12 Useful Tips to Buy the Best Exterior Door for Your Home
Choosing external doors is usually a tough task, especially if your old doors do not serve the purpose or just old enough to be replaced.
Before these doors get damaged or ruined beyond repair, it's better to think about replacing them. Front doors are identity markers of any home; and they create a huge impact in the overall impression about your house.
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Here are 12 useful tips that will help you choose the best external door for your home:
1. Identify a type of exterior door that will suit your need
With a number of exterior door options found in the market, choosing the exterior door has become quite complicated.
Now you can find a number of durable, efficient, and beautiful doors that match your decor. But one should identify the purpose for your entry door so that you save lots of time.
Do you want to have double doors or just a barrier to prevent robbery and to keep your house secured? Durability is a major element and feature that can help doors withstand forced entries along with weather-resistance. Check out all types of doors and balance their pros and cons.
2. Get inspired from magazines and other homes
Shopping for the right doors is very important. But before that one needs to visualize the type of door that you will love having as an external door to your house, which is efficient enough and also fits your budget.
For that, check out your neighborhood, the homes of your friends, or elsewhere and get inspired. Not everyone is an interior decorator, so it is fine to get some inspiration from the external doors that you see. Even household magazines and books about home furnishings will help a great deal.
3. Choose Your Material Wisely
Wood, Steel, fiberglass or aluminum, what would you prefer?
Wood is found in different species, including oak, pine, teak, mahogany and the like and hence vary in grains, texture, color and sap content that renders its graceful impression.
Steel doors are economical options since they offer strength and durability and perfect for most weather situations. Also the rust-resistance is high in steel doors and they need less maintenance too.
Fiberglass feels and looks like genuine wood, but requires less upkeep, and can withstand hot, cold, wet or dry climate. In terms of security, all three materials are good enough.
4. Choose Your Style & Design
External doors should be designed based on your external and internal d'cor, so that it blends well with the type of house you live in. You can use some basic external, hand-carved ones, or even the very creative and pricey ones, depending on your taste.
You can purchase exterior doors that feature flat, smooth surfaces or one with textures. You can combine multiple styles of panels, sidelights, and transoms so that they match your preferences.
5. Security
To boost protection against climatic changes as well as intrusion, one should consider storm doors that are perfect investments for external entry. They shield main entry doors from all sorts of harsh elements, while providing insulation to indoor heat. Additionally, you can choose any of the three types of doors mentioned above since each of them are secured in their own way. The choice of locks is important in this regard.
6. Warranty
It is important to check out the warranty policies of door manufacturers. The warranty always serves as a perfect indicator of product quality. If possible, always opt for companies, which are experienced. One can even claim for damages covered in warranty. [Doors supplied by Emerald Doors Ltd are guaranteed from defects in manufacture for twelve months] Do ask your friends and relatives for a list of good external door manufacturers or distributors.
7. Measure your Existing Door Size Perfectly
Before finalizing an external door, take the right measurements of the house entry. Measure the length and breadth and take help from carpenters for getting the right door size. If measurements do not match, the costs involved will be enormous and might even result in waste of money over trivial changes.
8. Check for Durability
Durability of the wood or other material for the door is extremely important. Check out if the door is made of good quality wood, steel and the like. If glass panels are used, make sure that they are not breakable easily. Without durable material, external doors would not be secured enough for your house.
9. Add Ons are important
Other than the material used for making the external door, it is important to have the right add-ons in place too. Use a triple lock or some other sturdy lock for betterﾠsecurity. Check out the best quality levers, knobs and handles without compromise. Dual locks and sidelights are useful for security too.
10. Cost Effective Options
Opting for a pricey external door is not always the best option. Invest in a smart door that has a robust make, and covers warranty and a slew of handy add-ons which adds to the security of the door. A cost-effective custom external door is the way to go.
11. Purchase Online for Great Deals
Over the last few years, there have been dealers who are offering external doors and their designs online. Many of them are quite popular. The upside in this regard, with the variety in choice and competition online, you get a door, which suits your needs and budget.
12. Check for supplier reliability online or offline
Be sure of your supplier before you opt for the any deal. If you are opting for a physical supplier, make sure that they are good enough in their work and deliverables, by asking their previous customers. For online sources, it is important to verify the ratings and testimonials of each of the suppliers before finalizing the deal. [Emeralddoors has 4.8 rating out of 5]
Conclusion
Choose an external door wisely after checking out the warranty, the make and design, the supplier credibility, handy add-ons and even if it matches your home d'cor. Hope the tips help you out!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SHABANA KAUSER
Shabana Kauser is the dynamic owner of Emerald Doors, the famous door-selling company in the UK with immense knowledge and experience in working with architecture, interior design, and home decor. She continues to share tips and technical know-how of balancing interior elements, door fittings, room aesthetics, and the like. Personally, she loves coffee, always dabbling with several blends.