When it comes to front exterior doors and entryways into residential homes, many people choose what they have heard works the best for living spaces, but this is quite often not the best way to determine which door is right for your personalized space. Oftentimes, homeowners purchase wood doors without giving a second thought to other options, such as fiberglass doors or front exterior steel doors. To know how to choose the best door to meet your residential needs, you must first know which characteristics will suit you best, which is exactly what we will discuss in this ETO Doors blog post.
Fiberglass: a sturdy door for high traffic areas of your residential interior and exterior
For those in search of a door that can take a licking and keep on ticking, the best option may very likely not be wood at all, but rather, fiberglass.
Fiberglass door aesthetics
Unfortunately, many people are under the common misconception that exterior fiberglass doors and entryways look cheap, or at the very least, don’t look like real wood—and nothing could be further from the truth! As a matter of fact, fiberglass entryways have come such a long way that only the person who purchased the door or doors are likely to know.
Fiberglass door durability
When you choose fiberglass instead of wood, you will have an entryway that can handle a great deal of traffic without getting scuffed, scratched, or otherwise damaged. In addition, fiberglass doors will never swell, shrink, or otherwise change size or become impossible to close, as this only happens to wood exterior doors. When you choose fiberglass instead, the result is a front door or double/French exterior doors that will never cause you any trouble with changes in weather or humidity in the air.
Fiberglass door preservation and upkeep
Fiberglass front exterior entryways are relatively easy to maintain. Wiping the surface of the door clean with a moist cloth will remove any dirt and debris, and if you’re-oil or lubricate the door hinges and latch assembly once every six to 12 months, you will find that your door will never creak. A simple bottle of silicate-based oil or traditional door oil will do just fine. Every 2 months or so, make an effort to remove and deep clean the latch assembly, and your fiberglass door will stay nice and quiet on the hinges.
Fiberglass door energy proficiency
For front and rear exterior doors, fiberglass offers tremendous energy efficiency for homeowners who have opted for single, French, or double fiberglass entryways throughout their homes. Fiberglass is typically thought to offer higher energy efficiency than solid wood doors, and is even more proficient when homeowners install weatherstripping to the doorframe of any exterior-facing doors. If you have been spending a lot of money to heat and cool your home due to an air leak in your exterior doors, fiberglass may well be the solution you have been looking for.
Fiberglass door safety assurance
As a rule, fiberglass exterior entryways are thought to be safer than wood doors and double wood doors, as they are much more difficult to break down. While wood doors are generally thought to be a lot easier to tear down, fiberglass exterior doors will not cave in to the pressure applied to them by thieves. And, if you also happen to have a metal or fiberglass door frame, you’ll be that much safer from a break-in—and you’ll also be safer from severe weather events such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, and heavy snows.
Fiberglass door price
Because they are not made of precious or difficult to find hard woods such as mahogany, fiberglass exterior doors are typically not as high-priced as their wood-made counterparts. You can find a very wide variety of fiberglass exterior entryways, including French exterior fiberglass doors and double fiberglass door sets at prices between $500 and $1300. While you can certainly find real wood doors at these or similar prices, you will be hard pressed to find a wood door that offers the same ease of use and low maintenance within this price range. If you live in a coastal area such as California or Florida, a fiberglass door will save you from countless headaches and many hours of afternoon maintenance.
Steel doors: durable, safe, and easy on the budget
If for any reason you don’t want a fiberglass door but know you do not want a door made of wood, you may well enjoy the look and the advantages of having a steel door for the front entryway of your home or small office.
Steel door aesthetics
Just as with fiberglass entryways, steel doors can offer the look and feel of real wood, but only if that’s what you want. For modern homes with an industrial interior and exterior architectural design, steel entryways can add a lot in terms of matching the décor. Additionally, steel entryways can be painted any color you like to match your accent the design of your home’s interior and exterior spaces and front walkway.
Steel door durability
Known for their ability to stand up to the toughest weather and high traffic, steel doors are a terrific option for the homeowner who never wants to have to deal with warping associated with wood exterior doors. What’s more, a steel front exterior door will stand up to year upon year of high traffic without batting an eyelash, which makes them very attractive to those who don’t want to have to put in a lot of work to maintain their exterior doors.
Steel door preservation and upkeep
Steel exterior doors are very easy to maintain. All you really need to worry about is ensuring that the door hinges and latch assembly stay well lubricated with clean silicone fluid or door oil—this will keep these types of doors opening and closing without creaking, and will assure homeowners that doors will never stick during changes in the temperature or humidity in the air.
Steel door energy proficiency
Many homeowners in the know choose steel doors that they can paint themselves or that look like real wood because they are so incredibly energy efficient. If you choose this type of front exterior door, you can rest assured you won’t have to worry about all of your heated or cooled air is drifting out the front door. To make these doors even more efficient, homeowners may add weatherstripping to the doorframe—this is a great way to keep from running up your electricity bill!
Steel door safety assurance
Steel is an excellent choice for the safety of your family as well as your belongings—because it is not wood, steel is virtually impossible to break away from the doorframe or door jamb, and is about as secure as an entryway can get. If you also have a steel door frame, there is almost no way a burglar can get in through this opening. If you have opted into a steel door that has lites or glass panes, ensure that these are made of hurricane rated glass, as this type of glass is near impossible to break, and will make your front entryway as secure as it can possibly be.
Steel door price
When shopping for steel front exterior entryways, the price can vary quite a bit. Starting as low as about $400 and climbing in price all the way up to about $1500, you can find a steel front exterior entryway for almost any imaginable budget. Likewise, if you are looking for French exterior doors or double doors for the front of your home that are made of steel, you can easily budget for these two-door options with ETO Doors, as we bring you the best prices you’ll find for residential spaces anywhere on the Internet or from any other brick and mortar door company.
