Knock knock! Somebody is at the front door.
While you take a few minutes to reach the Front Door door, your guests are analyzing your door. Even if people don’t consciously realize it but everybody inspects the front door while waiting for a response.
Your residence front door is an important part of your house. Other than being the main source of entrance in the house, it also creates the first statement about the house interiors, and more importantly, the door is also your first defense of safety against a break-in. Yes! Thieves prefer breaking in through a door rather than the window.
Considering the above-mentioned information several tops of the field security personals and exterior designers recommend selecting the front door after weighing all your options.
Giving a full thought to the selection of your front door will secure your house entrance, make a great aesthetic statement as well as save you money in the long term. The doors are usually divided into two main categories of single doors and sidelight doors and further divided by the material. The front door variety is in hundreds and more but there are divided into four main categories:
Wooden Doors:
The main reason for wooden doors’ popularity even in the 21st century is that they can be customized to any preferences. With wood, you can manipulate size, shape, and style any way you want. You can customize your wood doors with transoms, glass accents, crafted design, and even light. But present certain cons as well. Wood is a natural element and it can be distorted easily due to continuous exposure to external elements such as heat, moisture, sunlight, and other weather extremes. The front door distorted condition results in air leaking.
Fiberglass Doors:
Fiberglass front doors are often used as an alternative or duplicate of natural wood doors. In a way, you can say the fiberglass is synthetic wood. It gives you the look of a traditional wooden front door but is more durable and safe from the effects of external factors.
Moreover, you can customize the fiberglass into different colors, hues, and stained patterns. Some more benefits this synthetic wood door provides are that it can stand against small nicks and dents and you can install an insulated core as well for external elements increasing the durability. Fiberglass front doors also reduce heat transfer and are energy efficient.
Steel Doors:
House break-in leaves after-effects on the mental health of family members. If you want guaranteed protection from intrusion then steel doors are your best bet. Steel (or metal) doors are the safest because they an insulated foam and a steel panel on both sides making it strong. Steel doors like fiberglass are not exactly flexible when it comes to customization. You can only choose from a few designs and color paints.
Solid Glass:
Solid Glass comes with a lot of prominent pros. It’s an ideal door if you want an outdoor view from the indoor and want natural light into the house.
With solid glass doors on a gorgeous day, your house will appear as if the sun-kissed. If you don’t want outsiders peeking in, you can opt for beautiful translucent glass in different geometrical shapes. Solid glass doors are always made with a combination of other materials such as fiberglass, aluminum, wood, etc.
HOW MUCH DOES A DOOR COST?
Comparison between the Door Types:
- Wood front door can give your house an exotic look however, you will need to change it more frequently than fiberglass and steel. Considering its durability, wood doors are the second most expensive material you can buy in the market. It can cost around $200- $3000 with installation charges.
- Although fiberglass comes with incredible durability and performance with minimum maintenance, fiberglass doors are as costly as premium products. Moreover, unlike natural wood, fiberglass is not as flexible in trimming and becomes a hurdle to achieve a size bigger than the standard size. Fiberglass doors are custom made and delivered as a full unit with a frame which means you can’t ditch the additional cost of professional help at all. A basic fiberglass front door without installation costs around $150-$2,000.
- Steel doors are strong when standing against an intruder but these are also very weak when standing against environmental factors. Depending on the quality a steel door can get a dent or rust easily. The doors are hard to repair or fix. Eventually, the steel doors to maintain safety require change. A basic steel gate costs around $150-$1,400 and a wrought iron gate costs around $1500 – $7000.
- Translucent glass doors are the prettiest but the biggest con of solid glass is that with the natural light, it also lets the cool air from the cracks along with heat. Solid glass doors also stand on an unsafe side due to their tendency to break easily with enough force.
Different Door Types and the Cost:
The cost of the exterior of the front door depends entirely on the material, size, and style of the door. The average cost of the front door material and installation is about $1,039 minimum. You can buy cheap material but the look of the door can impact the overall price and style. For example, any material with sidelights costs an average of an additional $700, while the cost of Front Door Replacement depends on the professional you are hiring.
- Basic fiberglass entry door: $150 – $400
- Decorative fiberglass entry door: $400-$3,000
- Basic steel front Door: $150-$300
- Fire rated Steel Front Door: $200-$500
- Decorative Steel Front Door: $200-$2,500
- Solid wooden front floor: $200-$500
- Decorative front door: $500-$5,000
- Folding Glass Door: $4,000- 2,000
- Glass Multi Slides: $6000 – $16000
- Patio Glass Doors: $300 -4,000
- French glass door: $400 to $4,800
- Sliding Glass: $400 to $4,500