New Exterior Door -Wood vs Steel & Fiberglass

We're building an addition onto our existing home and trying to decide what type of front entrance door to install.

We wanted to buy a pre-hung solid wood -Mahogany- Door with an oval window in the center. Very few wood doors are sold today (at least that's what we've been told) and it concerns us a little.

Do the benefits of a steel or fiberglass door outweight the looks of a wood door? Mahogany in particular.

The cost of a fiberglass door is actually more expensive than the door we're looking at. We know we'll have maintenance on the wood( staining and sealing )that we wouldn't have as often on the steel door or fiberglass.

What about warping? The door will be under a 5ft porch with a roof and doesn't face the weather side of the house.

We're trying to choose a door we'll like the looks of for many years, but not create an extreme amount of hassle down the road.

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks,
Donna

 

In your case, I'd had no hesitation going with the wood. The only time I see problems with wood doors is when they are on a weather facing side and have NO overhanging protection for them....and even then, with regular attention to maintenance and a good exterior varnish, you can still use them.

The door you're looking at likely isn't "solid" wood anyway.....it problably is all mahogany, but made of multiple pcs that are assembled with an exterior waterproof glue ( like a plywood) to help resist the tendency of "solid" wood to split and warp.

Install your door, stain and varnish it carefully and enjoy it for a lifetime

 

Well, I have the same question - need to replace both my front and back doors. Looks are important on the front - meaning I'm willing to put out a few dollars. The front door will have only the tiniest overhang, along with a storm door. The back door has no overhang, and does have a storm door. Insulating factor and a good solid feel are important. So steel or fiberglass? I want a door with a small row of lites near the top for the front door. For the back door, I was wondering about the windows that have the blinds set between the panes - I need the privacy sometimes, but the light is great in the back hallway. Any thoughts on the windows with internal blinds?

 

TN Andy,

Thanks for the input. I feel much better about choosing the wood door. (I think, I'm a women and still have time to change my mind).

Any advice on the sealer/polyurethane?

What did we do before this website? So much information and good advice at your fingertips.

Thanks again,
Donna in PA

 

Thanks for the advice - I've decided to go with the wood door. I've been talking to a contractor who also says to go with the wood. With a good exterior varnish and a storm door, he says that the maintenance will not be a big deal. The appearance of wood is such an improvement over fiberglas - you can tell the difference. And because the wood doors are usually more of a plywood combination, they don't warp the way the older solid woods did. If more steel and fiberglas doors are sold today - I think it's because people want NO maintenance - and also because Home Depot sells steel and fiberglas doors. But I'm going with wood, stained and polyurethaned.

 

Ms Annie,
You may be right, a lot of people don't want to deal w/ much maintance on the door. However, don't forget about price. I would love to have all real wood doors in my home, but if I can get a steel door for a few hundred less and it still looks nice, guess what I'm getting!