Your front door is the literalentrance to your home, but it's more than that. You put a lot oftrust into it. It's people's first impression of your home, it candirectly impact the curb appeal and resale value, it keeps yourfamily secure, and its durability can keep the elements out, too.

Whenshopping for a new front door, there are lots of important decisionsto make. Your door needs to be more than just a beautiful designfeature and choosing the best material for your front door and whattype of front door you want will impact your budget, security,and energysavings.

Choosing Front Door Materials

Thereare three mainmaterials front doors aremade of, and each has its own benefits.

1. Wood Front Doors

Whenmost people visualize what they want their door to look like, they'remost likely imagining a wood door. For hundreds of years, wood wasthe only option for material available for front doors. Wood is anincredibly versatile material. You can paint it, trim it, and craftit into any style you'd like, even oversizedfront doors.

Woodis also heavy material and tends to last really long, so the chancesof needing to replace it are low. However, the general maintenanceand upkeep of wood are high. One downfall to using wood for your nextfront door is that it's sensitive to its environment. It can expandin heat, contract when it's cold, and can warp and rot if it'sexposed to too much moisture and humidity.

2. Steel Front Doors

Steelwas first introduced as a material for doors over a hundred years agoand became popular for front doors not long thereafter. Steel doorsare really durable, which makes them an exceptional choice whenliving in an area with intense heat, humidity, and rainfall. Theyaren't sensitive to their environment and will never expand orcontract either.

Onedownfall is that they're prone to rust, so they need to beregularly maintained. Steel front doors don't have the range ofdesign options that wood front doors have, but they are morebudget-friendly and insulate your home better, meaning your initialinvestment will be smaller and your long-term investment will belesser because you'll be saving money on your energy bill. Steel isalso ranked highest for security. As such, when comparing steel vs.wood doors, steel is the better choice.

3. Fiberglass Front Doors

Fiberglassis the newest material used for front doors. It was first introducedin the 1980s and is quickly becoming the most popular front doormaterial. Fiberglass front doors won't rust, warp, or rot andthey're not sensitive to their environment either, so they requirevery little maintenance. They're also durable and dent-resistant,lightweight, and a great insulator.

Similarly,to steel front doors, fiberglass front doors cost less and save youmore in energy costs, too. While fiberglass doesn't have as manystyle options as wood, there are still numerous style and coloroptions available which helps with its versatility factor. Whencomparing fiberglassvs. wood doors andsteel doors, fiberglass is the best bet. Its durability, longevity,versatility, low level of maintenance, high level of security, andenergy efficiency set it above the rest.

Types of Front Doors

Thetype of front door you have says a lot about the personality of yourhome and should match your home's overall style. Here's a primer onwhich doors fit best with which styles.

  • Modern. Modern front doors are very minimalist and usually have sleek lines and little to no decorative features. A few modern front door ideas include using dark and bold colors, adding an oversized frosted pane of glass, using sleek hardware, and innovative track and hinge systems.

  • Rustic. Rustic front doors go well with homes made of wood and brick and typically have raised panels and inlet glass in them. This style of door would often be made of wood or fiberglass and use dark earthy tones, large glass panels, and oversized hardware.

  • Craftsman. Craftsman doors usually only have glass on the upper third of the door and have flat wood panels and thick pieces of trim. They're typically more simplistic, but might be spiced up with large panes of stained glass or intricate designs.

Choosingyour next front door is an important decision. Schedulean appointmenttoday and let us help find the right front door for you.