Learning the Parts of Exterior Doors

Are you interested in shopping for exterior doors? These refer to doors that will face outside, and thus be constantly undergoing a pummeling by weather, heat, sunrays and cold winter nights.

Exterior doors are often classified according to material; however, what many people fail to realize is that doors are not always 100% pure material. There are doors made from composites and sections. A door might be made of wood on the surface but it may have steel framing. A door might be made of fiberglass in the middle but with a mahogany texture on the outside. Some exterior wood doors might also have a core of foam insulation to help improve insulation properties.

Popular Types of Exterior Doors

Some popular species of wood used include walnut, oak, pine, mahogany, juniper and cherry. Of course, there are advantages to all types of material. Wooden doors are excellent for natural insulation and are also more aesthetically pleasing than the alternatives.

Nevertheless, fiberglass exterior doors are maintenance free and lightweight. Steel is the strongest material available. Fiberglass exterior doors, like steel and aluminum can also come in authentic-looking wood grain finishes.

The typical entry or exterior door is made up of several parts. There is the casing, which refers to the door frame area; the hinge, hinge stile, and stop; the door panels which refer to the rectangular pieces on the exterior side of a front door, as well as mullion, top rail, lock rail and bottom rail; and finally the lock stile. The threshold is the bottom part of the door frame.

Exterior doors might not only refer to front doors but also to garden doors, backyard doors or patio doors.