5 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A NEW DOOR
Your home’s doors are a key part of your exterior aesthetic, but past the surface level, they also help regulate the temperature within your home and ensure your family’s security. A new door with modern materials can drastically reduce your utility bills and improve your home’s resale value if you choose to sell. We’ve compiled five important factors for you to consider when choosing a new door for your home.
Call Potomac View Energy at 410-795-3110 for a free in-home door installation consultation, or you can conveniently contact us online.
Choose the Best Door Material for Your Climate
Many homeowners neglect to take local weather conditions into account when selecting a new door. The best door for your home will keep your home insulated year-round, while preventing drafts from entering your home. The three main materials used for exterior doors are fiberglass, steel, and wood. Most modern door systems will combine at least two of these materials.
Wood offers a high-end look, but wood doors require regular varnish or paint to maintain their appearance. Steel doors are both versatile and cost-effective, and they provide top-notch weather resistance and security in a variety of wood-look finishes. Fiberglass doors are becoming the most common exterior door choice. A quality fiberglass door can be customized to match most facades and is resistant to cracking while being relatively easy to maintain.
Consider Door Energy Efficiency & Insulation
A steel or fiberglass front door typically provides the best insulation against the outdoors, but a significant amount of heat loss is caused by air leaks around the door. The quality of your door frame matters just as much as the quality of the door itself to prevent leaks. Your new door’s weatherstripping should form a tight seal completely around the door and the threshold should interlock securely with the bottom edge of the door. When comparing doors, consider purchasing an ENERGY STAR® door to ensure that your door meets the highest standards of energy efficiency.
Is the Exterior Door Secure?
Most door materials perform equally in regard to strength; the main component to your door’s security is the locking mechanism. Your door’s deadbolt should be at least one inch long and have a reinforced metal strike plate. If the door you select includes glass elements, ensure they are glazed and have double certification as bulletproof and sledgehammer-proof.
Accessibility
Keep moving furniture and other large objects in mind when shopping for a new door, and ensure that the door you select is wide enough to easily pass these items through, if needed. Or, if you anticipate older family members may join your household one day, ensure your exterior doors are wide enough to conveniently accommodate a wheelchair.
Consider a New Color For Your Door
When selecting a color for your door, consider local climate and aesthetics within your community as well as the design of your own home. For example, painting your doors black when they sit in direct sunlight may cause issues in the future as that color tends to absorb heat.
Schedule Door Replacement Today!
Potomac View Energy is proud to offer affordable pricing and free in-home consultations to ensure your new doors are the perfect fit for your home and your family’s needs. Each project is assigned its own individual customer service rep who will work directly with you throughout your project. Our friendly, respectable contractors will treat your home with the utmost care to ensure you’re thrilled with the results.
Ready to learn more about the benefits of a new door installation? Call us today at 410-795-3110 or contact us online – our experienced team is ready to serve you.
