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Door installers replace front entry doors, side and back doors and the door between the garage and the house, usually with prehung units that come with their own frame, sill and weatherstripping. They also rehang doors that have sagged, rebuild rotten sills and jambs, upgrade locks and add storm doors. Patio and garden doors follow many of the same rules, with more glass and a longer threshold to keep watertight.
This page compares steel, fibreglass and wood doors, describes the main types of exterior doors, explains the security details that make a door hard to force and the weatherstripping and energy ratings that keep it from leaking heat, walks through a door installation and helps you decide when repair makes more sense than replacement.
Exterior door materials compared: steel, fibreglass and wood
Many exterior doors today have an insulated core wrapped in a steel, fibreglass or wood skin, and Natural Resources Canada notes that insulated-core doors are more thermally resistant than doors made of solid material. The skin decides how the door looks, how it stands up to knocks and weather, and how much upkeep it needs.
- Steel door: a steel skin over an insulated core, strong and generally economical, a common choice for entry and side doors; dents are hard to repair and scratches must be touched up to prevent rust.
- Fibreglass door: resists dents, rot and rust, copes well with sun and temperature swings, and can be moulded with a wood-grain texture that takes stain.
- Wood door: solid or engineered wood with the richest look, well suited to heritage homes, but it moves with humidity and needs a sheltered spot and regular refinishing.
- Glass inserts and sidelights: they bring light into the entrance, but every pane is a weaker point for heat loss and security, so check the glazing ratings and consider laminated or tempered glass near the lock.
- Frame and sill: a rot-resistant composite or treated frame and an adjustable threshold matter as much as the door itself, since the bottom of the frame is often the first part to deteriorate.
Types of exterior doors: entry, side, patio, garden and storm doors
- Front entry door: usually a hinged, prehung unit, sometimes with sidelights or a transom, where security, insulation and appearance all count.
- Side and back doors: simpler units, often steel, that see heavy daily use and harsh exposure on the least visible sides of the house.
- Door from the garage into the house: subject to specific building code requirements because it separates the living space from the garage, so ask the installer what applies.
- Sliding patio door: two or more large glass panels, one of which slides, a space-saver that depends on clean tracks and well-adjusted rollers.
- Garden door: a pair of hinged glass doors, one or both of which open, giving a wider passage than a slider but needing room to swing.
- Storm door: an extra door outside the main one that shelters it from wind and snow, often with an interchangeable screen for summer.
Exterior door security: deadbolts, strike plates, hinges and glass
A door is rarely forced by breaking through the door itself. The weak points are usually the frame around the lock, which a kick can split, and glass within reach of the lock. Good security is therefore mostly a matter of how the door and its hardware are anchored to the wall framing.
- A deadbolt that throws fully into the frame, separate from the latch in the handle.
- A reinforced strike plate fastened with long screws that go through the jamb into the wall framing.
- Hinges secured with at least one long screw each into the framing, and non-removable pins on doors that swing outward.
- Solid shims behind the lock and hinge areas, so the jamb can't flex when someone pushes on the door.
- Laminated glass or a solid panel near the lock, and a wide-angle viewer or sidelight so you can see who is outside.
Keeping the cold out: weatherstripping, thresholds and energy ratings for exterior doors
ENERGY STAR certification in Canada covers doors as well as windows, and the Energy Rating (ER) applies to both, so compare the ratings of the complete unit, glass included. A door with a lot of glass generally performs less well than a solid insulated one, which is why sidelights and full-glass doors deserve a close look at their ratings.
Much of the cold a door lets in comes around its edges rather than through the door. Natural Resources Canada recommends good-quality V-shaped vinyl weatherstripping on the top and sides of the frame, which keeps contact with the door even if it warps slightly, and a gasketed sweep or threshold weatherstripping at the bottom. Many steel doors use magnetic weatherstripping instead. Daylight or air at the edges, or ice forming on the seal, means the weatherstripping or the door's adjustment needs attention. A worn seal is quick to replace, but a sagging door will leak again until its hinges are adjusted or it is rehung.
How an exterior door is installed, from removal to final adjustment
- Measuring: the installer measures the rough opening and the wall thickness and notes the swing direction and hardware locations before ordering a prehung unit.
- Removal: the old door, frame and sill come out, and the subfloor and framing under the sill are checked for rot.
- Sill protection: a sill pan or flashing membrane goes under the threshold, so water that gets past it drains outward instead of into the floor.
- Setting and shimming: the unit is set level and plumb, shimmed solidly at the hinges and lock, and fastened through the jamb into the framing.
- Adjustment: the door is checked for an even gap all around, the latch and deadbolt engage without force, and the adjustable threshold is set against the sweep.
- Insulation and sealing: low-expansion foam or insulation fills the gap around the frame, the interior air seal is completed, and the exterior is sealed and flashed.
- Finishing: interior casing, exterior trim or capping and the lockset are installed, and the keys are tested before the crew leaves.
Repair or replace an exterior door: how to decide
- Repair when the door drags or won't latch because of loose hinges or a shifted strike plate; an adjustment often solves it.
- Repair when the weatherstripping, sweep or threshold cap is worn but the door and frame are sound.
- Repair when a lock or handle fails, since hardware can be replaced and upgraded without touching the door.
- Replace when the bottom of the frame or the sill is rotten, since water damage there usually spreads into the floor.
- Replace when a steel skin is rusting through, or a wood door has split or warped so badly that it no longer seals.
- Replace when the door's glass has fogged and no replacement insert is available, or when you want security and energy performance the old unit can't give.
Exterior Doors: frequently asked questions
Steel or fibreglass: which makes the better front door?
Steel is strong and economical, but it dents and can rust where the finish is damaged. Fibreglass resists dents and rust, handles sun and temperature swings well and can pass for wood. For a door facing full sun or salty coastal air, fibreglass is often worth a look; either way, compare the ratings and the warranty.
Why does ice form on the inside of my front door?
Warm, moist indoor air is reaching a cold surface: often the edge of the door where the weatherstripping no longer seals, the glass, or a frame that lets cold through. Check the seals and the door's adjustment first; if the frame itself is cold and damp, the unit may need replacing.
Can a new door be hung in the existing frame?
Sometimes. Replacing only the door keeps the old frame and sill, which works when they are square, sound and dry. Often, though, a prehung unit with a new frame, sill and weatherstripping seals better and causes fewer adjustment problems.
How can I make my exterior door more secure without replacing it?
Add a good deadbolt, swap the strike plate for a reinforced one fastened with long screws into the wall framing, and put a long screw in each hinge. If there is glass near the lock, consider laminated glass or a security film.
Is a storm door worth adding?
A storm door shields the main door from wind, rain and snow and adds a layer of still air in front of it. On a door that gets strong afternoon sun, check the door manufacturer's advice first, since heat trapped between the two doors can damage some finishes.
Sources
Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Reviewed by Zubair Afzal on September 10, 2026. How we write and check our guides