Doors - wood, fiberglass, steel, alumninum?

[Anonymous]

We are looking to install a new front door and, for whatever reason, had thought that a wood door would be the best option. We are looking for a door that feels solid that can be painted or stained. However, after discussing with a door company in Falls Church, they said they never sell wood doors and would not recommend them at all. I feel like most houses in the area have what appears to be a wood door - are these just alumninum or fiberglass doors? If you have one, would you recommend it? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

From afar, a lot of fiberglass doors look like wood, in that they are not noticeably NOT wood (does that make any sense at all?). When you get up close to them, and when you knock, you can definitely tell they are not wood.

We just replaced our front and back doors a few months ago. I initially thought I wanted solid wood, but opted for fiberglass for both doors. In the end, it was a maintenance decision. Wood doors require some regular maintenance; fiberglass require basically no maintenance. We also live in a NW DC rowhouse; the houses around us have front doors that are all over the place in terms of quality, age, materials and design. No matter what we did, it would fit in.

I think fiberglass is fine if it's a painted door. If you're going for a stained natural wood look, then you should get real wood. The front door we replaced was "stained wood" look fiberglass and it was pretty cheesy looking.

I also think the answer to your question depends on where you are looking. Very expensive homes, and/or homes where there is a true restoration and an effort to preserve the historic integrity of the house, are more likely to have solid wood doors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From afar, a lot of fiberglass doors look like wood, in that they are not noticeably NOT wood (does that make any sense at all?). When you get up close to them, and when you knock, you can definitely tell they are not wood.

We just replaced our front and back doors a few months ago. I initially thought I wanted solid wood, but opted for fiberglass for both doors. In the end, it was a maintenance decision. Wood doors require some regular maintenance; fiberglass require basically no maintenance. We also live in a NW DC rowhouse; the houses around us have front doors that are all over the place in terms of quality, age, materials and design. No matter what we did, it would fit in.

I think fiberglass is fine if it's a painted door. If you're going for a stained natural wood look, then you should get real wood. The front door we replaced was "stained wood" look fiberglass and it was pretty cheesy looking.

I also think the answer to your question depends on where you are looking. Very expensive homes, and/or homes where there is a true restoration and an effort to preserve the historic integrity of the house, are more likely to have solid wood doors.

+1

[Anonymous]

Many fiberglass doors can actually be stained:
http://www.thermatru.com/products/finishing/index.aspx

We are considering the Pulse line of theirs for our 1952 rambler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many fiberglass doors can actually be stained:
http://www.thermatru.com/products/finishing/index.aspx

We are considering the Pulse line of theirs for our 1952 rambler.

Is it a wood veneer on this line?

I didn't care for the faux wood fiberglass doors we saw. They look very fake in person.