Choosing a front door for your house is one of the most exciting DIY purchases you’ll ever make because it gives you a chance to put your own stamp on the front of your home. It’s the first thing any visitors will see after all!
However, while the aesthetics are important, the material that you decide to use is even more important, because it could have big implications for your house in general. From thermal efficiency to cost-effectiveness and maintenance requirements, your choice of front door has a lasting impact, so make sure you make the right one! Here’s our guide to help you out.
Wooden doors
A wooden door is a classic choice, and in many people’s eyes, it’s the aspirational choice, and it’s easy to see why. Wooden doors look great, they often have a pleasing weight to them, and the range of wood styles that you can buy them in means there are endless options for customisation. That said, wood does have a few disadvantages that might make you reconsider.
First of all, the maintenance requirements of wood are the highest out of any material, and wooden doors often need to be stained, painted and treated regularly for rot and woodworm. Second, from an insulation perspective, they often leave much to be desired. Wood is porous, so moisture and damp can pass through relatively easily and cool your house in winter.
uPVC doors
Another popular choice is uPVC, which is a material that avoids many of the problems that wooden doors can present. They’re also usually the cheapest option and require virtually no maintenance at all while performing well in terms of thermal efficiency. That said, uPVC still isn’t the best performer in terms of insulation, and it also has a rather limited shelf-life and can fade or become brittle and cracked after extended use.
Composite doors
In a seemingly perfect compromise between the strengths and weaknesses of all the doors we’ve mentioned, composite doors are a combination of uPVC, wood and glass. Composite doors have most of the benefits of each while eliminating many of the drawbacks.
Composite doors are better at insulating homes than wood or uPVC and are stronger and longer-lasting. However, the design of composite doors means the styles they are available in are limited compared with other types of doors, and the uPVC elements of the door are subject to deterioration faster than the rest of the construction.
Aluminium doors
By contrast, aluminium doors actually do offer an alternative that eliminates most of the negatives while bringing positives of their own.
Aluminium is a tough and hard-wearing material that is stronger than uPVC and wood but without the porousness of wood or the fragility of uPVC. That means that water can’t seep through and cool your house down in winter, because it can’t penetrate the aluminium structure at all. It also means it requires very little maintenance such as painting and doesn’t rot or warp. For a family looking to invest in a door that will perform to a high standard and last for years, aluminium is the obvious choice.
If you’re looking to install aluminium doors in your home on the Sunshine Coast, in Gympie and surrounding areas, get in touch with our friendly team at Lifestyle Windows today.