How do you know when it’s time to replace the entry door system on a home?

How do you know when it’s time to replace the entry door system on a home? Well, There’s two things to consider, things you can see and things that you can’t see.

Entry door is the focal point of the house. Every time somebody drives past the home or when you have friends and relatives walking up the walkway this is what they see, that’s the statement of the home. So if your door speaks 1950s, then just by changing this style, you are going to upgrade the look of this home immensely. If your door has any sun damage, peeling paint or cracks, then, maybe, it’s time to do something about this door.

What about those things that we can’t see? Sometimes you feel a draft coming in from around your door, but sometimes it’s really hard to know, whether you have a drafty door or not. There’s three easy tests that you can do, that will tell you whether you have a draft coming around coming around the door.

1. Take a dollar bill and try to slide it underneath the door. If you are able to slide it back and forth across the bottom, you’ve got a location where air can easily come through.
2. Take a small flashlight and have somebody look on the inside. Just move that flashlight right at the threshold and look. If you can see light on the inside, you know that you’ve got air leakage coming as well.
3. There is one more test you can do: moisten your hand and have somebody hold a fan up around the perimeter of the door, put your hand there and you will easily be able to feel the air infiltration on your hand.

How to Choose an Exterior Door?

If after performing the tests you decided to replace your front door, your side door, your garage door or your patio door, you can be easily overwhelmed with so many choices available today. You want the door to match the style of your home and to be equally as good as the siding materials that you could have on the exterior. There are many things to consider: security, quality, insulation, and energy efficiency. There are three major material types on the market available for residential exterior doors.

Wood Doors

The first one is wood. The great part about wood doors is they look wonderful and they are fully customizable. If you want, you can make your door three inches taller, three inches wider and add a big panel at the top. You can do anything you want with it, but people worry about wood doors because of maintenance. Wood doors do need to be maintained. All exterior product have some maintenance needs and wood doors in particular need that maintenance. A common opinion about wood doors is that they can’t be durable, they can’t last and that can be true with some products on the market.

Fiberglass Doors

The next material type is fiberglass. Fiberglass doors are very popular for their superior insulation qualities. Fiberglass doors are durable, because the skins come out of molds and the door is one big contiguous sheet, so the parts and pieces can’t separate and water can’t get inside and cause problems. The downside to fiberglass is that it is not easily customizable. You can’t move panels around and you can’t necessarily make the door any size you want. A misconception about fiberglass is that it really can’t look like a genuine wood door. Premium fiberglass products installed by All American Window and Door come so close to the look of the real wood that many times it is hard to tell the difference.

Steel Doors

Then finally there are steel doors. Steel is popular because of its price, but the large downside to steel is that it’s the least authentic looking of all the products available. It dents easily and it can rust.

We hope this blog helped inform you when it’s time to replace the entry door system on a home. If you are considering replacing your entry door we are here to help you make the best decision. For a free in-home consultation fill out our online form or contact All American Window & Door at 760-214-9851.