Your front door is not only the main entrance to your home: It should show your home’s personality, whether formal, simple, or colorful. Small details often add a big difference in the way the front entrance to a home is perceived. The front door can be the focal point of your home if you choose the right size, style and applied finishes.
Entry doors must be tough enough to withstand wind, rain, the scorching sun, and would-be intruders, yet attractive enough to make a good first impression. Older doors are made of wood or wood veneer, both of which warp, crack, and delaminate after years of exposure to the elements. Also metal doors don’t last forever, since the surface on some older steel doors can peel. There are new wood doors that resist the elements better than earlier versions, as well as metal and fiberglass doors that look like wood, but provide greater security and often cost less.
Here are a few tips in choosing your next front door, since all doors are the same.
1) Choose the correct architectural details: Match the architectural details of your home with the door. If your home has a Craftsman, Victorian, or contemporary style choose the door that is made of the same architectural style. Choosing the door with correct architectural details can make your house look more put together.
2) Choose the right finish: This depends on your preference of choosing a painted door or a wood stained door. Painted doors do not show the wood grain as much as stained doors. Just make sure to refinish it every few years to maintain its beautiful look.
3) Choose the right material: Some doors are made of solid wood, steel, glass and come pre-painted. If you would like to choose strength, choose the one that is made of steel. Solid woods are also durable and timeless. Glass doors can be made with double layered glass to add strength, just make sure to consider privacy when you are deciding on this type of door.
4) Choose custom made or pre-made: The pre-hung or pre-made are readily available in most home improvement stores as long as you have the standard size measurement. The custom made ones take longer to make. One advantage of custom made, is that they can be built to the design that you specify.
5) Choose single or double doors: Depending on the size of the entrance you can either choose a single or double door. Double doors can be very attractive, and add more light and space especially when you are moving big things in and out.
6) Check out and compare prices: Custom made are more expensive than the pre-made doors. Also prices vary by materials and finish chosen.
7) Ease of installation: Some doors come pre-hung and are easier to install than those that are not.