Whether you’re remodeling your current home or building a new one, the front entry door is an important consideration that will influence the home’s curb appeal and resale value. When you make the decision about which type of front door design is best for your home, you’ll want to understand which are the best entry doors for curb appeal, security and other considerations. It’s also important to take current trends into consideration — so this trend report gives you the details about what you need to know for selecting the best type of front door that will be ideal for life beyond the year 2018.
Best Entry Door Materials:
There are several different materials currently in widespread use for constructing entry doors. They are as follows:
- Steel
- Wood
- Fiberglass
These materials can be combined with others; for example, you’ll often see wood, metal and fiberglass doors that incorporate glass windows into the design.
Each of these materials offers distinct advantages and disadvantages.
Quick Overview of Best Entry Doors and Design Trends for 2018:
Top-Selling Entry Doors — Steel; multi-panel doors; Energy Star-rated doors; doors that include Energy Star-rated windows
Most Anticipated Door Product Launches and Emerging Door Trends in 2018, According to Door and Window Manufacturers — New hurricane rated doors; large multi-slide doors; new wood entry doors; and new color offerings across all window and door product categories
Best Entry Doors for Home Security — Steel, although fiberglass doors are also strong contenders.
Cheapest Entry Doors — Steel
Best Entry Doors for Curb Appeal — Wood, although there are many attractive entry doors available in steel and fiberglass as well.
Lowest Maintenance Entry Doors — Fiberglass
Personal preference (and other factors) plays a role in determining the “best” fabrication for any purpose. While the above conclusions are based on general consensus, there will be people who will disagree — and of course, there will always be exceptions, since there are wide variances in entry door cost, quality and design.
It’s also important to note that this information is specific to the USA, and may not hold true in other locations. It’s particularly relevant to look at regional sales trends in your own area. For example, in hot, humid states and countries, fiberglass doors are likely to outsell steel doors, because they stand up well to damp weather extremes as compared against their wood and steel counterparts.
Steel Entry Doors
In new residential building projects and commercial building projects, steel doors are the current most popular choice for front entry doors, accounting for slightly more than 50% of the total market share in the USA.
For those who are remodeling their homes, steel doors rank high on the list of upgrades offering homeowners the best returns on investment.
Steel doors are well-suited for use in a variety of different home styles, but are particularly well-suited for use in contemporary homes and environments.
In locations where security is a primary consideration, steel doors are an outstanding option.
Wood Entry Doors
Wood doors offer homeowners many advantages. They are completely customizable; they can be made in just about any shape or size or configuration. They’re charming, and can complement a wide range of different architectural styles; however, they are particularly well-suited for use in traditional style homes.
One of wood’s main disadvantages is its susceptibility to decay. On the one hand, weather-beaten wooden doors have a distinctive charm. On the other hand, at some point, the weather-beaten look loses its charm and crosses into “eyesore” territory.
Fiberglass Entry Doors
Fiberglass doors are the second most popular choice for entry doors in new American homes, capturing about a third of the total market share in sales.
Fiberglass doors offer homeowners distinct advantageous in tropical or humid climates. They are not susceptible to rusting, which makes them a better choice than steel doors in locations where steel doors would rust easily. They’re also not susceptible to rotting, decaying, warping or shrinking, and in that regard are preferable to wood doors.
References and Additional Reading
- Window and Doors Industry Pulse: Product trends
- International Builders Show Observations and Trends Raise the Bar for 2018
- Energy Star Windows, Doors and Skylights
- Residential Window Sales Growth Expected to Continue
- Study of the US Market for Windows, Doors and Skylights published by the American Architectural Manufacturer’s Association and Ducker Worldwide / Ducker Research Company.
- AAMA Predicts Fenestration Industry Trends in New Market Studies
- 2018 Remodeling Cost vs Value Report
- Fiberglass vs Steel at the Provia Website
This page was last updated on 3-14-2018.
