What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Steel Doors?

Your front entry door is the primary access point to your home.  Which means, you want it to be attractive, reliable, and secure. In this article, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of one of the most trustworthy entry door options; steel doors.

But before we get into that, let’s walk through what some of the typical entry door options are out on the market.

Different Types of Entry Doors

When it comes to entry doors there are quite a few different options out there.  Below we’ll do a quick walk-through of some of the primary ones and very briefly cover some of their key characteristics:

Wood

A true classic, wooden doors have been a staple of human structures for ages.  One of the standout features is the amazing aesthetic that they have – wooden doors can be incredibly attractive.  Wooden doors are also incredibly customizable offering a wide range of different options. They are, however, susceptible to warping over time – especially in very humid environments.

Wood doors also require a lot of maintenance so they maintain that fresh look. Additionally, these doors are least energy efficient out of all the materials.

Fiberglass

Constructed out of a synthetic composite material, fiberglass doors provide a cost-effective and highly energy efficient option.  They are also quite strong and sturdy. Over time and in the right conditions (mostly a steady and pronounced exposure to sunlight) they can end up fading in coloration.

Aluminum

Like steel, these doors are made of a fully metal construction.  One of the chief benefits of aluminum is that they provide a very low maintenance option.  Aluminum is quite a bit weaker of a metal than steel though and it’s less secure of the two metal options.

Vinyl

The most budget-friendly option, vinyl is an incredibly cost-effective choice for an entry door.  Vinyl also stands as a fairly low-maintenance entry door selection. There is, however, quite a lower range of different style and appearance options in relation to other types of entry doors which can limit your spread of possible selections.

Steel

Steel entry doors offer the most strength and durability out of all the materials. Certainly one of the most premium selections when it comes to entry doors – we’ll take a more extensive look at what makes this the case in the following.

Steel Entry Door Advantages

Let’s go ahead and get into what’s so great about steel entry doors – we’ll work through some of the key reasons below.

Energy Efficiency

It’s obvious that one of the primary functions of an entry door is to be the point at which someone can access a structure.  And while that’s definitely true, there are definitely other purposes that it holds. One of these is to afford the structure greater or lesser degrees of energy efficiency depending on the door’s construction.

Steel provides a superb option for maximizing the amount of energy that’s retained inside your home.  It has been found that steel actually has close to five times a higher insulating factor than purely wooden doors – that’s a considerable amount of difference.  

There are a few distinct features that contribute towards the awesome energy efficiency that steel doors have.  First, is that each steel entry door is filled with high quality insulated foam – this is applied in a very meticulous and precise process that ensures maximal results. 

The second major component, is that the joints and connections present in the door are accomplished by high-grade thermal adhesives. The combination of these aspects transforms the highly conductive metal of the steel entry door into a powerhouse for energy retention and savings.

Security of Steel Doors

When you think of steel what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  Strength has got to be up there in the top three characteristics that you would immediately consider.  And that would be a very fitting thought to lay hold of – steel entry doors are immensely strong and enduring.

Whereas vinyl, and to a lesser extent aluminum, have a weaker composition that can allow to forced access if serious energy is applied – steel is a stalwart and immensely strong material that will provide you and your family with the very highest levels of security; it even beats out the time-trusted reliability of solid wooden doors.

Steel Door Durability

Along with being highly secure, steel entry doors prove to be some of the most durable and long-lasting on the market.  These stout doors are built to withstand the elements and provide you with years and years of steady service.

Most steel doors are manufactured using 20-26 gauge steel which is quite sturdy and reliable. One thing that has to be considered with wooden doors is their propensity to warp and distort – steel will never have these issues no matter what the moisture content of the air.

Steel also has the highest tolerance to overall weather conditions out of all the entry door options – it can stand up to the fiercest rain storms and gusting wind without issue.

Low Maintenance with Steel Doors

Really the only maintenance that needs to be enacted on steel doors is touch-up painting whenever there is active damages done to the door.  This sets it as being one of the lowest maintenance options when it comes to entry doors.

Steel Door Disadvantages

There are only a handful of disadvantages present on steel entry doors and they are as follows:

Denting and Rusting – While steel doors cannot warp they can be dented if hit by something, and if the paint on the door gets chipped off at the dent then rusting can develop with the metal being exposed to the moisture in the air.

Price – Steel doors can be on the upper end of the price spectrum, but with so many wonderful features it makes sense that they would fall into this zone.

Not cut to fit – Whereas wooden doors can be trimmed, planed, and sanded to fit whatever frame they are going into steel cannot.  This won’t be an issue for frames that have been properly sized out to fit whatever door you purchase but can pose tricky if you’re trying to upgrade an already existing door.

We hope that this article will have given you everything you need to know in order to make an informed decision about your entry door – steel should definitely be something you consider.

Entry Door Replacement

You don’t want to replace your entry doors with a cheap company. You want to go with a company that has decades of experience and reputation. That’s why over 400,000 happy customers went with Feldco for their home improvement needs. We are simply the best company for replacing your entry doors. Speak to a product specialist about our steel doors and get a free quote online today.