There are a lot of homeowners today who really want to salvage anything that they can still use in order to save money. But when it comes to entry doors, it will be more economical for the family to simply purchase a new one rather than continuously using a damaged or dilapidated door.
It must be remembered that doors function as energy-saving tools in the house since they regulate temperatures and they also serve as security tools in keeping the burglars away.
There are a lot of affordable doors that you can find which are just within your budget. But how do you know if it is high time to replace your fixtures?
Here are some basic guidelines regarding door replacements. These will apply to any exterior door including those in the garage and front area.

• Poor Quality. If the doors that you have at home are already showing signs of deteriorating quality, you should start looking for new doors to replace them.
  • The quality is very important because it will help maintain the door’s function.
  • A door with poor quality would also need a lot of maintenance and repairs so you will end up paying for more instead of saving money.
  • Old Garage Door. A lot of people ask on how they can determine if their garage door is considered old.
    • For beginners you have to take note that if your residential garage doors have already been used for almost 15 years or more, they are already deemed old and you must change them with a new model as soon as possible. Garage doors these days have new useful features.
    • Old doors do not only pose security risks; they might also cause problem with regard to safety and health of the family members.
    • Severe Damages.Many people would think that repairs can save them money instead of getting a replacement.
      • There are certain cases where the repair can cost as much as a new door. So it will definitely be better to just get rid of the damaged one and install the new fixture in your home.

When you want to make a patio with your extra lawn or backyard space, you will definitely need to have a door to match the elegance and beauty of your courtyard.
One of the best ways to have an easy transition from indoor to outdoor space is through the installation of glass doors for your patio. Sliding glass doors will be perfect for this project because these fixtures do not require a lot of space when opened.
Whether you have a professional contractor do it for you or you will be doing it yourself, your input here in this project should consider different factors.
Here are some useful tips:
Choose an appropriate door size.

• Just like garage door installation, fitting these glass doors and panels into your patio should require you to choose the perfect size for your space.
• If the garage door will depend on the number of cars that will park into the garage, the glass patio doors should depend on the available space and the overall traffic in the accessible room.
• You want a door that will not only look great but will function perfectly as well. If you have an existing door in that area and you just want to keep the size the same, take the measurements so you could replicate it to the glass door.

Choose a style that will match both the interior of the home and the theme of the patio.

• Your outdoor patio does not have to be of the same style as the indoor living room that it connects with but the glass door style must be associated with both indoor and outdoor spaces.
• The door serves as the mediator between the two so you need to choose something that is open to both styles.

Make access to the sliding glass door easy.

• Adding some details like a deck or a landing space will give you the advantage of easy access to your door.
• Entry doors must always have a safe access space from both the interior and exterior rooms. Arrange furniture properly inside the house so that the door can be easily reached.

One of the main purposes of your exterior doors is to regulate the temperature inside the house. This is also the function that keeps your electrical bills at its minimum.
If you turn on your heater during the winter season, the doors will keep the inside temperature warm for a long time even if you had shut your heater off. Gaps in the doors also allow strong winds to penetrate the houses and could raise your roof off the structure during storms and tornadoes. Without fixing them, insects and other pests can enter your homes through these openings.
Here are the ways on how to repair gaps on your doors:

• Check your doors and determine which ones do not seal properly. You may start with the front door because it is of a smaller scale and you can proceed to your garage door later.
• Inspect the hinges of the door to see if they are screwed tightly. There are some instances wherein the reason why the door has a gap is because the door is simply misaligned.
  • Unscrew the hinges of the door and properly fit the fixture carefully.
  • Mark the areas of the door where the new screws should be placed and drill holes on them.
  • Place the new screws carefully into the hinges and test the door if it opens and closes well.
  • Once the alignment of your doors is already fixed, you can now add weather stripping to the edges of your door. Weather strips will seal the gap between the frame and the door and this will help maintain the temperatures inside the house.
  • There will also be instances wherein the gaps are due to uneven door angles.
    • You can fix this by using a compass to determine the correct angle of the door edge. This can be very useful when fixing gaps in entry doors.
    • You can use a jigsaw to cut off that excess part of the edge and the door will close perfectly after that.
    • You can also add weather stripping to the garage door to seal the edges.

The common type of exterior doors used in most homes across the country is the wooden type. Many use wood because it can easily be turned into a decorative piece in the house. However, steel doors are also becoming popular since these types can offer superior security and function as well.
Unfortunately, many people think that a steel door does not look very attractive and there are limited things that you can do with it in terms of design. To add spice to this type of door, the easiest thing to do is to paint it. Painting a steel door is different from painting a wooden one mainly because of the material and how it reacts with the paint. Here are some tips on how to successfully do the painting.

• Prepare your steel door for the painting process. Remove all accessories like the knobs and clean them separately. With the use of rags, wipe the door using soapy water. Make sure all large debris and dirt will be removed. Let the steel door dry before moving on to the next step.
• If your steel door has windows or some portions that you do not want to be painted, you can line them with masking tape and place a covering like pieces of newspapers to prevent the paint from getting there. You can also lay a big piece of cloth to the surface where you will be painting the door to protect the floor. Also line the door frame with masking tape if you plan to paint the door without unhinging it.
• With the use of sandpaper, sand the door carefully to have a smooth surface. The sanding has to be done evenly. A metal primer must be painted over the newly sanded surface using a paintbrush.
• Once the metal primer has dried, you may now begin painting the door with latex paint, which works best in metal and steel doors. To have an even coat, you can use a roller paintbrush.
• Use a smaller brush to those hard to reach areas.
• Allow the latex to dry and add another coat to the entry doors. Let it dry again before putting back the door knobs and accessories. Remove all masking tapes to see if the paint hasn’t penetrated those areas.