Where would these doors be coming from? Brands? This will help sway my decision as with everything builder grade fiberglass is not great and wood can be good or poor brand and distributor dependent.

We have a wooden door, its nice. However...in the winter it shrinks a bit and then leaks (because its wood) and in the summer it expands a bit and then sticks (because its wood). The effect is doubled since it is a double door.

Having said that, when we eventually replace it, we will likely get another wooden door.

You might want to have a storm door to stop the leaks in the winter.

If we did fiberglass, Thermatru. Wood, would be from a shop local here called Nicks building supply, mahogany wood.

And yes we will get a storm door eventually. I’m really torn. I’m more worried I think about the insulation between wood or fiberglass.

Therma Tru is an ok product I would still be concerned with the vendor who does the prehanging and the dealer who sells them. Nicks I a not at all familiar with.

I had a painted solid oak front door with a storm door when living in Denver. In the summer the sun-baked through the storm door with enough heat to cause the paint to bubble. In the winter the wood shrinkage showed a definite bare wood line around each panel. The door faced south-east. I don't know if this sways your opinion, but I would not install wood again.

"we live in Indiana and the door will be under an 8’ porch. "

Sounds like that should take the brunt of the weather off the door but I would still be concerned with the manufacturer of the door and the quality of the millwork vendor.

Wooden doors requires regular maintenance. Besides this they have advantages like pleasing, versatile, durable and can be painted any color.

Melange Restoration

166 West 75th Street Suite 603, New York

(347) 754-0132

Millworkman, do you have any wood entry door manufacturers you would recommend?

I had a mahogany front door at our old house. House was located in NC. The front of the house faced east. That door took a beating from the sun and required regular maintenance. It was under a porch but the sun still comes in under the porch roof. Went with fiberglass in current house. Here's a pic of how it looked before having it completely redone.

And after it was redone(not cheap). We moved shortly after this:

Same as vinmarks, Our lovely wooden door gets blasted with NC sun all day. It was refinished last year and already there are places where it needs help again...

wdberger, are you talking about a door from a lumberyard or a custom wood door?

Serious question because I don't know....do they make steel doors that look like what you want?

fiberglass will give you better insulation, less shrinkage, and less maintenance. if you can find something with a convincing enough wood texture but in a fun color, it should look close enough to painted wood. (I think some kinds might not be paintable so ask about that.)

I strongly encourage viewing full size doors IRL to decide. these are things you can't really determine from photos or sample scraps.

Millworkman - Not sure - we are looking to replace a metal entry door which was installed prior to us purchasing the 1912 Craftsman style home and investigating between wood or fiberglass. West facing but enough porch overhang to more than quailfy for standard wood door warranties. Would be a slab only as we want to preserve the existing leaded glass transom as well as the single sidelight. Doors4home.com has a wide selection, but no idea on quality. Buying local would be great, but the few custom shops we've visited won't sell just a slab.

Simpson, Rogue Valley and Lemieux are some of the brands I would look at in a wood door. From a real lumberyard, not a box store or an internet vendor.

Thank you.

I installed a Provia Fiberglass door on my last home pictured below. People would assume it’s an actual wood door. I loved that door and I’m hoping to one day replace my current door with another Provia Door.

Here's the link to the Provia Signet Series

Signet Fiberglass Entry Door Styles | Custom Size Doors (provia.com)

Can I ask you what you eventually decided? We are in Indiana also - and I'm going through the same debate (and companies you listed)? Thanks!!