Doors Are Made From Several Different Materials Each with Their Own Plusses and Minuses

As we mentioned previously, doors are made from several different materials each with their own plusses and minuses. While wood still dominates the scene other materials like fiberglass and steel offer technologies and efficiencies that wood can't. Wood Wood is used for both exterior and interior doors and one of it's undying features is the natural beauty that it offers. With wood you have the choice of many different species and various stain colors. Other benefits of wood include the ability to repair minor damage like nicks and scrapes. Wood doors also have a more high-end look, particularly when they're stained to show off the beauty of the wood grain. Drawbacks include a high level of maintenance and wood's natural tendency to "move" (warp and twist). A wood exterior door will need to be refinished, sometimes annually, depending on it's exposure to the elements and sunlight. It's insulation value is also not as good as fiberglass and steel doors. A wood interior door is not prone to such deterioration since it's out of the elements but swelling and warping can still be an issue if it's not sealed well enough on all sides, particularly in a humid environment. Fiberglass Fiberglass is usually used for exterior doors where its advantages are put to good use against the elements. Don't be put off by fact that it's fiberglass -- many fiberglass doors do an incredible job mimicking the look of natural wood. The benefits of fiberglass include a relatively maintenance-free product and better insulating values than a solid wood door. This is because the door's core is filled with foam and/or other insulating materials. Fiberglass also doesn't rot or swell like wood can. The downsides of a fiberglass door are minimal, with the most prominent arguably being the fact that it isn't a true "wood" door. But some fiberglass doors are hard to distinguish from real wood so this downside is subjective. Steel Steel is another kind of entry door material and it's positives include good insulating values and general durability. Like fiberglass, steel won't rot, twist or bow like wood might when exposed to the elements. It usually costs less than a wood door. On the flip side steel doors can dent and they'll also rust if the finish paint is scratched off exposing the steel base material. However, unless you're pretty hard on your doors, a steel door should be pretty durable and offer good service. One other downside is that detailing on some steel doors isn't as crisp as wood or fiberglass, easily revealing the fact that it's not a true wood 6-panel exterior door you're looking at. MDF MDF or medium density fiberboard is an engineered material made from wood fibers pressed tightly together and combined with glue binders. Many interior doors are made from MDF. The beauty of MDF is that it's a stable material and isn't susceptible to bowing or twisting like real wood. It's also easily molded and machined which allows manufacturers to include detailing that looks very similar to the kind you see on real wood doors. Raised panel and mission style doors to name a few are easily reproduced using MDF. MDF is a good choice if you're going to paint your doors since you're not going to see any wood grain (because MDF doors don't have a wood grain). That brings the cost down relative to a similar-sized/detailed wood door. Source: HomeStyleChoices.com