Tips for Minneapolis Homeowners on Choosing the Right Entry Doors

Perhaps it’s time for new entry doors at your home.  People we talk to have lots of reasons for looking at new doors – the existing ones don’t work well or they leak air.  Maybe they aren’t as secure as you’d like.  Or you’d really like a facelift for your home’s exterior.  That – by the way – is a very valid reason for replacing your entry doors, especially the front door.  Entry doors get noticed, and you’d like the looks your doors get to be good ones, right?  So it just makes sense that if it’s time for new doors, you evaluate your options carefully so you can choose the best doors for you and your home.

Our Minnesota licensed home improvement company specializes in energy-efficient products like exterior doors.  We work with high quality companies like Marvin and ProVia to offer entry doors, patio doors, and storm doors that meet the needs of Minneapolis homeowners.  (We also serve St. Paul and the surrounding metro area.)  And when we meet with a prospective customer, here are some of the factors we consider when suggesting doors:

Factors in Choosing Entry Doors

• Budget:  Knowing what you’re anticipating on spending for your door replacement project will help us narrow down the options. Price range affects a variety of things like frame materials and add-on options. We don’t want to waste your time suggesting doors that are cost more than you’re comfortable spending.
• Style of Home: This is an important consideration.  If you’ve got an older, traditional home or an historic home, modern looks won’t work.  And if your home is in an historic district, you’re likely going to be limited to doors that either replicate the existing ones or fit the time period in question.
• Door Opening Size:  Are you limited to the current size of the door opening or can the opening be enlarged?   If a bigger area can be used, that expands your options as well.  You might go from a single to a double door configuration.  Or a single door with matching sidelites.
• Personal Taste: We want you to LOVE your new entry doors, and that won’t be the case if what we suggest doesn’t fit with your personal preference.  For example, homeowners who love the natural look might be more inclined to choose genuine wood or wood-look fiberglass doors rather than sleek, modern doors.
• Security Concerns: Some door frame materials and in fact styles themselves are more secure than others.  For example, a wood door is more vulnerable to a break-in than a steel door.
• Privacy Issues: Here’s where both the position of your home relative to the street and what the entry area is like matter.   If your home is in a secluded area, privacy may not matter as much as a home that’s close to the curb of a busy street.  Likewise, if your entry area is closed off and you can’t see into your home from the doorway, privacy might not be at the top of your list.  Privacy can be addressed in several ways, whether it’s a no-glass door or one with obscuring glass.  Even built-in blinds can do the trick.
• Color and Finish: A home’s exterior looks most attractive when the doors and windows coordinate.   The only exception to this is the front door.  This is one area where you can experiment with color.  It can provide a refreshing accent as well as draw attention to your front entry area.  A colored front door can go a long way towards making people feel welcome.  Plus it can make your home stand out.  Imaging being able to tell people you live in the brick house with the wine colored front door (shown above)!  We would suggest, however, that the other entry doors be a similar style but not necessarily the color of the front door.

We have so many different options available in entry doors that we are confident we can help you select the perfect doors for your home – doors you’ll be pleased with and proud of.  We’d love to show some of them to you by inviting you to schedule a private consultation at our Savage area showroom.  We can do that in conjunction with an in-home visit to evaluate your door areas.  Our aim is to be THE door company for Minneapolis, and making sure each customer gets the right doors will go a long way towards that goal.

 

 

 

Window Outfitters is a premier Window Replacement, doors, siding contractor and installer. As Contractor in the St Paul, Minneapolis, (Twin Cities) Minnesota (MN) metro, we proudly serve, but are not limited to, the following areas: Minneapolis Energy Efficient Vinyl Windows, Replacement Window Contractors Minnesota, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Lakeville, Savage, Bloomington, Edina, Richfield, Eagan, St Paul, Hastings, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Farmington MN, Chaska, Shakopee, Chanhassen, Victoria, Mendota Heights Anderson Windows Minneapolis, Marvin Windows Minneapolis.