Fiberglass Doors

Introduction

Installation of a replacement fiberglass door provides 77.8% return on investment and installation of a fiberglass door grand entrance, such as an entry door with sidelites, or a door with sidelites and a transom recoups 70.1% of its original investment.
Fiberglass doors have come a long way when compared with the first generation doors. From not so pretty ancestors from the 90s, fiberglass evolved into today’s aesthetically pleasing, most energy efficient door systems. With solid return on investment, and with the mobile culture in the US where eventually just about everyone sells their home one day and moves, fiberglass doors have become the preferred choice for the homeowners nationwide and Connecticut. Entry doors CT

Benefits

Fiberglass doors’ main characteristic is superior thermal performance. The best fiberglass doors have thick, dense polyurethane core encapsulated in thick fiberglass skin. Specially designed fiberglass door facings will not dent and resist splitting, cracking and warping.
Currently, the most energy efficient entry door system Embarq by ProVia offers around 4 times more insulating value than a typical wood door.

Types of fiberglass, smooth vs textured. How to choose finish. Should I paint or stain it myself?
Fiberglass doors are offered in smooth or texture door facings (skins). Your choice is really the matter a personal preference.

However, it is worth keeping these guidelines in mind:

  1. Smooth doors are typically designed to be painted.
  2. Textured doors are designed to be stained, although painting a fiberglass textured door is possible.
  3. Textured fiberglass doors are manufactured and catered for different markets. Therefore the overall quality, strength and appearance will vary greatly. Typically, the more expensive the door, the thicker, more solid the fiberglass skin is, and the more authentic wood resembling look on the door.
  4. Smooth fiberglass has limited surface look option, namely, it will be smooth. Textured doors typically feature Oak texture. However, high end door manufacturers will offer a plethora of textures: Oak, Cherry, Mahogany, Fir, Knotty Alder etc.
  5. If you are indifferent about the wood look, then you may want to save some money by choosing smooth fiberglass. On the other hand if you’d like to buy a door that is almost (almost – because nothing in life 100% maintenance free) maintenance free and have that authentic wooden look, then invest in the best textured and factory stained fiberglass doors your money can buy.
  6. If you strive for that realistic wood look, we recommend that your door is professionally stained, although textured doors can also be painted and look great as well. If you prefer the flat surface design, then your only choice is paint finish.
  7. If you’re planning to stain or paint the door yourself, chances are it’s the first door you’ve ever finished and the reality is that it will take you longer and probably final result will not be as satisfying as door professionally finished at the factory settings by the craftsmen who have years of experience and unsurpassed attention to details. After all, would you try to paint your new car yourself?

Summary

Thanks to improvements in the technologies and manufacturing processes, fiberglass have come a long way and excel in every aspect of: beauty, durability and maintenance freedom. With leading-edge return on investment, not only are fiberglass doors a preferred choice of homeowners in the state of Connecticut, but throughout entire United States.