Your home’s front door most certainly impacts your visitor’s first impression. It tells alot about the family leaving inside but most importantly, it complements the creativity, beauty and style of your home’s curb appeal. Whether you choose to install a traditional or a modern front door, a new entry door should offer more practical purpose in keeping off intruders as it is aesthetically pleasing.
Considerations When Looking to Buy a New Front Door
Functionality and Security
The primary function of an entry door is to allow you access the house with ease while maintaining your privacy and the safety of the assets inside when closed. For maximum safety, your exterior doors should feature high-quality solid materials to ensure they cannot be easily breached.
Hollow constructed wood doors are easy to break and you can test this by trying inserting a pin into your wooden front door. If the pin goes right in without any struggle, its likely built from low-quality materials. High-quality front doors must also feature strong and secure door locks. There is no need of investing in a quality exterior door but has a vulnerable door lock.
A good front door should also keep pesky pests and insects at bay by sealing off any cracks. Modern front doors are built with a provision for installing security camera in place of the traditional spy hole. This allows you to see who’s at the door at the comfort of your coach instead of having to walk up to the door. Combining the security features of a camera, strong door frames, multi-locks and a front porch light can ensure you have a burglar proof entry door.
Type of Front Door Materials
When it comes to exterior doors, there are four main categories-glass, steel, fiberglass and wood. However, recent designs use combinations of materials to create a stylish and secure front door. For instance, a steel or fiberglass door can have wood frames.
- Wooden doors are a popular choice for exterior doors. They come in different designs such as wood veneer and solid wood doors for more options. Solid wood entry doors are relatively costly than split construction wooden doors because of their refined touch. The more thicker the wood door the best, so choose a high-end panel when buying a solid wood door.
- A steel door is an excellent option when it comes to finding the most secured type of entry door. Also, steel doors lasts longer than other options including fiberglass and wood doors. You can choose to have a front door with wood core and steel frames for added strength.
- Fiberglass Entry Doors offers you both the look of a wooden door and the durability of a steel door. Best of all, fiberglass doors can be stained or painted in a range of colors to mirror the same elegant look of traditional wood. In addition to withstanding small dents, fiberglass entry doors resist humidity, making them ideal for to be used in humid areas. They feature an insulated core protecting against extreme temperatures and are more weather resistant than other options.
Accessibility
While you might move in and out of your house without a problem, not everything will easily come through the entry door, especially large furniture and appliances. How much space do you need for an entry door? Well you just need enough space that allows you to easily and safely move furniture in and out of the house.
Style and Impression
The type of material used for your entry door impacts its functionality but the style goes a long way to influence your taste. Popular entry door styles include decorative glass which not only look beautiful but allows more natural light into the house. However, glass are easily broken and some homeowners feel this could compromise their security. In place of a decorative glass, why not use carvings on wood doors. But the more detailed carvings an entry door has the higher you can expect to pay.
The good thing about entry doors is that they can be designed to meet diiferent styles and needs. For fiberglass and steel doors, there are unimited hues and staining options to complete any look you want.
