Installing an exterior door can help make your home safer, as well as look a lot better. If you want to give your house a facelift, one great place to begin is with the front door. There are several types available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here's some information to help you choose.
Prehung units are doors that come preassembled and ready to install. These doors are great if you need to fit a standard size opening and don't want to deal with a lot of work. On the other hand, a slab door – one that you hang yourself – might be the best choice if you live in an old house with unusually sized doorways.
Materials are another place to make choices. Wood, steel, and fiberglass are the most common options. Wood is a popular material because of its look and feel, as well as the traditional air it gives a home. These doors are quite elegant. However, they're also quite expensive, and wood is subject to shrinking and swelling as weather conditions changes. Most wooden exterior doors have only a ten year warranty.
Steel doors are currently the most popular. Their insulating foam core makes them quite energy efficient, and they don't suffer from the tendency to change size and shape, warp, and split that wooden doors have. They often have a warranty for twenty five years, and come in many different styles. However, a metal door will always lack the warmth that wood can offer.
Fiberglass can offer some of the same options as both steel and woods, as new porous materials are not being used. They can take wood stain, and look something like a real wood door. However, they're more regular than wood, don't shrink or warp, and last a long time. Most have lifetime warranties, but they also cost more than steel and more than many wooden doors.
Installing your door yourself is a good way to avoid spending five hundred dollars or more on a professional installation. Be sure that you know what you're doing, however. While exterior door installation isn't hard, it does require some skills. Helpers can make the job go a lot faster, since exterior doors are heavy and a bit bulky. Be sure to remember to caulk all joints and trim intersection with paintable caulk. That way, your door won't develop drafts that cause it to be energy inefficient. Install weatherstripping if needed. If you keep the right tools on hand, and follow the manufacturer's instructions, you should be able to install your new exterior door in no time.
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