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Simple guide for choosing exterior wooden doors
April 27, 2009
There is a wide selection of choices,types and materials to select from when choosing an exterior door. Some of the more traditional materials include wood and steel. Manufacturers are also taking advantage of some of the qualities of new materials such as vinyl and fiberglass to create strong doors which do not require much maintenance. Some of the main advantages of a wood exterior door is the natural beauty of the wood and the strength of the door.
There are several different species of wood used to make solid wood doors with cedar, walnut, mahogany, pine, and oak being some of the most common. Your solid wood exterior door will need maintenance to give it protection from changing weather conditions. While a preservative will be added to most high quality wood exterior doors by their manufacturers they will still need to have a protective coating applied so they will last many years. You will find that wood exterior doors will expand and contract in response to moisture and temperature changes.
The performance of the door will often be dependant on the weather where they are installed. Wood exterior doors which are in hot and moist environments will need to have regular maintenance approximately once every year. Read about how to choose wood exterior doors. Another material commonly used for exterior doors is steel. These doors are most commonly produced with a wood frame filled with foam and then covered by an outer skin of steel. Strenth and stability are provided by the wood frame while the foam core provides insulation. These type of door do not require much maintenance.
The process for creating fiberglass exterior doors is very similar to that used for fiberglass doors except the outer skin is fiberglass. These doors provide excellent durability and energy efficiency. You can even give the fiberglass the look of real wood by using an embossing process. One of the newest materials used to make exterior doors is vinyl. The structure of these doors is created using chambers in the vinyl with added strength coming from aluminum, steel or wood. These type of doors offer good energy efficiently and great weather resistance.