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Selecting the Right Type of Door for Your Home

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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”.

     



    Solid Wood Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Steel Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Fiberglass Door

     

  • 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.

     




    Folding Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Bifold Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Sliding Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Swinging Door

     

  • 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.

     



    French Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Storm Door

     

  • 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.

     



    Garage Door

     

  • 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.

     

    Courtesy of NRHA.org

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