A Practical Guide to Choosing Your Front Door
Thursday, February 18th, 2016
Eye-catching or practical, your front door says a lot about who lives inside. Whether you’re selecting a front door for your newly built home or buying a replacement for a weathered one, the variety of options in front door style, size, material, and cost can leave you overwhelmed. For this reason, I’ve created this practical guide to help you along in your decision-making process so you can choose the right front door for your home.
Style
From the classic six-paneled door to the more whimsical stained glass arched entry, your front door is an opportunity to express yourself as much or as little as you want. A tip that’s helpful to note when considering the style of your front door is to take into account the overall architectural design of your home and the overall look of your neighborhood. While you might want your front door to stand out from the rest, you also want to make sure it complements the look of your home instead of detracting from it.
Size
How big should your door be? The standard single door entry measures somewhere between 32-36 inches; an extra-wide single door entry measures 42 inches. If your entryway is especially wide, you might consider a double door or incorporating ornamental elements (like side lights or a glazed transom) as well.
Material
These days, most doors are made of steel, wood, or fiberglass. Let’s take a closer look at pros and cons of these three options.
Steel
Pros: Steel is a tough material, so it won’t crack or warp when the temperature fluctuates and is the strongest barrier against intruders. A steel door can also be very energy efficient (depending on the core) and is one of the least expensive options.
Cons: While steel is resistant to basic wear and tear, it can still dent if the right force is applied. Minor damage can be repaired with an auto body repair kit, however if the damage is significant, you may need to replace the entire door, especially if it’s exposed to salt and heavy rains on a regular basis. Low cost also seems to be reflective of a shorter lifespan of five to seven years.
Fiberglass
Pros: Fiberglass composite doors come in a variety of different styles, many of which mimic the look of real wood. They are affordable and quite durable, lasting 15 to 20 years on average. Fiberglass does not expand and contract as the weather changes, so these doors can go for years without maintenance and are the best choice if you live in an area where harsh weather is the norm. Fiberglass doors are manufactured with a stout coating, which makes it difficult for intruders to breach, and a foam core, which acts as an excellent insulator
Cons: A fiberglass door may be more expensive than a steel one and lack the custom look of a wood one.
W
ood
Pros: A wood door’s handcrafted touch makes a stunning entry statement no other material can emulate, so for high-end home builds and renovations, wood is to the go-to material for front doors. It’s also easier to repair the scratches on a wood door than dents in steel or fiberglass and has a life expectancy of 40 plus years (depending on the kind of wood) if taken care of well. Solid wood doors are fairly energy efficient and a door that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is guaranteed to be made from wood that is sustainably grown and harvested.
Cons: Wood is the most expensive of the three materials and requires the most maintenance. Because wood is sensitive to sun and moisture, the elements are not kind to a door made of this material. To prevent splitting and cracking, wood doors should be repainted or refinished every other year at minimum.
Cost
When choosing the right front door for your home, make sure you’re aware of the long-term costs as well as the upfront cost, including the door’s energy efficiency, maintenance requirements, and life expectancy. Read more about front door cost.
According to the 2015 Remodeling Impact Report from the National Association of Realtors, by purchasing a front door with a national median cost of $2,000, you’ll recover 75% of the cost if you decide to sell your house. In addition, homeowners polled for the report returned a healthy Joy Score of 9.6 — a rating based on those who said they were happy or satisfied with their remodeling, with 10 being the highest rating and 1 the lowest. So, when purchasing a new front door, you should definitely consider it an investment rather than an expense.
At McCamy Construction, the layout and style of your front entryway (including your front door!) is just one of the design choices we’ll help walk you through when building your beautiful custom home with us. View a gallery of our custom builds or contact us to learn more about the process we use to turn your dream home into a reality.
Tags: energy efficiency, entry door, entryway, fiberglass front door, Forest Stewardship Council, front door, Remodeling Impact Report, steel front door, wood front door