Let’s say you’re driving back from the office after a long day. All you want to hear are two words: Welcome home. Hopefully that’s the feeling you get when you pull into your driveway and get out of your car to walk through the front door.
A front door makes a strong impression on everyone, most importantly you and your family. Such a seemingly minor adjustment can make a world of difference, in both aesthetic and function. A front door ties the whole of your house’s exterior together. It serves as the primary gateway between your family and the world. It’s got to look good and work better.
A front door is important, and it’s important to know what to look for when shopping for one. Exterior front doors can be made of three different materials: fiberglass, wood, or steel. Your priorities determine which material is right for your home. Ask about security and energy-efficiency and take the time to consider what impression you want to make in terms of appearance.
Security
The front door is the primary access point for your home. Keeping your home and family safe is a priority, and the primary materials for door materials rank as follows:
Steel
It may not be surprising that steel is the highlighted material for security. Solid and enduring, they are harder to break as they are thicker than their counterparts. If you’re interested in a high security door, steel is the clear winner.
Fiberglass
Less dense than steel, it’s still more secure than wood. Not as prone to rot or rust, it’s a fairly decent combination of both worlds. It also withstands scrapes and nicks relatively well, so that can lend to an advantage in appearance as well.
Wood
Wood is undeniably solid. It can rot, though, which could lend to future security issues.
The above assumes, though, that the door is a solid slab of that material. Adding glass accents, for instance, can change things.
Energy Efficiency
For all three materials, check energy star ratings to get a final say on its overall efficiency. A lot of doors tend to be a mix of materials to keep heating and cooling costs for your home low.
Fiberglass
The most energy efficient of the bunch, it’s also easy to paint and spruce up through its lifetime. Fiberglass doors come in an incredibly wide array of styles, explaining why this is the most common door material we see throughout our neighborhoods.
Wood
Wood is beautiful, but it is not exceptionally energy-efficient. Sticking with wood accents can offer a compromise to those drawn to its homely appearance.
Steel
Usually just as energy efficient as fiberglass, it comes with a caveat: in warmer months, the door itself will absorb that heat and sometimes become too hot to handle. Of course, there are methods of combating this: adding a door handle cover or ensuring that your front porch has plenty of shade are two options.
Appearance
Modernize’s break down of 2021 trends boils down to one word: comfortable. Most exteriors can get a quick facelift by simply changing paint colors. Adding glass accents further brightens your home and doorway. Combining fiberglass and steel can offer the best aspects of energy-efficiency and security that both materials have to offer. And for a classic look, solid wood is a failsafe and never seems to go out of style.
To sum it all up…
Your front door is more than just a decorative facade. It pulls your whole home’s aesthetic together and has an incredibly important function: keeping you and your family safe and comfortable. Picking the right material means everything.
Recent Comments