solid wood versus fibreglass front entry door

3 months ago

Hi folks, I desperately need advice on our front entry door. We are going back-and-forth between a solid mahogany door and fiberglass. The first picture is of the garage man dr we selected. inspiration picture is shown below. Our opening is 42” x 8 feet plus two 14” sidelights. We live in Central Ontario and the front door is north facing and under a porch canopy.
The other consideration is the inspiration shows clear glass which I love but I would like to use some sort of obscured glass and I’m considering something not too busy like “rain” pattern or possibly a “light acid”?
What are peoples’ thoughts on door material and glass type?
There is also man-door on the adjacent garage wall, it has a large panel of glass in it as well and although it does not give you a huge sight line into the garage, I am considering obscuring that glass as well. Question, should the two obscured glasses match? They’re not right next to each other but they are at the front of the house and depending on where you stand in the driveway you can see both at the same time.

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Comments (5)

Jeff Smith
3 months ago
I would be most concerned about performance of the door, firstly. For example, will direct rain or snow hit the door? In which case a solid wood door would have to be refinished more often, plus it might warp or change shape, leading to leaks or making it hard to open/close. A fiberglass door (as much as I always prefer real wood) will have little shape-change and might perform better so far north. Also it depends on how humid the area is and I believe Ontario might be somewhat humid in summer and in winter?
Terri Corso
Original Author
3 months ago
We have extreme temperatures here in central Ontario; most of the time it’s cloudy and 6°C but our summers can be over 30C with humidity and our winters can be colder than 20C below. The door itself is not in any direct sun or snow so I think it will be OK in that regard but I’m not sure how we will feel about the regular maintenance down the road. I am partial to natural wood and I’m always in awe at how beautiful they look and feel but I am concerned about the upkeep. And I certainly don’t want any leaks and cracks over time. I have seen them in show rooms and they’re over 2 inches thick they don’t look like they’re going to split or crack anytime soon. Door sales people are either all the way on one side or all the way on the other making this decision even harder to make.
Fibreglass can look very realistic but are they plasticky?
What are peoples’ thoughts on obscured glass? The appeal of the store is the clarity of the glass and I find ups all upscared glasses distracting.I suppose we could always hang a little pleated French curtain on the inside and use them in the evenings but the thought of drilling into a solid mahogany door is not appealing either. Plus they can look messy. In the style of the house is rustic contemporary.
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millworkman
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
Whose wood door and whose fiberglass door are you considering? Quality product should rule over the type in your locale in some instances. Meaning a good quality wood door over a crap fiberglass door and vice versa. And very few doors are ever solid wood any longer, they are most always veneer which is another reason for a quality product. Stay away from thee box stores for either.
Terri Corso
Original Author
3 months ago
What are some high end brands I should consider?
I was considering Doorland in Vaughan for the custom solid mahogany door and ThermaTru or Trimlite PlastPro for the fibreglass door.
Kay p
3 months ago
Not sure where in Ontario you are..but Pollard doors and windows are very good quality. They are located in Burlington

solid wood versus fibreglass front entry door

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Jeff Smith

Terri Corso
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solid wood versus fibreglass front entry door

Comments (5)

Jeff Smith

Terri CorsoOriginal Author

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millworkman

Terri CorsoOriginal Author

Kay p

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Terri Corso
Original Author

Terri Corso
Original Author