Selecting the Right Type of Door for Your Home
Hollow-Core Wood Door
Has wooden or cardboard ribs inside for stability.
Primarily used as interior doors, as they will warp or disintegrate from weather.
Size is usually 1-3/8” to 1-3/4” thick, and usually 30”, 32" or 36” wide.
Common height is 80”.
Made of a tempered hardboard, wood or particleboard with or without a veneer, and from several kinds of solid wood.
Ash, birch, mahogany, hemlock and pine are commonly used for solid doors.
Comes in standard widths for front and rear entrances. Narrower widths are sometimes used between house and garage and/or breezeway.
More fire resistant than hollow-core doors. Particleboard is more fire-resistant than natural wood and it resists warping because of its higher density.
Available pre-hung, which means the door is hinged in a framework that includes the header and side jambs of the door and the casing trim. The door may also be predrilled for the lockset.
Typically galvanized steel facing with polystyrene, polyurethane, wood or particleboard cores.
Offers more insulation, durability, fire-resistance and security than wood doors.
The steel exterior provides structural strength and eliminates cracking and warping.
Usually used as exterior doors.
Easy to maintain and requires less time to refinish.
Will not rot, crack or split.
Comes in a variety of styles including sidelights, transoms and glass.
One style is woven, which is used when ventilation is necessary and usually consists of natural wood or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Another style is laminated, the more durable of the two, which is usually PVC-laminated to steel.
The most common size is 32” x 80”.
Two units or an expansion set can be combined to fit larger openings.
A door that comes in two sections.
Each section is hinged to its side of the doorway with a single fold down the center of each. When closed, they meet in the middle of the doorway.
Usually designed for an extra-wide doorway between rooms and on closets.
Constructed of metal, wood or composite wood. It can also feature decorative glass or mirrored glass for decorative effect.
Louvered bifold doors are an assembly of slats—or sometimes a combination of panels and slats—that slope downward to permit ventilation while preserving privacy.
Made with safety or insulated glass and comes with a screen for hot-weather use.
Low-E glass offers protection from ultraviolet rays and is more energy efficient than regular glass.
Frames may be wood, aluminum, fiberglass or PVC vinyl in a variety of finishes.
Aluminum patio doors are generally the least expensive as they are the least durable and energy efficient.
May be two-, three- or four-panels wide. A two-panel door has one active (sliding) panel and one inactive (stationary) panel. A three-panel door has one active and two inactive panels. A four-panel door typically has two active panels in the middle and two inactive panels on the outside.
Also known as a café door.
Hinged to attach to each side of the doorway and swing freely without a latch.
Features two or three panels and is available in wood, PVC vinyl or insulated steel or fiberglass.
Tends to be more secure and energy efficient than a sliding door and can be easily installed by the homeowner.
Also known as a garden door.
Is hinged at the outside of the unit and contains at least two active panels that swing in or out from the center.
Made of wood, fiberglass or steel.
Comes in a wide range of glass styles.
Uses a three-point locking system for improved security.
Provides extra security to the exterior door and protects against weather and stops drafts through door openings.
Made of solid wood or has a wood or foam hollow core inside an exterior skin of metal, aluminum or vinyl.
Glass should be tempered to safety glass, while fiberglass screens offer durability and do not rust.
Available in a variety of colors.
Self-storing models store the windows and the screen at the same time, with many models allowing ventilation at the top or bottom.
Interchangeable models have the glass and screen removable to allow ventilation through the entire opening.
Common styles are full view, full lite, crossbuck, traditional and security.
Hinged panels allow overhead garage doors to roll up and down with ball-bearing rollers and a rope pulley on a steel track.
Some panels have a polystyrene and/or air space between panels to insulate and deaden sound.
Some doors feature steel frame construction and a wood-grain raised-panel design, while others combine hardboard panels with a wood frame.
Comes with extension springs to help the door lift and balance, as well as safety containment cables to guard against injury.
Vinyl or aluminum bottom weatherseal counteracts uneven garage floors and protects against weather intrusion.
Solid Wood Door
Steel Door
Fiberglass Door
Folding Door
Bifold Door
Sliding Door
Swinging Door
French Door
Storm Door
Garage Door
get diy tips by email