What Kind Of Front Door Is Best For You?

When you choose a front door style, you're choosing both a major representation of your home decor skills as well as a major part of securing a home. The front door needs to have visual appeal as well as strength and durability, but how can you prove all of those points while looking through a showroom or on a website? Here are a few door selection points to help you decide on the best door to introduce your home to the world--or just to protect your inner world from the outside.

Wooden Door Options

For a strong, resilient material that adds a look of refined taste, wood is often the go-to door material. It may not be as resistant to damage or forced entry as steel or other metal door types, but many woods are more than strong enough to keep the home protected while adding prominent class.

That said, if you don't plan on maintaining the door, don't make the investment in the first place. Wooden doors need to be repainted--or at least refinished--every year or so to prevent damage from the elements. Paint and finishing wears away over time, and an exposed door can crack, split, or in rare cases rot if not retreated with a fresh coat every few years.

Solid wood doors have sustainability concerns, since it's hard to know if wood is being produced from an over-harvested or otherwise controversial forest area. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) provides examination and labels for lumber obtained under their standards, which can give you better peace of mind.

Steel Doors For Security

One of the more affordable, yet amazingly strong door types is the steel door. It's strong, hard, and can be integrated into other security features such as wall bolting and reinforced bars that enter the door frame.

Unfortunately, they're hard to make into a pretty, refined, or luxurious style. Metals can be painted or decorated, but the material itself is sheer without a lot of added design. If you're in a coastal area, you also need to worry about salt water from rain or even humid days turning your door into a rust-tainted surface. Denting is also an issue, as although the material is quite strong, it's also easily molded compared to wood and doesn't expand to its original form like some materials.

Contact a home decoration and improvement professional to discuss other doors, as well as security options for homes looking to preserve visual appeal.


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