About Exterior Metal Door Design
The previous articles in this series focused predominately on door locks and lock features. This article will focus on the actual doors that the locks are attached to. Upgrading your exterior door material, just like upgrading a lock, can enhance your home security. When selecting a secure door it is important to stay away from selections with hollow cores. These are very easy to force open or break through, even with very little force in some cases.
There are doors composed of many materials that are both attractive and great for home security purposes. Some of the most common materials used for exterior doors that can bolster your home security include solid wood, metal, fiber glass, and uPVC.
Solid Wood
Many exterior doors are composed of wood veneers with hollow cores. A more secure option would be to choose either a solid wood door or a door with a solid wood core. Solid wood doors weigh much more than doors with hollow cores. They are also a much more affordable option compared to other types of doors with a high security performance. This is because they are relatively easy to install and are less expensive to manufacture. They do however require more long-term care and maintenance than exterior doors composed of other materials.
uPVC
This material is used for a number of different building projects including windows, siding, and weatherboarding. It is also referred to as Rigid PVC or unplasticized polyvinyl chloride or simply as vinyl. It is a durable, easy to use, and fairly low-cost material that comes in a variety of finishes, including realistic wood finishes. Doors made of this material need a special frame to be installed. There are also locks made especially for these doors. They are harder to break into than solid wood doors, and offer a lighter option over heavy metal doors. Another perk of using uPVC doors is that they create good insulation, which is also why the material is used for windows, siding, and plumbing.
Metal
Metal doors are one of the most expensive options but they also offer the most security. They are pretty much impossible to force open. Like uPVC doors that require a special frame, metal doors must be placed in metal door frames. Proper installation is a must. It is therefore best to higher an expert. Metal doors come in many different styles, including styles with beautiful decorative designs.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass doors are a popular choice these days for many reasons. They are not only a good option for home security purposes. These doors are attractive, provide great insulation, are incredibly strong, and are resistant to problems like rusting, cracking, and warping. Fiberglass doors are also scratch, dent, and rust resistant, and require the least maintenance compared to other door materials. In addition to this, fiberglass doors can be stained or painted to look like real wood. Because of all their great benefits they are also one of the more expensive options.
Customized outside doorways with stunning new exterior folding doors can really make a difference in how your house is seen. Enhancing your house in addition to highlighting your own flair for style, a beautiful wood doorway can really add to the curb appeal of the whole house since it's the first thing visitors see before coming indoors.
What Makes The Best Looking Exterior Door?
Wood doorways are very well-liked and there are all sorts of varieties of wood that are used in both exterior and interior types. To be sure, so much of the decision is a subjective one.
Mahogany and Red-Oak are the two most popular exterior wood options. Mahogany is perhaps the most popular in both French doors and wood sliding closet doors because of the variety of colors it can take on through stains, from blonde-ish brown to more reddish tones. It's also a very resilient and tough type of wood, which makes it especially popular on exterior types.