What is a house without its front doors? It’s an unsafe and unreliable shelter. However, your exterior doors are designed to not only keep your family warm and secure, but they also add up to the general feel of your house, too, don’t they? So, the approach to exterior door selection should be a precise one.

Most popular exterior doors come in various shapes and sizes, but the materials they are usually made of are not that different after all. Today, we will discuss the main material to consider and choose from. All of them come with certain perks and downsides a cautious owner should be aware of.

Wooden Exterior Doors

No matter what some may say – wood doors are the most beautiful of all. There is rarely anything more beautiful than well-sculpted and polished wooden doors. However, the downside of such doors would be the cost. Usually, wood doors, especially solid wood doors, are very expensive. We emphasize solid wood doors since they may be adorned with additional glass panels to let the light in and other decorative elements made of other materials.

There are also engineered wood doors, and they are deemed to be the best exterior doors wear-wise. They are designed to wear better than solid wood since they are coated with wood veneer, which proves them. The cost is usually lower than that of solid wood.

Steel Exterior Doors

If you are interested in increased door security, then steel doors should be on your to-get list. Steel doors are also the most durable of all. The fact is that due to a variety of modern finishes at times, it is hard to tell steel doors from wooden ones at first glance. Steel exterior doors are less expensive than their wooden representatives, but they are also more prone to wearing out.

Fiberglass Exterior Doors

Depending upon the weather conditions in your location, you can think about fiberglass doors. These are extremely fit for severe weather conditions. Such doors are usually more expensive than steel but less costly than wood doors. However, fiberglass doors are a lot more durable than either of the mentioned above exterior doors. They serve a lot longer and are super simple to look after.

Fiberglass doors are very energy-efficient, so that the primary investment will pay off in the form of reduced energy bills. Nevertheless, under very low temperatures, the poor-quality doors may crack. Also, under some harsh impact, such doors crack easier than wood or steel doors would.

Very often, people treat exterior doors as just a tribute to the house’s outer decorum. While the exterior design matters, the doors should also be energy-efficient and should fit your budget. Among all three primary materials, each has its advantages and disadvantages. Once you learn them, you won’t be caught by surprise in any situation!