Choosing the Right Front Door for Your Home
Compare Steel vs Fibreglass vs Wood Doors
In this weekly Q&A column, retired builder/building inspector Cam Allen answers readers’ home renovation questions. Have a question? Enter it in the form below.
There was a time when the front entrance of a home was a decorative, often carved solid wood door. You then entered what is known as a vestibule and another door inside this enclosed entranceway. This was done in century homes to minimize the heat loss as you entered a home. It was often used for storage of boots and then you entered the home and hung your coat up so it stayed warm. Vestibules disappeared in the 30s as central heating became more popular. They were replaced with a foyer in homes with a larger, often decorative welcoming area for guests.
It’s often around this time of the year that everyone is recovering from the holiday season and the thoughts of home upgrades enter the conversation. You walk by your existing front door, notice its cold, worn and simply the last thing everyone thinks of when renovating. One reader asked, “Any tips on front doors?”
Your front door is probably used more than any opening in your home and should be maintained properly. It provides security, curb appeal and is a major contributor to energy efficiency.
We had a period from the late 50s to the early 90s when front doors were simply a flat wood or thin panelled exterior door or metal clad door with imitation panel sections and some glass features. Generally known today as a classic door. Glass inserts were often in the upper ⅓ or ½ of this classic door.
Today we have seen a rapid growth in materials, designs and use of decorative side panels and transom panels. These offer excellent natural lighting into the foyer of a home. While there are a number of different kinds of exterior doors, the most popular materials have stabilized into three different types of doors. It is a toss-up as to which door is the most popular as steel and fibreglass lead in sales with solid wood ranking third, mostly due to the cost of a decorative solid wood door.
Steel Doors
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Steel entrance doors commonly outsell fibreglass by a bit, mainly due to cost. This type of door is actually a treated wood frame, filled with polyurethane or polystyrene foam insulation and covered with a moulded outer metal skin.
They hold the top spot for security, but are not as highly rated for insulation value. They generally come painted white although some companies offer custom colours.
They are easy to maintain and will withstand our harsh Canadian winters. Being metal they will dent, scratch and are nearly impossible to repair if damaged. If you are thinking of a steel door as a replacement into an existing exterior opening, double check the sizing of a new door as trimming a metal door is just about impossible.
Fibreglass Doors
Fibreglass front doors are assembled in a similar method to a steel door. A treated wood frame with foam insulation. The difference is a wider selection of moulded fibreglass skins to choose from. Security is respectable but the largest benefit is the insulation levels are greater than a metal covered door.
Fibreglass doors can be purchased in either a smooth surface or imitation wood look. They require little to no maintenance and the only drawback I am aware of is that in extreme humidity some may warp – I stress “extreme” here. Not unlike a steel door, if this is for a door-only replacement, trimming is difficult to impossible so make sure that if you are just replacing the door, it’s exactly the same size.
Wood Doors
Number three on the popularity list are solid wood doors and these, while higher priced, are often customized for the home. I have seen and installed wood doors made from white oak, red oak, walnut and Canadian maple.
Most solid wood door manufacturers offer a wide range of colours of stains and finish coats. The most common question we got was, “when do we have to refinish an exterior solid wood door?” There is no stock answer, it depends upon exposure, type of finish and use. I have seen multiple coats of clear epoxy used on a properly prepared and stained solid oak door that has lasted well over 15 years before refinishing was needed. There was a top coat of a UV stable coating to help reduce the epoxy fading over time. UV exposure is the largest factor affecting epoxy coatings.
Confirm whether the door entrance package you are looking at has an Energy Star rating. This will ensure you have a certified energy-efficient installation. If there are any grants in your locale, they will surely require that the door package is rated.
A prehung door is the term for a complete, ready-to-install door system that includes the door, frame, threshold and weatherstripping. If you are looking for simply the door, this is often referred to as a “slab door.” They usually do not include any hardware, hinges or lock set.
Side light panels have become more popular and they are simply a matching panel located beside the main entrance door, either on one or both sides. Transom panels are located above the door and come in various shapes, rectangular, semi-circles and ellipses.
Usually filled with an insulated glass insert, they are excellent for natural lighting into the foyer area. A door sill is the base of your door package, it is a lot more important than most people realize. This part of the door plays a major part in sealing, waterproofing and weatherproofing your door.
Lastly, unless you are just replacing the front slab door of your entrance or you have some serious home handyman skills, I strongly recommend you get a reputable contractor to replace your front entrance. Some big box retailers offer in-store installations with installer warranties, they are worth looking into. Getting an entrance package level, square, secured and fitted with proper insulation requires some degree of experience.
Read more on this topic in Telltale Signs That Your Front Door Needs to Be Replaced
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