DIY Network

Open Door Policies: Doors 101 -- What Should I Know? From "Blueprint for Home Building" episode DBHB-111

Host Jeff Wilson discusses doors for your new home in this week's episode of Blueprint for Home Building.

What's the big deal with a door you may be asking? You open it, you close it. What else is there to know? The answer: a lot!

The doors you choose, like the foundation, roof and siding of your new house, have a lasting impact on the kind of home you'll have in the years to come. This is because doors -- both exterior and interior -- fulfill a variety of functions.

The first function of a door is to provide entry to a home of its rooms, but there are two other functions of which all homeowners should be aware:

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Figure A

1. Weather protection -- Just as the name implies, how well do the exterior doors keep the weather out? In terms of the surface areas of a house, the doors are not a particularly large area, but in terms of an opening they are. Sealing around doors to keep the water out is really a way to protect against mold, which can be an extremely damaging value of the house -- as well as the health and safety of the occupants.

   
   

2. Aesthetics -- Should you really be concerned with how a door looks? With the abundance of styles and choices available, the answer is "yes" for most homeowners. Whether they are on the inside or the outside, doors are an easy way to bring additional style to your new home.

Like exterior siding and the roof, exterior doors (figure A) are part of your building envelope, discussed in the last episode ("Keeping the Outside In"), and must be designed to keep moisture or wind out. How a door does this is called "air sealing." What is important is how well he door does for air sealing because that is one of the largest locales of air leakage in the house.

Figure B

Exterior doors are air sealed in two ways:

• Compression -- Compression sealed doors use a flexible PVC gasket (figure B) that fits along the four sides of an entry way. When the door is closed, the gasket is "compressed" into place, forming a tight seal.

• Magnetic seals around the perimeter, which are more expensive but can be more efficient when it comes to keeping out the elements. The metal or steel doors you can purchase have magnetic seals that are like what appear on refrigerator doors. Magnetic strips are on the sides of the doors, as well as the door frame. As the door shuts the magnets are drawn to each other. The result is a tight fit that is a great air sealant. Even though magnetically sealed doors are more expensive, in the long run due to the added efficiency you could save money.

Note: Usually the product literature for the door will describe the nature of the sealing, whether it's compression or magnetic. Most doors are compression seals these days.

There are many characteristics you can add or combine together to create the look of an exterior or interior door. Some of the most common of these include:

Paneling (figure C)-- This refers to the sectional look of a door. Panels can be "raised" in order to accentuate the geometrical effect.
• Louvering (figure D)-- These are slats that decorate a door and usually are found on closet or bathroom doors. A louvered door is also good for helping air ventilation between rooms.

• Glazing -- This refers to the shiny exterior applied to some doors. In addition to providing an aesthetic look, glazing can also help protect exterior doors from the elements.

• Transparencies (figure E) -- These are glass or other see-through materials that are placed in a door for security, view or to let in outside light.

Certain style elements may cost a bit more, but the doors you install will be in your home for years to come, therefore, it's important to keep aesthetics in mind.

Figure C

Figure D

Figure E

In the next segment we'll take a closer look at your exterior-door options.

GUESTS :

Bruce Dickson
Project Manager
IBACOS
Website: www.ibacos.com

John Broniek
Buildings Programs Manager
Ibacos
Website: www.ibacos.com

John Holton
Senior Architect
Ibacos
Website: www.ibacos.com

Patrick Janes
Andersen Windows
Website: www.andersenwindows.com

Larry Shapiro
Director of Marketing
Grace Company
62 Whittemore Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
Phone: 617-498-4888
E-mail: Lawrence.s.Shapiro@grace.com

Janet Greenway-Rader
President
Summit Door Inc.
1233 Enterprise Ct.
Corona, CA 92882
Phone: 909-272-6633
E-mail: jrader@summit-door.com