It is a very good idea to spend more on exterior doors because they do set the tone of the entire property. Choosing the very best exterior door for your home is something that can be quite complicated. However, if you do consider the facts that we mention below, your choice will be a lot simpler.
Exterior Door Materials
- Steel Doors
The steel doors offer great energy efficiency because of the insulation used. They are weather stripped and will resist to warping, swelling and shrinking. The price tag will be higher but we are faced with a really strong steel construction, one that requires minimum maintenance. Even installation is simple.
- Fiberglass Doors
We have similar energy savings as with the steel doors but the door does seem as if it is made out of wood because of the texture used. You will want to consider this option in the event that you have an entrance with a lot of traffic or if the climate is extreme.
- Wood Doors
The look is quite traditional and the security does seem to be great because of the weight. You can make the wood doors look however you want the overall effect to be. You have to be careful when you choose because there are many opportunities available, with price tags ranging from one choice to the next.
Exterior Door Accents
You can easily use accents in order to make the exterior door look exactly as you want it to. Some of the options that are the best and that you have to consider include:
- Glass
All door types can include decorative glass. Many do not know this but most of the doors do have insulated glass because of energy efficiency reasons. Others include stained glass, silk screened glass or other options. Glass can be large or small, based on what effect you want to offer.
- Sidelites
You can use these for all doors on any of the 2 sides. Usually you use this on both.
- Transoms
You can easily use them for all the door types, in 3 shapes: box, ellipse and arch.
Patio Door Considerations
With the patio doors, you do have other options that you want to take into account. Since they are exterior doors, we should talk about them. The opportunities that you do want to take into account are the following:
- French Doors
You can buy French doors in basically all the materials available with sliding glass doors. Even more materials are available. You can even buy them in fiberglass and steel options.
- Sliding Doors
These are normally like really large picture windows. Doors are basically large glass panes that are mounted in a frame and include rollers. These doors can be made out of various different materials though like wood, vinyl and aluminum. You can even opt for clad-wood if you want to.
