When selecting or specifying doors, architects commonly have four materials to choose from—namely wood, aluminum, metal, or fiberglass. Wood doors are commonly regarded as suitable for lighter-duty interior or exterior applications where the wood grain appearance is desirable. Aluminum doors are typically found in exterior storefront or interior applications where extensive glass or glazing is used. For many other commercial, industrial, and institutional settings, hollow metal doors and frames are often seen as the default door system. However they have limitations particularly in high-use, heavy-duty, or corrosive environments. In those cases, rust, denting, and deterioration become ongoing maintenance issues that can reduce performance and notably shorten their useful life. In response, fiberglass reinforced polymer (FRP) doors and frames have become widely used to overcome the limitations of other door systems, thus providing a preferred choice.

Door Systems Overview: Comparing Choices

One of the keys to a successful building design is the selection and specification of the best material for a particular application. For many buildings that includes the best door material. For purposes of this article we are going to focus on buildings that have high demands either because of high usage or their surrounding interior or exterior environment. In those cases, the choices narrow down to door materials that have been tested and shown to perform well in those situations. Wood and aluminum do not commonly perform well in those situations, so we will focus our comparison on metal and fiberglass door systems.

Metal Doors and Frames

Historically, metal was more commonly used as a cladding for protecting wood doors than an independent door material. In the mid 1800s, for example, contractors began cladding wood doors with steel to protect them from impact by livestock. It wasn't until 1879 that the “hollow metal door” was invented by the Mesker Door Co. in St. Louis, Missouri. It clearly caught on, becoming a popular choice and has evolved dramatically since then.

Selecting doors made from materials appropriate to the environment where they are installed is key to the long-term success of a design project. Photo courtesy of Chase Doors