Exterior Doors Steel OR Fiberglass

FHIwindows · Last edited by FHIwindows on Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

Most people fail to understand the difference between steel entry doors and fiberglass entry doors. Generally people focus on the pretty glass and the panel design of the door and not what it is made of.

Both steel and fiberglass replacement doors have a wood frame on the sides in order to support the door and reinforce the lock/deadbolt area. Both styles are filled with foam in order to insulate the door so it slows down the heat transfer.

Generally most of the steel doors on the market are made of a real thin steel that dents really easy. If you fail to keep up on the paint the doors will rust and then fall apart. Some people think that steel doors are more secure than fiberglass doors, in fact you can take a screw driver and stab through a steel door with ease.

Fiberglass doors will not rust nor will they dent. They come in both a smooth finish and a "wood grain finish". A few companies offer pre-finished fiberglass doors that are stained in several different colors. Most people can not tell a properly finished fiberglass door apart from a real wood door. The looks of a wood door without the headaches of wood is the biggest benefit of fiberglass doors.

Barry M · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 82 Location: Indiana

I've hung a few doors mostly steel exterior and some wood interior doors. I was not aware of the figerglass and can see the benefit of it looking very similar to wood. I will have to remember that when someone wants a new front door (like my wife). The fiberglass would be so much easier to hang, man those solid woods doors are heavy.

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Jeannie · Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 82

I have had steel doors before and do not like them. It is good to know about alternatives and how they can benefit the project. I will be looking more into those doors. Do you know the cost difference between the two.

Cymru Am Byth · Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 20

I have never used either, the front doors we install are either wood or UPVC, I will look into Fibreglass though as they could be more envoironmentally friendly than using hard woods

Jeannie · Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 82

I have never used a UPVC door before. How do they differ from the other types of door, are they a lighter door and how easy are they to paint and so on.