BLOG/ Which Door is Best for Your Front Entry?

Eyes are the gateway to the soul…and doors are the gateway to your home.

Not only is a front entry door designed for security, but it is also an important component in the appearance of your home.

As the last threshold before entering your house, it is a statement of how you adorn and care for your home.

Which door is the best for your front entry? There are a couple of considerations when selecting a front door; such as quality, longevity, style and ease of maintenance.

With these things in mind, you can decide which door is best for your front entry. 

Wooden Doors

It is easy to see why wooden doors are the traditional choice for an entry door. Robust in nature, solid wood doors will withstand the test of time and maintain their quality all the while.

Wooden doors are the highest quality door on the market. As the name implies, wooden doors are made of 100% natural wood (save for the hardware of course).

These doors are not necessarily made of one single piece of wood, as trees that large are hard to come by these days. Rather, solid wood doors are unified using frame and panel construction, where smaller slabs of wood are glued or joined together. They maintain the look and feel of one solid piece of wood, especially when painted.

When treated correctly, wooden doors can last for more than 100 years and look beautiful all the while. They do need occasional maintenance, but if you are willing to put in the work, you will be rewarded with a timeless door.  The longevity of these doors increases the value of your home, maintaining future resale value. 

Wooden doors are very easy to repair when they get scratches or minor dents. All they need is a bit of sanding and a paint touch up, and they can continue to protect your home with beauty.

Wood doors are also highly customizable, they can be as plain or fancy as you desire. Over time, they will need to be re-painted in order to protect them from the sun’s rays as well as moisture.

One of the benefits of having to occasionally re-paint or prime is that you can easily change the color of your door as trends evolve. You don’t need to be a DIY master when it comes to changing hardware like handles and hinges, which allows you to change colors and styles on a whim. 

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, wooden doors provide excellent acoustic and thermal insulation while also providing home security. Plus, exterior doors made of solid wood make such a bold statement when they are knocked. 

The price range of wooden doors also ensures that you will find something that meets your needs. You can spend several hundred or several thousand dollars depending on the type of wood and design you choose. There is a wooden door that is right  for every budget.

Wooden doors provide warmth, security and style. What more could you ask for?

Steel Doors

Steel doors are not actually made entirely of steel- that would be far too heavy.

Steel doors are made of poly core with a 16 or 24 gauge steel skin exterior. Like most metals, steel is a really good conductor of heat. This is not a great feature of a door, the polyurethane or polystyrene core functions as a thermal barrier to prevent the door from absorbing ambient temperatures.

Steel doors are secure and relatively durable, but they are also aesthetically and literally cold. They are often used in institutions like schools or hospitals, not lending a very homey feel for your front entry. 

This type of door can be painted, but not stained like a wooden door. This means that the paint can be chipped which can leave the door looking run down.

Steel doors are heavy, durable, secure and relatively long lasting. Their downside is that the damage they are most likely to incur are not as easy to get rid of.  The damage that can occur to steel doors, like dents and rust, can’t be sanded or filled with putty.

Steel doors can’t be easily cut down to fit into an existing door frame, making them more challenging to retrofit into your pre-existing home.

Composite Doors 

Composite doors, like fiberglass, are made up of a variety of synthetic materials molded together. They may be made of particle board or glass fiber and are often filled with foam.

They are covered with a veneer of glass inforced polymer that can look like wood grain or have a smooth glossy finish. Plain composite doors are relatively inexpensive, but for customized looks the cost begins to rise.

Custom-made glass paneled doors can be made to look like a real wood product. If you are paying more for a product to look like wood, why not just get a product that is made of real wood?

One of the hazards of composite doors is that they can crack when hit with a sharp object. They may be made of robust material, but the veneer does not actually provide much resistance to impact.

When wooden doors get dings, they can be easily sanded or buffed out. Composite doors are not as simple to repair. Composite doors are also not as easy to paint, so changing looks is not as feasible as it is with a wooden door.

A composite doors look good and maintain its integrity for about 10-20 years, a much shorter lifespan than wooden doors. Simple composite doors may be less expensive, but must be replaced more frequently than a robust wooden door.

Will you end up spending the same amount of money as you would on a higher quality door if you will have to replace it more than once in your lifetime? In addition to the repeated cost, you will also have to go through the hassle of replacing the door.