Wood is the traditional choice for exterior doors, and it's easy to see why: it's beautiful and customizable. There are many types of wood to choose from, such as pine, fir, oak, mahogany, and maple, as well as a variety of finishes, from paint colors that match your decor to varnishes that enhance the wood's beauty.
Oak is very dense, creating great strength and hardness and making it a good choice for exterior doors. The wood is very recognizable by its distinct and visible grain. This grain is even more beautiful and pronounced when the wood is quarter sawn.
There are three basic material types for entry doors: wood, fiberglass, and steel. Each have their own benefits. You can get the warmth and beauty of wood. The low maintenance and an efficiency of steel and fiberglass.
Carefully make a cut through the paint and all the way to the substrate, If the substrate is shiny and metallic then it is clearly not a plastic (fiberglass). If the door is made of steel it will be magnetic. Therefore, if a kitchen magnet stays put on the door, you know that the substrate is steel.
Knotty Pine gives that charming rustic pine look at an affordable price. As a softwood, its lightweight simplifies opening doors for small children and people with limited physical ability. Pine resists shrinking and swelling, and is effective at blocking sound, but tends to dent and scratch readily.
Fir is a widely used wood, known for its straight grain pattern and workability. This material is not only very strong, but also fairly inexpensive and easy to work with. As a result, fir is an ideal material for many types of construction projects, including exterior doors.
So the major difference is the outer skin of the door. A steel door has a layer of steel which makes up the exterior of the door. A fiberglass door has an outer skin made of fiberglass.
You can create your own custom wood front door.
Wood entry doors are easier to customize. Door panels, molding and any other special features can easily be crafted into wood to make your front door your own. You can also emphasize your wood's natural grain with stain or make a statement with color.
The price range for a quality, pre-finished installed fiberglass door can range between $1,200 and $2,500. So they're less expensive than wood doors, but a bit more expensive compared with most steel doors.
Steel exterior doors are an excellent option for any home that just needs a simple, durable exterior door. A popular favorite for garage and side doors, steel doors do offer a variety of advantages for any homeowner.
Among the many types of wood, the following can be used for doors and windows: Hard woods such as oak, ash, poplar or walnut which are darker and have a grainier finish. Soft woods such as pine, fir or cypress, more economical with a less veined finish .
Finally, try knocking on the door's surface. If the door is solid wood, you'll hear a crisp knocking sound. Fiberglass doors are generally filled with foam and thus produce a dampened sound, more like a dull thud.
Both interior and exterior doors are made from a variety of materials, the most common being wood that sometimes is in combination with glass. All-wood doors are made from either affordable softwoods or, at the higher-end, more durable and elegant hardwoods.
Although wooden doors are durable, they're susceptible to damage from prolonged exposure to sun, rain, snow, humidity, and other elements. Fiberglass resists the effects of harsh weather and lasts longer, without the rotting, splitting, peeling, or delaminating that occurs in wood.
If you have a drab fiberglass door in your living room, give it a quick, inexpensive facelift. Clean the door to remove grease and dirt. Apply a base coat using either paint or stain. Then use a quality gel stain and a wood-graining tool to create faux wood grain in the door.
Fiberglass doors can be produced to look alike wood, and even a door expert cannot differentiate between them. Built tougher than regular doors, performing better under sudden climate changes and being able to be customized for your specific needs.
Fiberglass doors are typically more expensive than steel but less expensive than high-end wood doors. But since fiberglass lasts longer and is easier to maintain than wood and steel, many homeowners prefer it. Fiberglass gives homeowners around 75% return on investment.
Douglas fir is a very popular choice of wood for all kinds of doors, especially exterior doors. It naturally resists most kinds of weathering without the application of a lot of paint or product. It tends to hold out for long periods of time, making it a great choice for any door.
Teak wood:
The most common variety of wood is teak wood which is used for preparing Indian doors and window frames. There is lot of versatility when it comes to teak wood and also it can also be used in multiple ways. The reason why it is common is due to its durability and also the ease in maintaining it.
A light staining will even up the colour a bit and even more so the darker you go. However, Douglas Fir is a funny wood in that it darkens naturally upon exposure to light so much in the first 6 months to a year that it is hard to say which panels will be darker or lighter after that time.
It is naturally durable
Yellow cedar is tough, solid and durable. Its natural oily extractives make it highly termite, decay and rot resistant. It is therefore ideal for windows and external doors that are constantly exposed to moisture and extreme weather conditions.
Mahogany is one of the most reliable materials for exterior doors and also works well for interior doors. In addition to its sturdiness, there are many more advantages to purchasing a mahogany entry door for your home. Mahogany often has a unique grain and varies in color, from pale pink to reddish-brown.