Door – Wrought Iron Door
My wife is interested in a front entry door with wrought iron grills. I have looked for fiberglass doors with iron grills but the options seem very limited. She has found doors that are made of steel tubing but, living in Zone 5, I am hesitant about this.
It looks like some companies offer “thermally broken” doors but I’m curious how these doors would handle different seasons, if there would be condensation issues, etc.
Anyone have experience with these kind of doors or have door recommendation s for this style?
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Replies
If you limit your choices to doors with an NFRC label at least you know what you are getting.
https://www.nfrc.org/energy-performance-label/#:~:text=The%20NFRC%20label%20helps%20you%20compare%20between%20energy%2Defficient%20windows,performance%20ratings%20in%20multiple%20categories.&text=U%2DFactor%20measures%20how%20well,is%20at%20keeping%20heat%20in.
Seem like a full steel door in zone 5 is very likely to be soaking wet with condensation all winter long and rusty by year 2 and rust stains on the floor by year 4.
Walta
nlbailey,
This is a discussion around the same topic you may find useful:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/question/wife-really-loves-the-design-of-a-custom-steel-and-glass-door-for-the-front-its-not-thermally-broken
I had a similar situation with my own front entry door. After doing some research and talking to a few experts, I decided to go with a fiberglass door with an iron grill insert. It was a bit tricky to find the right one, but I ended up getting a custom door made. The fiberglass provides great insulation, which is crucial for our climate, and the iron grill gives it the stylish look we wanted. You might want to consider going the custom route as well—it can be more expensive, but it's worth it for the durability and energy efficiency.
On a related note, while researching, I stumbled upon a site called "Let Us Iron Out Your Wrought Iron Furniture Needs!" It had a lot of helpful information about maintaining and caring for wrought iron in various climates. This was particularly useful for us, as it gave us insights into how to handle condensation and weather-related issues. If you're concerned about how your door will hold up, I highly recommend checking it out. You can find more information here https://wrought-iron-furniture.com/ .