Your exterior door will need to provide your home with security, keep weather out and assist in giving your home the style you are looking for. The different types of exterior doors on the market today include front entry doors, back doors, French doors, sliding glass doors and patio doors. These doors can by either paneled, flush or have glass inserts.

Types of Doors

Paneled doors have raised inserts that are framed into the door and then fitted into grooves in the door which allows the wood to expand and contract without damaging the door after time.

Flush doors are covered or sheathed with a veneer that will provide a smooth or unbroken exterior cover on the door. This veneer can be made of either inexpensive pine or costly exotic wood.

Glass can be inserted into doors to provide style, such as multi-paned French doors or entry doors with smaller windowpanes. The panes of glass that are inserted into doors are usually referred to as lights and you can identify a door by how many lights it has. Doors that have a large single pane of glass are classified as atrium or patio doors.

Exterior Door Materials

Exterior doors are constructed from wood, steel, fiberglass, aluminum or a combination of these materials. The standard exterior entry door is three feet wide and six feet, eight inches tall.

Wood remains the most popular material used for doors and is usually constructed using oak, fir and pine. Because wood has a tendency to warp when it becomes damp, wood doors are often constructed with vertical rails made from separate pieces of wood and then laminated together lengthwise. This is to ensure that if your door becomes damp, the pieces will warp in opposite directions so you won't get a bowing effect.

Steel is becoming more popular for entry doors because it is a more secure door. Steel doors are usually sheathed with 24-gauge steel which comes either paneled or flushed, and in a variety of colors. If weather is a concern for you, you'll want a steel door that has vinyl coating to make it more weather resistant. The disadvantages to steel are it can dent fairly easily and can bow and chip if exposed to continual sun light.

Fiberglass doors are resistant to warping and bowing so they are an ideal choice for humid parts of the country. Another benefit to this material is that it requires far less maintenance than doors made from other materials. Fiberglass doors can be either flush or paneled and come in a variety of faux wood stains or finishes for a natural wood look.

Aluminum doors are exclusively manufactured and then sold on a local level to be custom fit into unique door openings. This is often a good material choice if you are planning on having some odd shape door installed in your home. They come in finishes similar to fiberglass and can be made to have a natural wood look. The benefits to aluminum doors are they won't rust and generally come with longer warranties than doors made of other materials. The drawback to aluminum is that it's lightweight and can dent easily.