I don't have an iron door but really love them. I think it would look great on your house. I like the feel (heft) of an iron door and I imagine very safe and durable. The only con I can see is the expense.

Yeah ... The expense will be a factor, but there are manufacturers who sell thru Home Depot so I think we will start there before going to a custom showroom.

We had iron security doors at our other house (installed after a break-in attempt) and I know I don't want to duplicate that look. I've seen iron doors that look a bit too vault-like to my liking, but I've also seen some that were real works of art!

Our doors are metal clad doors and we have 3 of them to exit our home.

I don't think I'd want to live in a neighborhood where a security door was a necessity. I'm not fond of iron doors or doors with lots of glass.

I think what you have now imo is better both in looks and ease of keeping it looking nice. I know my front door and windows (we just had them cleaned) gets dust from cars going by and we live on a cul da sac where there is not much traffic. I cant image having to clean around the iron swirls because the dust will settle and be very obvious on the black iron.

The iron doors that I have seen have the decorative iron scroll-work welded to the exterior of the door and the glass is hinged and opens towards the inside for cleaning or ventilation.

I think this type of door would look great with your home, TR. I've often thought of changing ours to this style.

I worked at a design store that has huge double doors like these, and they weren't a bother to clean. As ML said, the glass has hinges for that. The only issue we had was the first set of doors had a rust problem, so the owners had them replaced under warranty, and the second set is going on 10+ yrs with no problems. IIRC, the first set weren't properly sealed or something.

Love the look of iron doors! Are iron doors made with any materials that keep them from being so hot to the touch when they're in direct sun? Which direction does your house face? I know you're just about 65 miles west of me (might not be a concern for someone in Oregon) so if those doors get super duper hot that's something to consider. I'm sure they're well insulated so as not to transfer heat into the house.

Thanks for the thoughts! Here's our current door, which faces east but is well enough protected by the front porch that I'm not worried about heat effects.

Honestly, I'd want something similar but iron instead of wood. The glass on the current door doesn't open easily for cleaning and that's one thing I don't like about it. DH feels that the current door doesn't fit as well as it should. We are going to have to go to a showroom to talk to someone in the know, as the big box stores were useless.

How much of a roof overhang do you have? We have one on our house in Arizona where the glass part opens, but it leaks when it rains.

What a pretty door, Laurie Gordon! That's similar to the security doors that we had on our previous home, except ours were black iron. Yours is much prettier than ours were.

There's a significant roof overhang, so I wouldn't be worried about the door getting wet at all.

We have iron doors on one of our properties. It made the home look wonderful! I hope that when we get older and have a hard time with stairs it will become our forever home.

Holy Toledo, I just got the vapours! I Googled home depot iron doors to see what they look like and gasped at the prices. OK, I understand aesthetics, durability, etc., but seriously? Those prices! I'm fanning myself.

If I may, what is it about your current door that you don't like? I think it's beautiful. Maybe you could start by painting it black, just to see if you like it. Surely, since it's new, it fits well and is energy efficient.

ETA: Ah, now that I'm getting my senses back, I see your hub thinks your door could fit better. I'd call the builder and insist that he make your door fit better! Then I'd paint it black and take a vacation.

It's not so much that we dislike our current door (although as stated, DH thinks the fit could be a bit more "solid"), but I've long loved iron doors and feel our new home would lend itself to this style nicely. They are an investment, though.

Loving this one (from a local company).

I'd have to see these in person, but a local surplus building supply has a number of iron doors in stock, including this one. Hard to tell from the photo, but the glass is hammered water glass. It's less expensive than others we've seen, but of course the price does not include installation. ::sigh::

We had beautiful double iron doors in our Arizona home. I loved them!!! As stated by ML, the glass opened to the inside for ease of cleaning. The doors are expensive but I must say that when we sold our house everyone commented on how great the entry doors were. It gave a beautiful first impression of the home.

I had to look at the prices after reading about sheesh's vapors <lol> YIKES, and that's HD. I can't imagine the prices at a real door company! I'd have someone fix the current lovely door and take a luxury, mind cleansing, soul rejuvenating, memory making cruise :)

Turquoise, I think your door is very beautiful. It seems a pity to replace something that nice unless there is a really pressing need to do so.

TR - I've got that door on my list. Since I also need a side panel, the surplus store directed me to the manufacturer. If I remember correctly, located in Richardson, but the doors are made in Mexico. Very good price in comparison to others.

FinallyHome, I think we will probably go take a look at these. Yep, made in Mexico as you say. The doors look quite nice to me. Hey, get yours first and let me know what you think! ;-)

Turquoise Rose-

We have an iron door that was shipped to us for our new home from Iron Doors Now. It was shipped from California to Texas November 2015. We are very happy with our door. Sure there is dust, but I got that on my wood door in a planned subdivision. We also had to have the wood door re-finished several times over the years due to the extreme heat and weather that hit the door.

I love how sturdy and beautiful the iron door is. To clean this door, the inside windows have hinges that unscrew and the lever moves to the side so you can open. Easy to clean. I use a a soft clean narrow paint brush to dust out the tight areas and microfiber cloth and a little water and dish soap so far. I need ask the company what they recommend. All in all it took me about 15 minutes at best to give it a thorough cleaning.

kbselten, what a fabulous door! Thanks so much for the photos - it's particularly helpful to see how the glass opens for cleaning. I really like that. You say you had it shipped, and I'm curious about how you found someone to install it for you (or was this on a new build/remodel where you already had contractor)?

