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Construction Guy Question
cbxjeff
Member Posts: 17,401 ✭✭✭✭
I need to replace four exterior doors. Two are on my home and two are on a rental. I really like the wood grain fiberglass ones and they would probably be fine for my place. I'm concerned about the other two. My worry is about sunlight deterioration of the finish. I've never had fiberglass doors before. My home's front and back doors face north and south and sun isn't a big problem. The other two (it's a double) the front doors face west and have no shade from trees or anything. Your advice guys.
Thanks,
Thanks,
It's too late for me, save yourself.
Comments
You might possibly get by with fiberglass if you lay on 2 coats of Marine Spar Varnish, because that should keep it from feathering & splitting off from sun exposure.
But, a Front door?! Steel or Solid core with a couple coats of outdoor paint. And Ken's Pit Bull behind it![:D]
First folks, I'm not cheap. I'm looking at appearance and I like the look of pre-finished fiberglass doors I see at Lowes. I don't want to do anything except have someone install them. I don't want any upkeep issues a few years away. Perhaps I'm asking too much for fiberglass in spite of how they look in the showroom.
I think you are on the right track. Find the warranty for finish and that will be your guide for life cycle. Lowes may not be the best place to get this type of product. Most are considered construction grade, at best. I bought Lowes French Doors 10 years ago and they are not very good products (Jeld-Wen) the large windows with blinds inside the glass have lost their seal twice. I am done fiddling with it and will just buy a new door this spring.
We are in Florida and and have lots of sunshine, their doors face East, yet have lasted as long as any other door.
There are cheap fiberglass doors and then there are expensive fiberglass doors .... you get what you pay for. I wouldn't worry at all about longevity so long as they are maintained.
Whatever you use make sure the top of the door won't allow water to get into the core! Even if you have to silicone it yourself.
I thought wooden doors were unfinished so they could breathe and wouldn't warp?
If you go with the fiberglass have a professional apply the stain and clearcoat over it. They can be a bugger to stain but they're more energy efficient than steel and look a heck of a lot better.
This is dead on. Fiberglass is great till you try to stain it yourself.
Use steel for your rentals