Door Buying Guide

Written by Mark Walters

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 08:29

The doors in your house can be a burden if they're not properly fitted, are poor quality, heavy, or won't latch or unlatch right. Without really being aware of it, you use your home's doors a lot more than you might think, so even a small problem quickly becomes annoying, because you have to deal with it so often. Therefore, it certainly pays to put the time and effort in when deciding what doors to buy and when fitting them.

by MarkWalters

Without even giving it much thought, we use the doors in our house a lot. New doors can either be a valuable addition, or a hindrance, based on the size, shape, materials, how well they are made, and how well they fit. Instead of installing cheap doors that are too heavy or don't close or open properly, why not put in the time effort to get and fit ones that don't cause you any problems. It's certainly worthwhile to do so.

First, there are the exterior doors of your home These are all the doors that take us to and from the outdoors, like patio, garage, side, back, and front doors. Since these doors are vital to our protection from break-ins, we must obviously choice superior quality. Exterior doors also increase selling prices, and just make the house look better to ourselves and to guests we invite in.

There are some things to keep in mind when picking out exterior doors. The materials and finish of the door are important, but not as much as durability. Take glass doors. Although they may seem like a poor choice, some of today's glass doors are exceptionally well-built with shatter-proof glass. Wood doors, on the other hand, may seem like a logical choice at first. If made of softwood like pine or fir, however, they are not likely to hold up. Proper weather strips, and the width and thickness of the door's rails and stiles, are also essential aspects to consider.

Thermal insulated doors constructed of fiberglass or steel are ideal for colder climates. A quality fiberglass or steel designed door will more thoroughly guard the homeowner against freezing temps and blustery snow and wind storms. With these specially insulated doors, frost and water damage is far less likely to attack your home and cause property damage over an extended period of time.

Interior doors are also important, as much for reasons of appearance and functionality. The four biggest kinds are folding, pocket, bypass, and conventional hinged doors. Actually folding open and unfolding closed like a paper fan, folding doors work in tight spots where regular doors cannot freely swing open. They are generally used in large closets with shelving close to the door, or for other areas where space is limited.

A pocket door is used for closets, too, or other such areas for storage. This type of singular door is typically suspended with small wheels into a track, in which the door moves back and forth, sliding into a specific hole or "pocket" area when open. Bypass doors similarly move along the same type of track system, and are used for the same purposes. The difference is, there are two or more doors on separate tracks that go behind or in front off the other doors while open.

Basically, the thing to remember is to plan accordingly. To avoid shelling out loads of cash on costly repairs or replacement doors, and wasting time on repeat installations, great care should be taken before purchasing any doors for your home. Getting the best fitting doors, along with the best looking doors, just takes a bit your time, energy, and money. In doing so, however, you'll be guaranteeing yourself quality doors that can last the lifetime of your home!

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