Exterior Doors -- What to Look For

I need to purchase paint grade exterior doors for two separate entrances, both of which will be underneath 8' wide porch roofs. I am leaning toward a rather common design, so I have a wide choice of manufacturers, materials, price points, etc.

Given the wide price differential I have encountered for doors that look very similar on the surface, I suspect that there is more to door durability than meets the eye.

One local source offers "solid" hemlock or fir exterior doors for around $300 (door only, not pre-hung). From there, the same size and style door in composite material or solid wood runs as high as three times that.

Is there one or two "must have" or "must avoid" construction/material features that a reasonably good exterior door should or should not have? For example, if dimensional stability is the one of the most important durability/quality factors, does it take a particular type of construction for a solid wood door to match the stability of a composite door? In particular, what, if anything, would rule out the inexpensive solid wood option referenced above?

 

Welcome to the forums! Not sure where you live so I can't give specific information on your climate, but my daughter lives in Denver and wanted me to install a new door for her during one of my visits. Found out their climate and changes in climate do a job on wood, no matter what you do to protect it. I wound up installing a fiberglas door which was stained like mahogany and looked super. Fiberglas doesn't crack, expand and contract, and closes like a rock. So you may want to price the fiberglas doors while you are at it. Hers ran about $450, and was prehung, so it was simple to install.

 

Wood doors don't work!!! They swell, crack, warp, etc., etc. But there are some really quality wood doors, at some very pricey costs. For those of us that can't afford them, there is steel( dents and rusts), or fiberglass(composite). Composite doors do not rust, dent, or warp, although they have a wood interior. They come in smooth, wood grain, and prefinished. Short doors are sometimes a problem, but avoid non-brand name doors. I prefer Therma-Tru or Masonite(formerly Stanley).

Website Policy: " Derogative and/or negative remarks, comments, opinions, claims and/or statements made in any forum topic, in reference to and/or pertaining to any products, parts and/or services rendered by manufacturers, companies, dealers, agents, sponsors, advertisers, service personal and/or representatives of such, will and/or can be subjected to editing and/or deletion."

 

Thanks for the input. I'm no expert for sure, but I have worked enough with and around solid wood to suspect that it probably takes some careful thought and engineering to manufacture a solid wood exterior door that won't change dimensionally at all over time. Even a high quality (a/k/a very expensive) solid wood door probably needs to be finished (i.e., sealed) extra well, and kept that way over the years.

BTW, the project is in Northern California, several miles from the coast. The doors will be protected by the porch roof, but we do get lots of rain in the winter months. With wind and all, I bet that at least the bottom portion of the doors will see some water every once in a while.

I am in the process of getting a price on a Simpson all wood door, but I wouldn't be surprised if the price pushes or exceeds $1,000. Because I am going to be painting the door, I don't need to pay a premium for wood grain, if that's the reason most folks go the solid wood route.