Agree with Nicole here. It doesn't matter what costs more, what is premium and what covers what. It all comes down to what you like. So what if it is a contractor's way to cut costs? It looks nice. I think we are caught up with the cost of doing something compared to what it looks like, as if something that costs more must be the best thing to do and the best looking. Personally, I love to see a knockdown texture on my ceilings with large crown molding. Plain, flat, non-textured ceilings might be considered "high-end," and more costly, but they are, in my opinion, rather boring. Texture, metal, wood, or whatever (minus the popcorn, even though some still like it) on a ceiling adds interest and beauty. Just because knockdown is the excuse for contractors to cover up flaws is no reason to "knock" it! I remember when popcorn was the thing and bathroom ceilings were flat because in the 80s, people liked to wallpaper the ceilings, which could be considered a "texture." My 2 cents.

What exactly is meant by "textured" in this context? I don't think I've ever realized there were two options. Sombreuil is correct about the detectable joints in real wood doors. I grew up with wooden 4-panel doors from the 1800s, and even with multiple paint coats, the joints were detectable, as was a slight bit of wood grain. My parents recently purchased a reproduction door in the same style - solid wood - and it just looks "different" (I think the door itself is thicker, plus the wood is smoother) but the joints can still be detected. In my current house, I have (horrors) the "fake wood" 6-panel doors. They're painted white, and I believe they must be the "smooth" option. No, they don't look like real wood doors. But, they do look like the doors in most new houses today, and like what most people are used to seeing. So, I think they would only look bad to an old house purist. (I don't love them, because I am a purist, but I didn't buy this house... my husband did before he knew me.) FYI my house is traditionally-styled with white doors and white trim/baseboards.

Thing is, every blog post I've seen where the door ends up looking great the doors are wood. The doors I need to replace are also wood and I would just paint them myself if I planned on keeping them but they're no longer energy efficient and I'm in Canada. It just seems silly to charge $300 extra for one-sided color. Plus I know I'll end-up painting the thing on the interior - or shelling more $$$$

They both should be about the same at the end of the day. The fiberglass is nice from the standpoint that it does not dent if you bump into it whereas a steel panel door has that potential. You are probably going to get a bit better finish in a factory finished option, but there is no reason that you can't get a good finish on a primed door with a good painter (this is critical here). The residential paints out there are so good now that they hold up really well if properly applied over a prepped substrate. We wash out door occasionally (not in direct sunlight) and treat it with a kind of quick detailer spray to help protect the paint.