After a while, even the best exterior wood doors can experience weathering and degradation due to exposure to the sun. The sun harms our doors just like it harms us. While sunshine won’t diminish the structural integrity of your door, it can negatively affect its appearance. Photodegradation doesn’t occur right away, but if exterior doors receive full sun exposure throughout the sunny seasons, they will inevitably begin to bleach. The molecules in paint, dyes, and stains that absorb sunlight and reflect only desirable parts of the color spectrum are sensitive to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, and after a while, they’ll turn dull, pale, and lifeless. This can even happen to the wood of the door itself.
That’s a big deal, because your front door is the centerpiece of your home’s facade, the thing that ties together the outward face of a house and solidifies its exterior style. A sun-faded front door against an otherwise well kept facade looks worse than a fresh, vibrant front door against a worn facade. People naturally focus on the front door because it’s a central feature — just like eyes on a person’s face. When someone enters your home, they get a nice, clear look at your door, so even if that sun bleaching is negligible in terms of sidewalk appeal, it won’t look great up close. And don’t forget your back door, too; those get just as much exposure to sunlight.
Here are some ways you can prevent your exterior doors from constant sun exposure.
Awnings
Many of us are lucky enough to have homes with front-facing, covered patios, so our front doors are always shaded from the most direct and hard-hitting sunlight. The rest of us are not so lucky, with our front doors exposed all day to harmful sunlight.
To remedy this, it’s popular to install an awning over an exterior door. Even a small, modest awning will protect your front door during the hottest part of mid-day, when the sun sits beating down from the top of the sky. Having an awning to provide shade for your door means the door is only receiving direct UV rays for brief periods of time, and it also means you’ll have some comfortable shade yourself as you enter and exit your home.
Plants and Landscaping
Perhaps the best, most aesthetically pleasing way to protect your front door from exposure to the sun is by using trees, bushes, and other vegetation to shield your front entryway. Natural barriers like plants are better than material fixtures because they can be more affordable, easily altered, and easily removed or replaced when the time comes. It costs less to dig up plants than it does to dismantle an awning.
Plant some small trees or in your front yard, as close to your entryway as you feel is sustainable given the species of tree and its typical height and spread at maturity. Hedges and bushes will do well to block sunlight, but be aware they will also hide your entryway more than trees. This may actually be desirable, but most people will want their entryway at least party visible from the sidewalk. Homes in tropical locales will have greater sets of decorative, large-leafed options, like birds of paradise and elephant ear plants. If you have an awning or covered porch and desire some extra sun protection, try mounting hanging plants on either side of your entryway.
UV Shielding Finishes
Most doors sold pre-finished won’t feature a UV protective coating. Just the same, the door on your recently bought house may not have such a coating applied to it either. If your door seems beat up from years of sun exposure and its paint or varnish is starting to peel and crack, you should strongly consider a UV-blocking varnish or a UV-blocking paint.
Before applying a new paint or varnish, sand down your front door so none of the old finish remains. Usually, anti-UV finishes will also be more resistant to other exposure to the elements like rain and other airborne moisture.
At ETO Doors, we’re experts in all things door-related, and that includes stains, oils, varnishes, and paints. Don’t hesitate to contact us with concerns and questions about how to finish your solid core ETO door!
