ENTRYDOORS-TORONTO

The Advantage of Highest Quality Fiberglass Doors

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Fiberglass doors  are molded around a polyurethane core that gives them superior rigidity, resistance to cold and to impact damage. They can be produced in a wide array of colors and textures. Because little or no wood is used in their construction, they do not shrink or warp under the influence of the sun, as well as humidity and temperature variations.  Molding techniques, plus the use of wood stains and finishes, can produce a finished product that closely resembles wood. Maintenance is practically nil, as fiberglass is very impact-resistant and the finish won’t fade from exposure to the elements. Clean with soap and water and check the weather stripping periodically.  

What professionals say:
By Tim Carter
©1993-2008 Tim Carter   

FIBERGLASS DOORS      

This is an interesting proposition. Would you consider my proposal if I sold you a door that was a better insulator than solid wood? Would you consider my offer if I could give you exterior doors that would not rot, warp, crack, split or twist as a solid wood door might over time? Would you be interested if these particular doors looked more like wood than wood itself, ones that have realistic grain that matches real wood? Would you be interested if I told you that there was an infinite amount of stain colors and a virtually unlimited amount of door styles and stained and beveled glass options? I thought so.

This is a fancy fiberglass door. There are thousands of possible combinations of wood grain, color, glass options, etc. I guarantee you will find one that will look perfect for your home.


Before you make up your mind to use solid wood, you should give a serious look at the highest-quality fiberglass exterior doors. These products, in my opinion, are in the top 25 best all-time home building products. They deserve an honored place in the Hall of Fame of truly innovative and superb home building products.
I do not offer this praise lightly. Many products strive to constantly imitate wood. I have seen cheap interior doors that have a bogus wood-grained pattern stamped into them. Who hasn't seen metal doors that have had wood grain embossed in them? Vinyl, aluminum and other sidings for years have had fake wood grain patterns to try to fool consumers. The latest are composite decking materials that are trying their best to imitate real wood. But all have fallen woefully short in my opinion. They are wood impostors.

But the highest quality fiberglass doors successfully imitate real wood. I recently saw an new exterior fiberglass door that was so realistic, it even copied the ultra-fine mitered joint line where two pieces of wood trim cut at 45 degree angles met to make a 90 degree angle. You could actually feel the micro cuts of the wood grain in the fiberglass. It reminded me of some of the new movies where computer simulated scenes are almost impossible to fell apart from a real one. Add to this the deep, rich custom-formulated stains and clear coat finishing kits and you have a recipe for some of the most beautiful exterior doors I have ever seen. My biggest regret is that these doors were not available when I was building. My customers would have killed to have doors such as these. The good news is you and they can. Fiberglass exterior doors are not only perfect for new homes, but they are excellent choices for remodeling jobs such as yours. A contractor can easily find a high-quality fiberglass door that will enhance the look of your home much more than you could ever imagine.

 These doors are available in a multitude of styles to match any architectural style. I don't care if you have a Queen Anne Victorian home like mine or a southwest adobe mission style home. There is a perfect fiberglass door with or without gorgeous stained or beveled glass. I can assure you that the next home I build will have fiberglass doors. I love the look and I love the fact they are so low maintenance. If you come to visit me in the future you will undoubtedly touch the door's surface and wonder: Is it real or fiberglass?

Beware, not all fiberglass doors are the same! Only the high-quality fiberglass doors get my praise. There are some low-quality fiberglass doors that just do not offer all of the things I like about the better ones.
Wood doors are superb and all of my current exterior doors are wood. But I have had problems with my wood doors developing cracks and bowing. And this happened even though I followed all of the steps to seal the tops and bottoms of the doors when they were installed. The door leading out of our kitchen must be securely dead bolted in the winter to stop drafts because it is badly bowed and does not meet up against the weatherstripping. Fiberglass doors are stable. They will not warp, bow or twist. They are foam filled and are excellent insulators. You can apply fancy hardware to them just as you would a wood door. Fiberglass doors can be painted if you so choose. I prefer the rich custom formulated strains myself. I urge you to go look at some high-quality fiberglass doors now...

Windows, Doors and Skylights

Qualifying Criteria

For ENERGY STAR^®, windows and doors are qualified for their energy efficiency by either a U-value or Energy Rating (ER) for each of the four Canadian zones. Skylights are qualified by their U-value only. The energy efficiency values were developed primarily for low-rise (three floors or fewer) residential dwellings.

U-value

A U-value indicates the rate of heat transfer. The lower the U-value number, the slower it transfers heat from a warm area to a cold area. Equivalent R-Values have been given to help you understand the U-values. An R-Value is the inverse of a U-value and indicates the resistance to heat transfer. The higher the R-Value number, the more insulative the product is. The R-Values given are in imperial units. Neither the U- or R-value account for heat energy from the sun (solar gain).

Energy Rating

The Energy Rating (ER) value is calculated using a formula that balances a product's U-value with its potential solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) and airtightness.

The following tables show the levels for each zone in Canada. The ratings given in the tables are for the entire product. Energy efficiency ratings for the glass portion only, often called “centre-of-glass” ratings, usually make the product appear more energy efficient than it really is.

Versatile steel doors can blend into just almost any architectural style. They can accommodate any number of decorative windows. Their rigidity, longevity, air tightness and ease of maintenance make them a good choice.
Stronger than wood, they also carry an added dimension of home security. In addition, steel doors yield impressive insulation value at relatively low cost.
Steel doors are made of pressure-injected polyurethane foam sandwiched between two sheets of heavy-gauge, galvanized steel. The foam provides strength, bonds to the steel and, in terms of insulation, standard 1 3/4 in. doors rate an R16 everywhere, except in glassed-in and etched areas. The doors can be embossed for texture and are often finished with a vinyl or baked polyester coating. Large glassed-in areas are very popular despite their poor energy efficiency. On the positive side, they do stop outside air from penetrating indoors.
Steel doors are delivered in wood frames, which should be as deep as possible, consistent with the thickness of the wall into which the door must fit. Standard frames for retail market are 4 9/16 ", we supply 6 5/8". deep.  Bear in mind that we can make frames to suit every need.
Steel doors allow the use of magnetic weather stripping at the top and around the lock. That makes them unusually airtight. Flexible weather stripping can be used around the hinges, while the bottom of the door typically has an interlocking threshold. On the maintenance side, they can be repainted, although it’s hard to bring them back to the quality level of a factory-installed baked enamel or vinyl finish. If you plan to do it yourself, make sure to determine the kind of material that was used for the final coat, so that you can use the same.

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