Entry Door Options - advice on front doors

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Entry Door Options - advice on front doors

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1041/is_1998_Dec/ai_53257665

Choose your front door carefully to create a good first impression and ensure a secure house.
Shop for a new front door and you'll find your options wide open. In addition to choosing your favorite style or design, however, you'll also need to consider the material from which the door is made. Survey the selection at any home center and you'll find that most doors are made of steel, fiberglass, or wood. Here's what each material has to offer.

Steel.
Insulated steel doors are the most popular and least-expensive option. They account for about 65 percent of the market and cost as little as $150. Steel doors are constructed by wrapping a thin steel skin around a core of insulating material, such as polystyrene foam or honeycomb cardboard.
Doors made of steel are often thought to offer higher security than other doors, and this perception may help ward off burglars. But even though the material is known for strength, steel door skins tend to dent. Bump the door with a piece of furniture on moving day, and you may end up living with a dent until you replace the door.

Fiberglass.
Fiberglass doors are built using sandwich-style construction similar to steel doors. But instead of steel, the skin is a rigid sheet of fiberglass. Unlike steel doors, fiberglass is not susceptible to denting. Another advantage of fiberglass is its wider variety of color options. You can paint fiberglass, but you can also achieve a wood look by staining these doors with special non-penetrating stains that will bring out a woodlike grain stamped into the fiberglass skin. Fiberglass doors cost more than steel doors--expect to pay about $300 or more for a base model.

Wood.
Once the most popular door material, wood has been displaced by steel and now accounts for about 30 percent of the market. If you're working with a custom entry that has a unique shape or is unusually large, a door made of solid wood may be the only choice you have--steel and fiberglass doors are rarely custom made. For more standard applications, particleboard doors clad with wood veneers are also available. These doors can be finished with conventional stains and varnishes when you want to show off their natural grains. But beware, wood can be difficult to maintain. If you live in harsh weather conditions and the door is not protected by a storm door or an overhang, you may find yourself applying a new coat of sealer every year.

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http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1041/is_1998_Dec/ai_53257665

Choose your front door carefully to create a good first impression and ensure a secure house.
Shop for a new front door and you'll find your options wide open. In addition to choosing your favorite style or design, however, you'll also need to consider the material from which the door is made. Survey the selection at any home center and you'll find that most doors are made of steel, fiberglass, or wood. Here's what each material has to offer.

Steel.
Insulated steel doors are the most popular and least-expensive option. They account for about 65 percent of the market and cost as little as $150. Steel doors are constructed by wrapping a thin steel skin around a core of insulating material, such as polystyrene foam or honeycomb cardboard.
Doors made of steel are often thought to offer higher security than other doors, and this perception may help ward off burglars. But even though the material is known for strength, steel door skins tend to dent. Bump the door with a piece of furniture on moving day, and you may end up living with a dent until you replace the door.

Fiberglass.
Fiberglass doors are built using sandwich-style construction similar to steel doors. But instead of steel, the skin is a rigid sheet of fiberglass. Unlike steel doors, fiberglass is not susceptible to denting. Another advantage of fiberglass is its wider variety of color options. You can paint fiberglass, but you can also achieve a wood look by staining these doors with special non-penetrating stains that will bring out a woodlike grain stamped into the fiberglass skin. Fiberglass doors cost more than steel doors--expect to pay about $300 or more for a base model.

Wood.
Once the most popular door material, wood has been displaced by steel and now accounts for about 30 percent of the market. If you're working with a custom entry that has a unique shape or is unusually large, a door made of solid wood may be the only choice you have--steel and fiberglass doors are rarely custom made. For more standard applications, particleboard doors clad with wood veneers are also available. These doors can be finished with conventional stains and varnishes when you want to show off their natural grains. But beware, wood can be difficult to maintain. If you live in harsh weather conditions and the door is not protected by a storm door or an overhang, you may find yourself applying a new coat of sealer every year.

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