Deciding on an entry door for your home can be one of the most important choices you have to make for your home. Although some people might think of doors as simply functional components of a home, they are much more than that. Doors are an integral part of any home’s exterior. The first thing people notice as they enter your home, doors greatly contribute to a first impression and the overall feeling of a space.
With so many different materials and styles to choose from, it can be hard to know you’re choosing the right one. You will need to consider the type of door, the materials, what you need it to do, whether it is safe and secure, and that it will perform well. The ideal door for your home, then, will be a perfect marriage of functionality and aesthetics, carefully tailored to your unique needs. If you’ve gone to all the trouble of designing and decorating your perfect home, why settle for a less than perfect door.
Choosing The Right Material For Your Entry Door
The materials you choose for your front door will greatly determine how safe, secure, weather-resistant, and durable your door will be. Choosing the material is a crucial step when considering purchasing a door for your home. Doors make a dramatic difference to the appearance of your home and, more importantly, how you feel about the way it looks. We’ll first look at some of the different materials you can choose for your door and figure out which might be the perfect fit for your home.
Wood Doors
There is a reason the popularity of wooden doors has remained undimmed for thousands of years. They are the most traditional and timeless choice and their beauty is often unsurpassed. Apart from being aesthetically pleasing, advances in technology now mean that wooden doors are now as efficient and durable as more contemporary materials such as aluminum, composites, and other materials.
Ornate accents are often added to wooden entry doors in order to complement or add a flourish to the facade. Although there is a level of upkeep in wooden entry doors, finished and treated properly, they can last a lifetime. Wooden entry doors are perfect if you would like to make a statement.
Some of our most popular choices include:
- Oak
- Teak
- Mahogany
- Birch
- Fir
- Maple
- Cherry
- Ash
- Scandinavian Pine
Steel Doors
Beloved for their versatility and strength, steel doors are the sturdiest, most fire-resistant, most secure, and most long lasting doors available on the market. In addition to this, steel doors offer exceptional thermal performance thanks to their thermal break. This means that they both retain the heat and keep the cold out, allowing you to keep the heat in your home at the optimal level for comfort.
Another major factor in steel’s increasing popularity is its strength. Unlike with the most popular and widely used material (wood), it is possible to have exceptionally thin sight-lines with steel doors. Steel’s natural strength means that it can be both exceptionally slim and robust. The combination of slimness and added security is simply not possible in wooden doors.
Finally, with steel, you also have a significantly higher degree of customizability. You can choose from different frame thicknesses, high-performance glass, improved weather-stripping, as well as a range of factory-applied finishes. It is precisely for these reasons that steel doors have become an increasingly popular choice for homeowners searching to add a modern or contemporary flourish to their exterior facade.
Here at Open AWD, we are happy to provide you with the following steel doors:
- Galvanized Steel
- Stainless Steel
- Corten Steel
Cladded Doors
An increasingly popular choice, cladded doors give you and your home the best of both worlds. Our cladded doors are available in a wide variety of different materials such as bronze, copper, and aluminum. With cladded doors, the wooden door frame is supported by a robust frame, designed with a metal of your choice. The wooden interior provides all of the natural beauty of wood while, on the exterior, a weather-resistant metal offers additional strength and durability. Cladding ensures that the door needs little or no maintenance and will be watertight and perfect for all seasons. Cladding is also a popular choice for sliding doors.
As pictured here, copper-clad is an exceptionally elegant choice. This style means that all of copper’s natural beauty is visible on the exterior for everyone to see, and the natural warmth of wood is present on the interior. Copper, much like bronze, is a metal which ages very gracefully. This means that the facade on your building will take on a beautiful bluish-green patina which only gets more beautiful over time. This, combined with the fact it is resistant to saltwater, makes it a perfect choice for those with an oceanfront property.
Our most popular cladded doors:
- Aluminum-clad
- Wood-clad
- Copper-clad
Putting The Finishing Touches on Your Entry Door
As the revered modernist architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, once said, “God is in the details.” It’s the little things which seem at once simple, but are in fact ornate and beautiful, which separate a good entry door from a great one. Once you’ve chosen your material, you must then begin considering the finer elements. These include decorative accents, handles, and additional safety and security features.
Accents
Now that you’ve chosen the type of your material, you must consider how you would like your door to look. Entry doors are a perfect place to add a few finishing touches such as bespoke accents. here are a wide range of elegant accents which you can add to your door.
Details such as accents on doors say a lot about a home and its owners. Accents are a great place to add a flourish which complements the rest of your facade. They are, for instance, your only opportunity to add a decorative glass element to your facade.
Our team would be delighted to talk through your ideas with you, show you examples, and help you create the perfect entry door for your home.
Door Handles
After accents, doors handles and door knobs are components which must be carefully considered. It is important to choose a handle or a knob that will match, or at least complement, the aesthetics of your entry door and facade.
While handles are certainly a much more popular choice, knobs are popular amongst those with classic-looking, wooden entry doors. Bronze, copper, and brass remain the most popular choices for door knobs. Also, it is a little known fact that these metals contain antimicrobial properties. This means that they can actually help kill any germs which may be on your handle in a few hours.
If you’re looking for something more modern, steel handles might be a better fit. There are an endless variety of steel door handles available depending on the style of your home. You can learn more about the types of handles, knobs, and knockers we use here. Whatever your needs, we’ve got a huge selection to choose from.
Increased Safety and Security
A great entry door amounts to very little if it is not safe and secure. If you have gone to the trouble of installing a beautiful new entry door, you must ensure that it can keep intruders out.
There are a number of things to consider here. For example, the material you choose for your door will have an impact on the safety and security of your home. Metal doors, in general, are of course stronger than wooden or composite doors.
If you opt to have glass in your entry door, make sure to discuss your options to have the glazing reinforced so that it can withstand any attempted break-ins. Glass, while being beautiful, provides intruders with an easier entry point into your home. There are a number of ways to increase the security of your home via your entry door.
Most importantly, an entry door should have a good, multipoint locking system. This means that the top, middle, and bottom of the door can be locked with the turn of a key or the push of a button. Here at Open AWD, we use expertly designed multipoint locking systems from our European manufacturers.
Additional features such as security sets, extra secure hinges, and other anti-burglary fittings can be installed. Each of these additional features will increase the overall Resistance Class (RC) Rating of your entry door.
Locking systems are an equally important component of choosing the right entry door. It is important to consider which type of locking system would be most beneficial for your needs. For many, this will mean a traditional lock and key. For others, however, electronic lock (also known as keyless entry) might suit their needs better.
Contact Us
To discuss your options with one of our project managers, give us a call today or drop us an email. Whatever your needs, OPEN AWD has the right entry door for you.