How do you think the overall "sturdiness" of the door compares to a wood door? And what about energy efficiency?

We visited a local showroom today and ordered a door. We were very impressed with the salespeople and quality of product. Although the sky is the limit and they do any and all sorts of custom work, we fell in love with a door in the showroom and will have ours made just like it. Ours will only be a single door (basically the one on the right only) and the finish looks lighter in this pic than it is in person. It's a very deep ORB with lighter bronze accents. The glass is "rain" texture. It's one solid, amazingly built door. We are in love.

Your thread made me start thinking about alternatives to our mahogany door. It needs to be refinished at least once a year and we haven't stayed on top of it. As much as I love the glass and leading in it I worry about the integrity of the wood.

We have a local company that sells made in the USA iron doors and I'm sure the prices reflect that, but good to know the option exists. For our house simple straight lines would be a better fit.

Ironworks entry doors

Congratulations on finding a door that you really love. That's what it's all about, and I can really see that design being perfect for your home. I imagine it will last just about forever, and will always look handsome.

It's going to look great with your house, TR!

Just bumping this thread back up with a photo of the door we chose, which was installed a few weeks ago and finished today (was a 2-crew process). We had been waiting on the painter to come back to complete the trim work around the door, and he did a very nice job this morning. We are so pleased with this door and glad that we went ahead and replaced our old one.

You can't tell from this pic, but there is a screen in front of the glass and the glass portion opens from the inside so that we can answer the door without having to fully open the door.

We have a iron door and I love it! I love being able to open the glass to speak to someone ringing the bell. The only thing I don't like is how hard it is for guests to use. Our double door seems to confuse guests as to which will open, and our doors are heavy to open when your not familiar.

That looks great!

Sabbath, I have to agree with you about the heaviness of the door. It takes a very firm PULL to open it. My mother-in-law recently house-sat for us, and we had her enter and exit through the garage door, fearing that the heft of the front door would be too much for her. That said, that's also something I like about it, for just the two of us living in the house.

Practigal - thanks!

When I got home last evening and was able to examine the painter's work more carefully (hard to tell in the photo, which DH texted to me just after the guy left yesterday and I posted it here), I saw that not only had he painted the trim the dark color to match the door, but had added copper highlights to the trim here and there, just as the door has. I was so impressed with his beautiful work that I fired off an email to the company we purchased from, asking them to please let him know that he's not "just" a painter, but an artisan. I remain impressed. :-)

Can someone with a WROUGHT IRON ENTRY DOOR, living in Arizona, help me? We are considering purchasing one from a well known company here in Scottsdale, (FI) but can't find out how well insulated they are. The showroom has many beautiful styles, quite expensive, and I would hate to spring for an iron door and be unhappy with it - letting cold and heat in. (We have a single door, and an open pergola above the door which extends to the end of the house in the courtyard) Our home faces west, and in the summer, the sun is awful. The door we are considering has glass inside (low-e offered as an upgrade) which latches and can be opened to get air - screen in front of glass and iron design scrolls in front of screen. I wonder how energy efficient these are, even though they say they have foam insulation in the frame and the door. And, what about rain? Has anyone ever had rain come in through glass? If anyone has had experiences with an iron entry door here in AZ, I would love to hear your comments!!!

Thank you so much.

I'm the originator of this thread, and we now have two iron doors... the front entry and the door leading to our back patio. I'm in TX not AZ, but can attest to the doors that we purchased (both via the same local showroom) being very energy efficient. Certainly more so than the doors we replaced, which were only about 3 or 4 years old. We have been thrilled with our iron and glass doors and consider them an excellent investment. Good luck with your decision.

ETA: Our front door is pictured above, and here is our door to the patio:

Miscellaneous Ideas · More Info

Hi Ocotillo,
Thanks for all the good information in this thread. We are trying to decide between wood or iron front door for our home in Dallas. If we go with wood it will be pretty easy to do a double door. If we go iron the space is too large and the door would be to heavy I think. So if iron we would go with a 42” single door with side lights. The door has southwest exposure. What iron door company did you end up going with? There is one near me that offers a 10 year warranty which is appealing. You seem so happy with your company I’d like to check them out.
Thank you!

Bumping this great thread for more input from iron door owners in areas of extreme heat or cold? Im in Dallas and wish to aquire a single entry door of one of the varieties below for my home. I was all set to order until I came across the issue of whether to get a thermally broken door or not (a thermally broken door has a non conductive layer between the inner and outer door and frame halves and adds a bit of cost to the door. Not to be confused with the insulation that comes in the door standard. This layer basically separates the door so that cold/heat does not transfer). The door of my home in Dallas is on a covered porch and faces West but only gets 2 hrs of direct sunlight due to trees and the house next door. Does everyone have a non-thermally broken door or is it thermally broken? How has your door performed in the extreme temps this past summer 2022 and last winter 2021 in Dallas? How about those of you in colder climes? How is the heat/cold transfer on your doors? Thanks in advance!

We live in TN and have the same question…thermal break at cost of an extra 8k, or don’t get it, and risk heat and cold problems????