Every house needs its walls, its windows, its floor and roof, and to get in they all need a door. Exterior doors are the center point of focus for those passing by. It’s the place they intend to go if they want to visit, the opening of your life at home to the rest of the world. So you’ll want a good one. And a secure one. Doors aren’t just there to invite people in, they also exist to help keep unwanted things out. If you’re looking for a new door, and a new view for the world to see your home, you should know what kind of doors are available and which ones to get that will match the rest of your house.

The Most Common Door Materials

Steel

One of the big three construction materials and the only one suitable for making a door, the other two being Concrete and Glass. Steel is a standard material for many parts of the home. It’s inexpensive and plentiful, stronger than other materials, and weather resistant. The paint may be scratched but all maintenance is low, and energy-efficient designs make them great at insulating your home’s most vulnerable opening.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass doors are rising in popularity because they are easy to install, maintain and have textures that mimic wood grain almost as good as the real material. They’re ideal for extreme climates where steel might absorb too much external temperature because fiberglass absorbs nearly nothing, making it very efficient and weather resistant, and it’s almost as durable as steel.

Wood

A classic with an aesthetic that transcends all others. Seeing a wood door invites a feeling of rustic comfort even in a mega mansion. The wood used for doors is the hard and resilient kind, usually with treatment to keep it healthy and safe against the elements for a long time. You can’t dent wood like steel, and if it’s made well it won’t be broken easily either. Wood doors cover every budget and style.

Less Common Door Materials

Aluminum

Not commonly used for an entrance, aluminum doors are normally used for different outside areas like patios. The main reason is they’re heavy, even heavier, and sturdier than steel, as well as being rustproof and never needing a second coat of paint. They’re expensive, though, to match the material.

Vinyl

Vinyl is a composite plastic material used in a lot of construction-grade materials like piping. When fitted into a door, it can be a very cheap and energy-efficient solution. They don’t degrade from weather or atrophy from age, and saving from a full breakage they require little maintenance that can’t be fixed with some plastic glue - or just replacing them outright with a similar, cheap model.

Wrought Iron

Commonly fitted to castles and medieval manors, wrought iron is an interesting choice for a house door. It’s usually seen on gates or in outdoor environments, but if you are concerned for the longevity and damage resistance of your home’s entrance this is the door that never invites those worries in. People will certainly turn to see just how well this gatehouse fixture compliments your personal castle.

Exterior Door Types

There are additional options to consider that play to different tastes. The image of a door has become very standardized as a single standing slab on a hinge that you push or pull to one side to open. But there exist other styles of doors that better complement certain materials or home arrangements.

French Patio Doors

Also often known as “Double Doors”, this setup has two doors with inward-facing handles that open away from one another to give an extra wide berth to anyone traveling in. They are most often used as an entrance to a backyard or patio, and are normally paneled entirely with glass to see through them from top to bottom. Because they have so much glass as a component, they are usually made with lighter material to compensate such as vinyl or wood or can be reinforced with aluminum frames.

Sliding Glass Patio Doors

Sometimes it’s too much to push or pull a door open. Hinges need repairing and can squeak, they might be too heavy to properly navigate with ease. There has been an alternative to hinged doors for thousands of years, still in use today. Sliding doors run along a track and offer the same locking mechanisms and security as a standard door, but with a different range of motions to open them. These are basically person-sized windows that you can walk through when made entirely from glass and sturdy materials like aluminum or steel.

Storm Doors

If you want to give your door the protection it deserves and preserve it through heavy weather events, you should install a door to keep those elements out. Yes, a door to get to your door. Storm doors are usually all glass with a varied frame of material to keep the pane or panes intact. They have their own locks and their own hinges to function as a door on their own. They can be made of glass or of a mesh screen which can keep out things like insects while letting a breeze of air through with the inner door open. These doors can be made of heavy steel, durable aluminum or a composite material that’s great for maintaining energy efficiency even against stormy weather.

Hire a Quality Door Contractor

You may already know what kind of door would look perfect for your home. Finding it is the job for a keen eye and a sense of style. Installing it is better left to the professionals. They can guarantee the frame is fitted properly, matches the walls, is central to the rest of the house and that the door - the most important part of the home’s exterior - can open and close as all doors must.