Buy Wood Exterior Doors Here
Browse the list of exterior wood doors. The pages are organized by wood type
for easy shopping.
What You Need To Know About Wood Exterior Doors
There are wood exterior doors that are nothing more than a few boards joined
together to make a solid, flat surface. Most upscale homes have more elaborately
designed wood exterior doors. There are numerous parts that make up such a door.
The main part of fancy wood exterior doors is only the beginning of the
extravagance. Stiles are the vertical parts of the door that go on either side.
There is a mullion in the middle of the door itself. This is a vertical bar of
wood reinforcing the door and adding detail.
Between the stiles and the mullion are panels of wood. These may be raised,
flat, or carved. The panel profile refers to the detailing on the panels. Panels
can be plain or fancy. There can be several on a door, or only two. Sometimes,
the most luxurious effect is achieved by simple panels surrounded by elaborate
glass detailing.
In the top half of there may be a feature called a lite, or light. This is a
glass section that lets in sunshine. It may be nearly the width of the door,
excluding the stiles.
The design of the glass is nearly always ornate, and usually matches with
sidelights on each side of the door. There is usually caming in the glass, which
is a metal bonding material that is used to fuse pieces of glass together. This
is much the same process as making stained glass, except that the glass pieces
may or may not be colored.
You may have a sidelight on one side of the door, or one on each side. An
elaborate door may have many sidelights. They may have rectangular glass insets,
or the glass may be oval. Sometimes the design in the sidelights, as well as on
the lite, is colored in bright hues. A mull post separates the door from the
sidelights.
The sill goes across the bottom of the door system. It makes connection with the
sweep of the door to form a weather-tight seal. The sweep is a piece of flexible
steel attached to the base of the door.
The door jambs of wood exterior doors are the parts of the door frame where the
door is secured to the house. The casing is the usual trim that is put around
the door to cover the edges of the jamb. Virtually all wood exterior doors have
these features.
The casing connects to the sash, which is a frame for the transoms of wood
exterior doors. Transoms have been in favor for years. In the past they have
often been made to be opened to let fresh air and cross breezes into the house.
In modern days of air conditioning, the transoms are often made only as a
decoration.
Transoms can have decorative glass with metal detailing or etched designs. They
are arched, rectangular, or square. They give wood exterior doors a look of
class and refinement.
When you know the parts of wood exterior doors, you can talk about them with
confidence. You can order doors with all the features you like. It only takes a
few minutes to learn. |
