It’s easy to take your entry door for granted. After all, many households barely use them, but that doesn’t mean they should take a back seat when you’re improving your home. Entry doors are an important feature of any home, and you should consider replacing your front door if you want to improve your home’s safety, energy efficiency, and curb appeal. Here are three major benefits of replacing your entry door.
1. Add Curb Appeal
A new entry door is a great way to update your home’s look without a major remodel. Not only is it cost effective, but it can also increase the value of your home and add a wow factor that attracts potential buyers long before they set foot in your home. Whether you’re looking for double front doors or a single one, you can have it made of a composite material, metal, fiberglass, or steel. In fact, according to a 2018 cost vs. value report done by Provia, replacing your existing door with a new steel entry door is the number two best value project for mid-range home improvements and the number three best value project for home improvements overall. The expected return on investment is a whopping 91 percent of the total cost. So, in a way, replacing your entry door almost pays for itself, especially when you consider the other benefits entry door replacements offer.
Even if you’re not planning to sell your home in the future, you’re the one who has to look at your replacement entry door every day, so why not be proud of it?
2. Increase Energy Savings
Do you feel a draft around your door? Whether it’s from regular wear and tear or weather damage, older doors and frames, especially wood versions, wear out over time and can lead to a significant increase in energy bills. A new entry door is a great way to decrease your energy bill by helping keep outside air from coming in and conditioned air from escaping. According to energy.gov, the potential energy savings from reducing drafts in a home range from 5 percent to 30 percent per year. While this depends on many factors, sealing air leaks around windows and doors is something every homeowner should consider. Also, if you see yourself in your home for the foreseeable future, the cost savings will be more substantial.
Although replacing your house’s front door is a great start, replacing your windows will allow you to reap the full benefits. A new exterior door alone may provide some savings, but if you still have air leaks around windows, it will not be enough to make a substantial difference. If you’re thinking about replacing your windows, here’s a list of things to consider. As a general rule, windows and doors should be replaced together to maximize energy savings, but this is not always the case. If you’re unsure, contact one of our Dallas replacement window experts, and we will help you determine if it’s time to replace your windows.
3. Improve Security & Durability
At their core, entry doors are meant to do one thing: protect you and your family from the outside world. This includes the elements and potential intruders. In a poll of convicted burglars serving jail time, many noted that cheap wooden doors make a home an ideal target for burglary, mainly because they are easy to kick in. When you pair this fact with the energy savings, it makes a strong case for replacing your entry door with an energy-efficient steel one.
In addition to better protecting your home, swapping out a wooden door and frame for a new steel or fiberglass one increases durability and decreases maintenance. While wood and steel doors both have the same lifespan (15-20 years), steel doors require less maintenance and cost significantly less, making them an ideal choice for most homes. In addition to less maintenance, new doors have more security and locking features that can help to better protect your home.
These are just a few of the benefits of replacing your entry door. While it can be expensive and a dreaded task, at the end of the day, it’s worth the investment, especially if you’re considering selling your home in the near future. If you would like more information about entry door replacement, feel free to contact us at (940) 898-9988. One of our door replacement experts will be happy to determine whether or not it’s time to get a new entry door and answer any questions you may have.