unique or custom entry door options

12 years ago

Hello,

I'm looking to replace my front entrance door. For a while I wanted a custom wood entrance door for the unique and heavy look, but quotes were in the 11-15k range, and I'm thinking might not want to spend that much.

My preferred contractor only uses ProVia doors, and says all the others are lower-quality. And that does seem to be the consensus on the web as well. And while they make some nice door options, there isn't anything really "unique' or interesting to go by.

I'm wondering, are there any options for something a bit more unique or character, that are of equal quality to provia?

Are there any options for a custom fiberglass or custom wood door that might not be 3x the cost of a standard one? Maybe only 1.5x more expensive? (and this is total installation cost, the door itself is usaully a small portion of that).

I currently have a single 36" door with two 18" sidelights, and a 36" radius half circle transom. I'd like to creatively use up this space. But most of the options that are more unique with this shape are designed for a 60" profile instead of a 72" one.

I'm also considering if double-doors might be a nicer look.

The house is 80's faux-tudor style. Brick bottom, cream stucco with brown trim, diamond grid casement windows, cedar shake roof. I want something that gives a sort of "Castle" look, thick heavy and fancy but not gaudy.

One last question, just how much hassle is a wood door vs. fiberglass? My main reason for going back to fiberglass is just the no-maintenance aspect (and probably better insulation factor). But I still want it to look indistinguishable from wood. But I think it'll be harder if not impossible to find custom fiberglass options, so if I ended up back in wood, how much pain is the maintenance? And expected life.

I actually have a wood door now, but it's hidden behind a storm door, and I want my new entry to not have a storm door so I can enjoy the door. I do have a large covered alcove in front of it, and a giant tree that shades the area quite well. The front door gets very little if any sunlight in the summer, and never gets rain unless it's horizontal.

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Comments (4)

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
12 years ago
Which direction does the door face? South or west facing where it gets hammered by strong sunlight (if there is not coverage to prevent direct sun) can damage/age the wood and finish rather quickly if maintenance is not regular and correct.

I got double custom solid hardwood for 7K installed back in '06. I think really nice front doors add so much to a home.
JediCat
Original Author
12 years ago
It is west facing, but there's a large covered entry protecting it, as well as a very large tree.

What company did the custom hardwood doors? Did that include any windows, transoms, or fancy glass?
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JediCat
Original Author
12 years ago
All the pro-via options have the same panel style and same glass options as all the big-box brands. I'm not seeing anything more interesting than standard 6-panel doors and art-glass on their website. And they only have like 2 glass options for a half-circle transom. Not much to go on here.

But THIS is interesting:
http://www.jeld-wen.com/catalog/exterior-doors/custom/fiberglass/glass-panel

Look at the A252 or A250 in the Jeld-Wen Aurora Custom Fiberglass line. I don't see any other manufacturer making interesting unique doors like that (outside of custom wood).

The only reason I'm not jumping the gun on it is because my preferred contractor said anything Jeld-Wen is junk. But I wonder if this aurora custom line would be as good as the signet or not? It might be only the lower-end Jeld-Wen lines that are or lesser quality.

The other thing I found was Albany Door Company, Inc. Just look at the line-up of door styles, there's about 4x as many options as ProVia
http://www.albanydoor.com/styles.php
And these glass options are worlds above the stock provia options (which all remind me of menards light fixtures)
http://www.albanydoor.com/gallery-glass-examples.php

Anyone know if albany windows are any good in terms of quality?

If I'm going to spend 5K on a new door, I want something that looks unique and interesting and performs well. Unless I'm missing something on the provia website, it just seems to be a rather banal selection of panel styles and glass options. But provia seems hands-down the best performing/quality door around.

I'm willing to settle for 2nd best quality if it looks loads better. But I don't want a piece of big-box crap either.
goose8
4 years ago
I know this is an old post, but I am having the same dilemna. May I ask what you went with?