a real attack
In the handful of genuine forced-entry cases we've inspected on Cornish composite doors, the door slab itself was never the point of failure. It was either an unlocked or partially locked mechanism (handle not lifted before the owner left), a cylinder that had been snapped rather than kicked, or keeps fixed into weak material.
- Door left on the latch only, without the handle lifted to engage the hooks
- Cylinder snapped using leverage tools rather than the door being kicked
- Keeps fixed into old, crumbling frame material or short screws
Making an existing door more kick-resistant
If you're not planning to replace the door but want to harden it against this specific attack, the practical steps are checking and if necessary re-fixing the keeps into solid masonry with longer screws, confirming every point on the multi-point mechanism engages fully, and making sure everyone in the household actually lifts the handle before turning the key - a door on the latch alone is a different proposition entirely from one fully locked.
Typical repair costs in Cornwall
| Work | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Keep re-fixing into masonry (per door) | £90-£150 | Longer screws or resin anchors as needed |
| Multi-point mechanism check & service | £75-£110 | Confirms every hook and bolt is engaging |
| Full mechanism replacement if worn | £180-£320 | Where hooks or gearbox have failed |
Guide prices only — we confirm the cost after seeing the door.
When to call a professional
- If the keeps look flimsy or are only screwed into the plastic frame.
Prevention
- Lift the handle every time you shut the door - the deadlatch alone is not enough.
- Fit long-throw keep screws (100mm+) into the brickwork behind the frame.
