The door is the first part of a home you touch. It remains the focus of anticipation throughout a lifetime. The entry door helps keep us safe from weather and unwelcome guests. It also greets our friends and families when they visit. With so much attention and time spent on just 20-square-feet of your home, it’s important to know a few things that can help make using your door more enjoyable. Here are 6 door details we want you to know.
1. Door hinges benefit from beefier screws.
Basic hinge packages for doors may come with 1” long screws. While these are adequate for hanging a door, they aren’t offering security against break-ins and they aren’t securing the door against future sagging. Check the length of your screws and beef up two screws in each hinge to 3” long screws if they are shorter.
2. If you can slip a dollar under your door, you are losing money.
Literally and literally. If there’s a gap under your entry door that allows a dollar to slip underneath, you are losing conditioned air every season of the year. Add a door sweep to the underside inside of the door to seal it shut.
3. Wood is good, just not in a damp space.
Wood is currently ranking as a super popular choice for entry doors. Many entry doors that look like wood are actually another material like fiberglass and they are made for weather. If you are thinking about wood doors inside your home, just be sure to seal them properly as wood can warp in damp or wet locations like bathrooms, laundry rooms, and basements.
4. Prehung and slabs make for very different door installations.
If you are buying a new door for your entry or interior spaces, make sure you know the difference between a slab and prehung. A slab is just the door. It doesn’t have any holes for hardware or locks. It’s just a door. A prehung door comes with the holes drilled and it’s already mounted in a frame or jamb.
5. Door swing depends on a plumb jamb, not casing.
A door hangs from the door jamb, so it needs to be perfectly plumb. In an old house, you will likely have some trouble making the door casing perfectly plumb without it looking off to the rest of the room. Houses are made from organic materials, and they settle with age and expand and contract with the weather. Within reason, it’s natural and it’s safe.
6. Door color may be revealing something about you.
Color choice is personal and you can pick any color you want for your door. However, it’s helpful to know how humans react to colors. If you want visitors to feel welcome and calm, blue is a good pick. It’s also American’s favorite color. Red is a bold choice that is high energy and powerful. Yellow is friendly and gives a cheery impression. No matter the color you pick, make sure to use semi-gloss paint so it’s easy to clean. But if your heart is set on a matte look, ask for an ultra deep base. This gives it a slight sheen, which makes it cleanable.
