I installed a Stanley steel door in 2000, and it just so-so. The rubber sweep weatherstripping at the bottom starting falling apart the first year. The steel is very thin and prone to denting. If you have kids, it won't look good for long.
Consumer Reports had an issue on doors a few months back. They liked the fiberglass, but noted that they were more expensive.
Home Depot carries "Feather River" doors, which look nice and come in your desired finish.
i am shopping around for a front door (with glass inserts) and sidelights. what do you guys like? the fiberglass looks ok.....................the steel doors are the same R value, i'm told but they dent. i will want the door in dark oak/mahogany finish.
Are you putting up a storm door? If so, the metal doors should not be painted a dark color. I don't know about the fiberglass. My son painted his metal door contrary to the instruction from Stanley. He got a burn from it because of the heat. With no storm door it should be OK.
The steel door on this house seems to need painted every 5 years or so. It gets rust spots through the paint and looks terrible. I use Rust-Oleum which is supposed to prevent rusting. So in the future I use fiberglass.
Most doors need to be trimmed to the right height. Be sure you consider the location of the hinges and the lock opening so you can reuse the existing mounts,
never thought of that...............thanks edwin!
yes, i looked at the home depot fiberglass offerings and they were quite good looking! thanks!
thanks william............................i am truly leaning the FIBERGLASS direction!
Fibergalss will work fine but do not install a seperate storm door. Contrary to there instructions not to do so, I installed a seperate aluminum full view glass storm door which is interchangable with a screen for summer months. Ya sure Minn. The low winter sun beat directly on the door and began to warp it. It was a good half inch on top and bottom. Quickly replaced the glass with the screen and the door came back to square. I have left the screen on ever since. I guess i should have read the instructions BEFORE I started. Also, go for the factory finish. I opted to finish it myself. That turned out to be a chore but it came out real nice.
Be sure to check the length (height) of the door. I found that most FG doors were an inch shorter.
Lowes sells Pella entry doors made out of an improved composite. Fiberglass changes sizes with temperature. This material is more stable. I have both at my house and the Pella is better (though also newer since it replaced a junky Peachtree steel door). Lowes has good prices and the entry doors they have from Pella are the same quality as the ones at the Pella store but cheaper. I called up Pella and was told that the only difference was glass patterns available.
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