Around the country you can see quite a number of houses with patios.
These patios are simple installations that serve as a transition space of house’s interior living area to the outdoor garden. Because there’s a need to keep the security and the privacy of the home, patio doors need to be placed and in choosing one you have to select the fixture that could give a smooth flow.
Patio doors are forms of exterior doors that should match the design and the look of the house.
Here are a few guidelines to assist you in choosing one for your house:

• The first design consideration that you need to look into is the method of how the door will open.

There are different types of door opening methods to choose from such as sliding or swinging.

• Swinging doors will definitely need more space while sliding doors will not need as much.
• If you do not want to rearrange your furniture to give way to a swinging door, just choose a sliding door instead.
• The next thing that you need to consider is the size. Always bear in mind that patio doors are the access ways from your living room to the outdoor space. To get a more outdoorsy feel in the patio, you must choose a bigger door or a double door. A folding patio door will also be a good alternative.
• Patio doors will surely be used with glass so as not to completely obstruct the outdoor view. You can always consult experienced door dealers for the different options so you could still maintain security and privacy even if glass panel is used. You can choose internal grills, blinds, frosted glass or tinted glass.
• The materials used for these entry doors should not only compliment the overall style of the house, they must be easy to maintain and durable to avoid spending much for frequent repairs.

According to the statistics, burglaries that happen in the homes account for over 20 percent of property crimes. These housebreaks can even happen in gated communities.
In some cases, burglars intrude the house even if the homeowners are present. This statistical data is alarming and this should prompt homeowners to increase the security of their houses.
Homeowners should learn more ways on how they can prevent these robbers from choosing their homes to do unlawful acts.

• The first lines of defense of your house against burglars are your exterior doors. If these are poor quality fixtures, they would instantly be the instant access of the intruders into your homes.

You must replace old and dilapidated doors with modern units which are available in the market today. New doors, once installed, offer more security protection against burglary compared to the old doors.
Always see to it that all doors and other point of entries are locked.

• Many burglars also gain access into the house through the garage doors.

Newer models of garage doors are specifically made to increase the security of the house.
Keyless entry system can be installed through the garage door opener. This way, you will not have to leave a duplicate key under one of the plant pots outside your garage.
Modern garage doors have remote controls that refresh the codes every time the units are locked so even if burglars use a device that copies the codes through radio frequency, the fixture cannot be opened. This is because internal code has automatically been changed. This good feature has to be look into by homeowners.

• Adding lights in the walkways and pathways that lead to your front door and the garage can even be advantageous. A porch light that illuminates the front area of the house can increase visibility and burglars may skip your home when looking for a new victim.
• If you have enough budgets it is recommended to install motion detector cameras in all entry points of the house. This surely strengthens security in your home.

Although there are many interior designers that can help you in properly positioning the components of your doors in relevance to the house structure, you can definitely save money by designing your own entrance façade.
You do not have to be an expert to be able to do this. You just have to be keen on the design and the functionality of your exterior doors. The entrance door does not only include the door itself, the components around it including the panels, the frames and the lighting are also counted in when designing this part of the home.
Here are some tips to elevate your home design and curb appeal through your door:

• The placement of the door must be properly planned. This does not only allow function to be the priority but also the overall exterior look of the house. It is always better to have the door at the center part of the house. If you have a small welcoming area, then the entrance door should lead the visitor there. Add the door to the part where the hallway leads.
• To elevate the door design, you may add windows on both sides of the door or glass panels that are of the same height as the door itself. If you have space, a double door will always look great in houses. The windows will add illumination to the interior part of the door hallway and they also add elegance to the house exterior.
• Beams and panels may also be added to frame the door to the middle. This will be perfect when you wish to create balance in the exterior design of the entry doors. If you are planning to add panels and beams, you must make this decision prior to the construction phase because these structures require a little more architecture and engineering compared to other design ideas.
• You may also add a peephole to add security to the home. A doorbell may be added for convenience as well. Some homeowners purchase motion and light detectors which are activated at night so that they can be alarmed if there are people outside the house.
• Do not forget to choose a door design that will fit the theme of the home exterior.

Painting is one of those projects in the house that homeowners can easily do by themselves. It may sound simple but if you do not do it correctly, you will just end up wasting money because you will need to do it all over again.
You can always find a company to do this for you but if you want to be practical and save money, you can definitely paint stuff by yourself. Doors are among the parts of the house that need to be painted regularly.
Read these tips on how you can paint your doors in your house to have a successful outcome:
When painting doors, you always have to know the material that you will be painting on.

• Different types of paint should be used for different materials such as metal, wood, or fiberglass.
• You also need to know where the door will be placed. If the door is for the interior spaces, then you can choose any type of paint but for doors that are used for exterior spaces such as the entry doors and the residential garage doors, you must only use exterior type of paint.

The surface of the door must be prepared properly before starting the actual paint job.

• Preparations for this project include sanding and the solvent to be used for cleaning the surface.
• The sanding process will give a smooth finish to the surface and it may also get rid of surface scratches.
• The solvent will help remove dirt and dust which will definitely jeopardize the final finish of your paint job if they are not removed properly.

When it comes to the basics of painting doors, you always have to remove any hardware or wrap them in paper and tape so they won’t be painted on.

•  If you choose the taping method, secure parts as close as possible to its borders to avoid spending a lot of time in retouching those areas.

As a general rule, painting exterior doors should always begin with the framework and not the door itself. Interior doors are quite different because molded edges have to be painted first.