How to Choose an Entry Door
December 20th, 2006
In homes as in personal relationships, nothing beats a great first impression. A high-quality door sets a welcoming tone and raises the perceived value of your entire home as well as provides added security.
Instructions
- STEP 1: Complement your home’s architecture with an appropriate door style–moldings and raised panels for a traditional house, sleek lines for contemporary style, ornate carving for a Victorian.
- STEP 2: Simplify installation with a prehung door, already framed and weather-stripped. Door-replacement kits include steel frame inserts, but are available in fewer sizes than prehung doors.
- STEP 3: Get out your measurement tape and choose between a standard single door, 32 to 36 inches (81 to 91 cm) wide; an extra-wide door, typically 42 inches (107 cm) wide; or double doors. New homes with higher ceilings look better with 8-foot (2.4 m)-tall entry doors. Keep in mind that changing your existing door size will require costly structural work.
- STEP 4: Choose a wood door for natural warmth and beauty, but expect it to require maintenance. Wood doors used to warp and crack over time, but today’s engineered-wood cores, laminated construction and vapor barriers help keep doors weathertight.
- STEP 5: Buy a steel door for strength and security. Most new models feature heavy galvanized steel around a wood or steel frame, with a dense polyurethane foam core that insulates almost five times better than wood. Choose standard steel, steel embossed with wood grain or vinyl-clad steel.
- STEP 6: Select fiberglass composite for the look of wood without its upkeep. These models wrap tough, compression-molded fiberglass around an energy-efficient polyurethane foam core. Paintable and stainable, fiberglass won’t rust and resists shrinking and swelling.
- STEP 7: Brighten your foyer with a glass door panel, transom or sidelights. Frosted, beveled and leaded patterns range from simple to ornate, private to unobstructed. For security and noise reduction, order laminated glass.
- STEP 8: Complement your door’s style and scale with solid brass or bronze handle sets and locks. Pick tarnish-free metal finishes with lifetime guarantees if the door is exposed to weather.
- STEP 9: Invest in quality materials that will last for decades. Prices vary between manufacturers and according to style, size, material and options. Insulated fiberglass costs more than steel but carries a longer warranty. A 36-by-80-inch (.9 by 2 m) wood door can cost $275 to $3,500, depending on the type of wood, construction, finish and glazing. Paneled single fiberglass doors start at about $600, steel at about $200.
What To Look For
- Appropriate style
- Easy installation
- Suitable size and scale
- Durable materials
- Decorative glass inserts
- High-quality hardware
- Energy saving features
Overall Tips & Warnings
- Save energy with features such as compression weather-stripping, a thermalbreak threshold, an extended sill plate, a triple bottom sweep and a moisture-resistant bottom rail.
- To decide what color, take a picture of your home from across the street. Print several black-and-white copies and use colored pencils to plan different door styles. Or, take a picture with a digital camera, then try out different colors in any graphic editing program.
- Order wood and veneer doors prefinished. Finishes applied on site (paint, varnish and polyurethane) are difficult to maintain on solidwood doors.
Entry Filed under: Custom Entry Doors
