As a material, wood is incredibly dense, making wooden doors exceptionally solid. This not only helps to prevent any attempts to force them open but means any possible intruders cannot quietly drill or cut through the door.
Steel doors are among the best front doors for security. It's nearly impossible to break through; even if beaten or abused, these doors are more likely to dent than come down. Having covered the advantages of steel doors, the best steel door is the Jeld-Wen's Camber Top Mission Primed Steel Door.
Wooden doors are incredibly strong, and developments in their design and construction over their hundreds of years of manufacture mean they can outlast some of their counterparts. They are one of the few door materials that can be repaired, as wood is malleable and easy to work with.
Wooden doors are the most common type of door, but they're not as strong as steel doors. They can be damaged by pests or weather and aren't as fire-resistant.
A steel door is your best bet if security and durability are top priorities. Steel units are stronger than wood or fiberglass doors, and they won't crack or warp. Any dents or dings on these doors can be pulled and puttied with an auto-body repair kit.
Composite. Composite is the material of choice for high security front doors. Single material doors, like uPVC and timber, might have their benefits but composite doors boast the benefits of several materials (insulating foam, wood, glass reinforced plastic, aluminium).
Regardless of which side of the door your hinges are on, consider replacing the screws that secure the hinges to the doorframe with longer, larger screws than the basic ones that may have been provided with the hinge. If the hinges feel flimsy, it may be worth it to simply replace the whole hinge.
Protect with paint or varnish
It's vital that the doors are primed, undercoated and then top-coated to ensure that they are sealed from the weather. “On a hardwood door, oils or varnishes are a good alternative to paints – although, as with paints, they must be maintained correctly and reapplied when called for.
For a smooth, hard finish that will protect your solid wood door from moisture and daily knocks and bumps, polyurethane is an effective option. Oil-based polyurethane brings out the beautiful wood grain, too.
In general, an interior door in a residential house can hold between 45 to 100 pounds. An exterior door with robust hardware can withstand anywhere from 200 to 400 pounds. Some commercial-grade doors are able to hold even more.
Wood doors provide much more insulation, which will keep rooms cool or hot as needed, especially when the door is framed and hung well. Another energy-efficient tip: Keep doors to rooms rarely used closed so that the air circulates more around high-traffic areas.
How long a wood door lasts depends on the type of wood, but on average most that have been properly maintained can last anywhere from 20 to 50 years or more.
According to her research, an overwhelming majority of burglars enter homes through the doors and windows. Thirty-four percent use the front door, while 22 percent get in through the back door. Twenty-three percent use first-floor windows. And oftentimes, those doors and windows aren't even locked.
SECURITY EXTERIOR DOORS FOR RESIDENTIAL HOME
If the risk of burglary in your area is relatively low, a class 2 door (RC 2) is sufficient. The door frame, regardless of the security class, should be made of steel, extruded aluminum alloy or hardwood reinforced by steel plates, and have at least 3 hinges.
Oak internal doors are made to last but, as the wood used is a natural product, they do fare best when they are protected properly.
First, look for where the lock is mounted. This is typically the weakest part of the door, so your kick should be aimed above or below this area. Other weak points include the frame and the latch.
The best way to reinforce your frame is by adding a layer of steel to prevent them from splitting. This makes your door kick proof. Installation entails placing high-gauge steel over the door jamb and securing it with long screws. The screws should penetrate through to the wall studs on all sides of the doorway.
COMPARING COMPOSITE DOORS TO WOODEN DOORS
As a result, they combine several high-performance components to keep your property safer, more secure and thermally efficient all through the year. Compared to this, authentic wooden doors are unable to offer the same levels of performance.
A prehung door is a door that's sold by the manufacturer “ready-to-go.” These slab doors already come with hinges attached to a three-sided frame and, while they may need some additional features, are generally sold as a complete package.
Energy Efficiency Comparisons
Insulated fiberglass exterior doors are more energy-efficient than wood doors because fiberglass-clad entry doors have high thermal resistance or R-value. A fiberglass door that's 1.5 inches thick without a window has more than five times the insulating value of an equal-sized wood door.