Door Material and Style Options

The doors a homeowner selects are not just the entry to a home, but can be the finishing touch to compliment the entire home's decor.

But, keep in mind that looks are not the only things that matter. Security and energy-efficiency are important as well.

There are many different styles of doors to pick from and most doors fall into four main categories:

• Panel Doors: these are made of wood panels that are held in place by wood stiles and rails made from plywood, solid wood, metal or glass.
• Solid Core Doors: these doors have solid lumber cores, compressed wood fiber cores or rigid foam board that is laminated to plywood or metal facing.
• Hollow Metal Insulated Doors: these doors are made of fabricated and welded sheet metal, with mineral or cement board usually added as a core.
• Hollow Core Wood Doors: plywood or press board face and honeycomb wood or paper interior core (interior use only).

Energy Efficiency

Since homes have several doors to enter and exit, efficiency of these doors is important. Existing doors can be made more efficient by weatherstripping. Weatherstrips have to be made of flexible material in order to seal securely, usually designed for do-it-yourselfers. Some types of weatherstrips are spring metal strips, tube weatherstrips, felt strips, foam strips and plastic strips.

Interior Doors vs. Exterior Doors

To determine if an exterior or interior door is needed, the homeowner should ask themselves this: Does the door either lead to the outside of the house or need to be weather tight? If the answer is yes, the homeowner should select an exterior door.

Exterior doors are made with seals and gaskets so that cold air and other extreme weather are kept outside the house. These types of doors are also thicker than interior doors. If the door in question will go only between heated rooms, closets, or other spaces indoors, an interior door would be appropriate. If an interior door can be used it is generally better to do so since exterior doors are more expensive due to their thickness and extra elements to keep the cold out.

Door Styles

After determining what type of door is needed, the style of the door needs to be selected. Traditionally, six panel pine doors are the most common doors. Hollow core doors have become more popular in the recent years due to their cheaper cost and likeness to pine doors. A more modern home might be appropriate with a flush door.