Louise Reiss, a real estate agent for 2 1/2 years, knows curb appeal when she sees it.
So when it came time last fall to replace the warped solid wood front door on her Woodridge home, she ripped out not only the door but also a clear glass sidelight and transom. In their places now are a half-glass steel door and new sidelight and transom, all in etched glass with patina caming that reflects that Mission-style interior of her home.
“I love my door,” Reiss said. “I get a lot of compliments from people. They go ‘oh wow.’ That’s your first impression of the home. If the entryway isn’t appealing, people have a preconceived notion of what’s .”
With those thoughts in mind, homeowners are spending $1,000, $5,000, even $10,000 on new entryways for their home. A door is no longer just that thick rectangle with a knob or handle that keeps out the elements and welcomes friends into the prettier areas of the home. Improved construction materials and a growing array of architectural elements have made doors and their components–now called entry door systems–as much a focal point of a home’s exterior as designer kitchens are inside.
And there are just as many options to consider for the front door as there are for that remodeled kitchen.
Doors can be made of wood, steel, fiberglass or a combination of materials, and can be stained or painted. Door panels vary in number and can be recessed or raised. Decorative window panes can be frosted or clear, etched in numerous designs and come with different types of caming, the material that holds the glass in place. Hardware options also are getting an upgrade.
“Years ago, [door] selections were the thickness of a map,” said Gene Tobin, part owner of family-owned Tobin Millwork, Villa Park. “Now it’s the thickness of a phone book. And they keep adding more. People are actually hiring decorators to make the decision.”
Fiberglass doors, introduced two decades ago, have become the darlings of the exterior door industry, largely because their quality has improved dramatically. Originally, fiberglass’ strength was its inability to rot or warp. But recent advancements have brought fiberglass closer to mimicking the characteristics of real wood, right down to making it look like different types of wood, whether it be oak, fir, alder or mahogany.
“It comes down to the finishing,” said Davis Rowe, brand marketing manager of entry systems for Pella Corp. “An average consumer standing 5 feet away would have a difficult time telling it’s fiberglass. Unfinished you can tell, but once you stain it or paint it, the grain comes through.”
A wider choice of architectural styles also is increasing interest in fiberglass–and it’s not just from home builders. In 2004, 57 percent of the entry doors sold in the United States were for the replacement market. In the next few years, Ohio-based Therma-Tru Doors, which introduced the first fiberglass entry door in 1983, expects the fiberglass segment of the market to double.
Already, its growth is on the upswing. Some 2.5 million of the 14.5 million doors sold last year were fiberglass, a 25 percent increase over the number of fiberglass doors sold in 2003, according to the Des Plaines-based Window & Door Manufacturers Association.
Steel doors, which frequently appeal to more budget-minded consumers, come in a wider variety than ever, too, but prices of raw steel are driving up prices.
“The thing about the marketplace is there’s a lot of money being put into existing homes, and it is the quality upgrades,” said Geoffrey Lowinski, spokesman for the window and door association. “All of that is true for the window and door market as well. It’s not merely a functional upgrade. A lot of times we’re seeing the products that are being installed are higher end, with more amenities. People look for the door to match other architectural aspects of the building.”
But therein lies one of the quandaries for some consumers, finding a happy medium between the door they love and the door that works for their home. Evanston architect Julie Hacker, of Cohen & Hacker, warns clients to be sure the style and scale of the front door matches that of the other windows and doors of the home.
“The front door has to be linked to all of the openings in the house,” she said. “It could be different, but it should be in the vocabulary of the house. People generally think this is the beginning of my home, so I have to make this unique and special. They get these horrible things with stained glass and sidelights and it has nothing to do with the house.”
That’s an issue where dealers of various door systems tread a fine line, gently suggesting what might work–and not work–for a home. Dealers advise homeowners to bring in a picture of the front of their home to aid in decision-making.
It’s also important to look around in the room the door will open into, because many products allow a homeowner to stain or paint the exterior of the door one way and the inside another. Tom DiFiglio, co-owner of Rusco Windows & Doors Inc. in Westmont, is seeing more customers choose stain over paint–and picking one stain for the outside and another for the inside.
Perhaps the biggest mistake customers in the replacement market make is assuming they can simply fit a new door into the old space and it’ll be airtight. “People will spend $2,000 on a door, but nothing on a frame or weatherstripping,” said Kevin Melfi, owner of KelMel Millwork Co., Orland Park. “You don’t necessarily need a new frame but it’s usually cheaper to buy a framed, weatherstripped door because of the labor involved to fit new weatherstripping.”
And while new doors are better insulated than what they’re replacing, customers need to remember that the more glass they put in a door, the more expensive–and less insulated–it is. Still, the amount of glass in doors continues to rise.
When Sidney and Mickey Vanchieri built their Oak Brook home 36 years ago, they installed a green, steel double door. “At the time when I picked them, it was the thing to do–security I guess,” Mickey Vanchieri said.
Last year, out went the dark doors in favor of a single, beveled-glass door with two sidelights, all etched in a medallion and petal design.
“It’s 100 percent better,” Vanchieri said. “There’s a lot of things you can do. You can lose your mind. Just open your wallet.”
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Resources
Here is information about the doors featured on today’s cover:
1. Simpson Door Co., Craftsman Valencia II 6843 door in American red oak, 800-952-4057, www.simpsondoor.com
2. Neoporte Modern Door, Acuity door in steel with North Sea glass in sapphire, 877-711-2100, www.neoporte.com
3. Masonite, Barrington Mahogany two-panel door with three-quarter oval glass, in fiberglass, 800-663-3667, www.masonite.com
4. Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors, IWP Aurora Custom Old World Collection, Model A1202 with speakeasy grille, in fiberglass, 877-535-3462, www.jeld-wen.com
5. Masonite, HD Steel door, Model MHD-203-725 with Monaco glass, 800-663-3667, www.masonite.com
6. Doors by Decora, Contemporary Collection D-by-D 5002 in hardwood, 800-359-7557, www.doorsbydecora.com
