Step 5: Explore Door Slab Options

So, you’re wondering what type of front door material is the perfect choice for your home. You’re not alone. The number of styles and options leave much to your personal taste, but you can narrow down the material choices for exterior doors into three main categories: wood, fiberglass, and steel. Read the following basics on each of the options before shopping for your next entry door.

Wood

Exterior doors made from wood are a popular choice — particularly because they can be customized to your size, shape, and style preferences. What’s more wood front doors are also easy to personalize with decorative glass accents, transoms, or side lights. One thing to note, however, is that over time, wood can naturally warp due to the elements of the outdoors. This may result in a break in the door’s air-sealing capabilities. Keep this in mind, knowing that you may have to replace exterior wood doors more frequently than those made from fiberglass or steel.

Fiberglass

If you want the look of wood with a bit more durability, consider a fiberglass entry door. Fiberglass entry doors most closely mimic the defined grain of authentic wood doors and come in a number of wood grain textures like oak, cherry, mahogany and fir. These doors can be stained in a variety of colors to give you the same beautiful look of traditional wood. They can also be ordered in numerous hues or painted in any color of your choice. As noted, they are more durable than traditional wooden doors and generally stand up against small dents and nicks. Fiberglass entry doors resist shrinking, warping, splitting, cracking or de-lamination. Fiberglass entry doors also have an insulated core, which offers additional protection from the elements. They are ideal for harsh or humid climates. When it comes to cost, they may be slightly more expensive than wood options; however, their long-term energy savings may be enough to pay you back down the road. Fiberglass doors can be comparable in cost to wood doors or can be significantly higher, depending on the model, glass options and hardware selected. Since fiberglass doors last so long, many come with long warranties. Paint and stain finishes are warrantied for up to 10 years, but offer longer durability and far less maintenance.

Steel

If you choose a steel front door, know that you are potentially choosing one of the safest options in terms of intrusions. Metal entry doors have insulated foam with a steel panel on either side. However, while this may make them extremely strong and help to keep cool winds from creeping into your home, if the door does get a dent it can be hard to repair and will likely not pop out of the material. This may result in the need to replace the entire steel entry door. Steel entry doors are very affordable compared to wood doors and offer significant long-term value. Total cost can vary widely depending on door style and options chosen.