Innovations in fiberglass exterior doors

It used to be that if you needed a new front or rear entry door, you would simply swap out the door you have with a new model. Well, maybe not "simply." In fact, there was absolutely nothing simple about it because it was a highly laborious task, and to do it correctly, a team of carpenters plus the better part of a day were required to get the job done.

While installing residential exterior doors today is not akin to changing out the batteries in your digital camera, the end result is a whole lot better than it was a decade or two ago because of the introduction of the "entry system." Entry systems are a recent innovation for wood, steel exterior doors, and fiberglass exterior doors. What these systems deliver is a door which is pre-hung in a frame. The frame and door are machined at the factory to work together flawlessly, with bottom door edges which lock with thresholds, weather stripping installed around the whole frame, and hinge systems which are designed to maximize door and frame interactivity.

The end result is a door which operates beautifully, and delivers energy efficiency levels which clearly can't be achieved by simply swapping an old door for one that is new.

Residential exterior doors materials

The line has become somewhat fuzzy over the last decade when it comes to materials used to fabricate residential exterior doors. Because wood alone has become a less than desirable material due to its poor insulation qualities, tendency to warp and crack, and its shrinking and swelling response to moisture, it has fallen out of favor as a solo material.

Wood doors produced today often have steel interiors while some steel and fiberglass exterior doors may have wood frames. Higher end steel and fiberglass models may not contain wood at all in their frames so as to minimize potential damage which can be caused by pressure.

Guida Door & Window is at the forefront of applying exterior door design and material innovations to the products we manufacture. Come by our showroom or browse through our product specifications and learn more about the Guida product difference.