Are expensive entry doors worth it?

[Anonymous]

We live in a 50s rambler on a larger lot in a close-in NoVa neighborhood (read: our house will likely be a teardown when we sell it), but our kids are young and we plan to be here for many years.

We have some issues with a couple of our exterior doors, but the quotes I got from actual window and door companies started at $5,000/door and went up if we wanted glass. I see you can buy a pre-hung fiberglass door from Home Depot for like $400. In our situation, where there is no concern for resale return, does it make sense to spend so much money on a fancy door? Do they last longer, have fewer issues, etc.? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I would not get a fancy door. Talk to a carpenter and buy a door for them to hang.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a 50s rambler on a larger lot in a close-in NoVa neighborhood (read: our house will likely be a teardown when we sell it), but our kids are young and we plan to be here for many years.

We have some issues with a couple of our exterior doors, but the quotes I got from actual window and door companies started at $5,000/door and went up if we wanted glass. I see you can buy a pre-hung fiberglass door from Home Depot for like $400. In our situation, where there is no concern for resale return, does it make sense to spend so much money on a fancy door? Do they last longer, have fewer issues, etc.? Thanks!

Given the climate, Fiberglass is the way to go. Go manufacturer direct but the installation is where it all fails. Get a great contractor

[Anonymous]

I got my door installed by a contractor from Provia (fiberglass). It doesn't have a glass window but I did add a storm door. With installation, it was $2100 and I am SO much happier with that than the Lowe's door we installed in our last house.

[Anonymous]

We installed a fiberglass door from HD when our front door failed. It was incredibly inexpensive and looks good. My recommendation is to go with the simplest design on an inexpensive door. It’s the fan lights and glass panels that make those doors look cheap.

[Anonymous]

Fiberglass is great. Its strong, cannot rot, and is insulated.

[Anonymous]

My parents had fiberglass and it worked well for a very long time.

$5,000 is too much for just a door.

[Anonymous]

Not to me but our neighbor got a $10,000 custom door and it’s quite beautiful. We got a door from Home Depot and had a handyman paint it a color we liked. I like our door too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to me but our neighbor got a $10,000 custom door and it’s quite beautiful. We got a door from Home Depot and had a handyman paint it a color we liked. I like our door too.

This! Get a more affordable door, but spend a little extra to have it painted a color that you like.

[Anonymous]

A happy medium for your front door is custom-ish doors from Home Depot or Lowes. Then you can get nice glass inserts or a more modern design or whatever and it should run around $2k. They also install for a fee.