Exterior Doors: What You Need To Know
Understanding the design of the exterior doors is important in maintaining the appearance of the entire door. When your door starts to absorb moisture, has weak hinges, and makes noise during opening or closing means that the door needs replacement. In order to replace the door, you will need to first understand door anatomy. The anatomy of the door begins from the material of the door, the door design, the lock system and the knob.
The color of the door you want, the design, and the ability to withstand all weather conditions are some of the factors to consider. Before installing the front door, some of the things you will need to know about front entry doors are as follows;
1. Type Of Material
The kind of material that makes up the door is an important thing to consider. Doors can either be made from wood, steel, or fiberglass. Wooden exterior doors are more affordable compared to steel and fiberglass windows. However wooden doors rot when they come into contact with water and can also be damaged by parasites. Steel and fiber doors could be expensive to install at first but they are cheap to maintain. This is because they do not rot due to moisture and neither do they chip off easily.
2. Glass Options
Glass can fitted into the top part of the exterior doors to allow natural light into the house. Glass is fitted on metal grills that join the pieces together and is fixed on the door to add a decorative feature to it. The glass can be made to either be decorative, clear or to provide privacy to your home. The glass can be made into various shapes like oval or rectangular, colors and designs according to your preferences.
3. Lock Options
Having a variety of locking mechanisms for your door is another door anatomy you should know when you are installing the front door. There is the traditional lock that is molded into the door through a hole but the best lock option is the multi-locking system. It ensures the complete security of the house as it has three locking positions. Locks come in many varieties beginning from handles, knobs, and electric door locks.
4. Accessory Options
Accessories are added to the door to give it a decorative purpose as well as make your home classy. Accessories that can be fitted on the door for a complete finishing could be strap hinges and nails made into a pyramid shape.
5. Hinge Options
Hinges are the accessories used to fix the door to the frame that holds the door. They are the ones that facilitate the opening and closing of the door. They can be made such that they are curved or straight and can have ball bearings or not. Hinges with ball bearings are however last longer than hinges without ball bearings as they are smoother.
6. Sills
The sill is the one that connects the frame on both sides and it is where the door stands. They can either be fixed or movable. They can either be aluminum or hardwood timber so that they cannot rot or be damaged by insects easily.
When the best door is fitted into your house it helps to have efficiency especially in saving on energy. There are several types of entry doors depending on the design in which they open for example sliding, swinging, or even folding doors. Other types of exterior doors include the exterior front door, patio door or a storm door.
Choosing a color that matches the interior design of the house or an attractive color that is inviting to people is the first step of deciding the kind of door that you need. Door designs including the doorknobs and locking systems that are impressive to your visitors are the next step to choosing a good door for your house. Selecting a door that fits your preferences be it decorative, privacy, or security is the final step to do when choosing a good front door.
Remember that for some material such as vinyl, once you have chosen a door color you cannot repaint. Therefore, you should go for the best one.
