Fiberglass VS Wood Doors: Which is Better? (2022 Guide)

Today, the options you have for home materials are staggering. Just for something as simple as your exterior doors, you can choose from fiberglass, wood, steel, or even iron in a massive variety of sub-styles.

So, which one should you go with? Which type of door is going to look great while also providing enough advantages to warrant its cost?

Today, we’re going to go over the two most common door types: Fiberglass vs wood doors. We’ll compare all their different traits, prices, and more so you can decide which one is right for you. Let’s get started.

Fiberglass Doors: Pros and Cons of Fiberglass Doors

Fiberglass doors are relatively new compared to the age-old wood doors everyone is more than familiar with. The fiberglass door is yet another advancement in technology, and in some ways, it far exceeds traditional options. However, it’s not perfect, and it quickly falls behind in certain areas.

The Pros of Fiberglass Doors:

Fiberglass is a synthetic material, and it lends several pros to the doors made from it. To start off on a positive note, we’ll go over all the pros and cons of fiberglass doors.

Low Maintenance:

Fiberglass doors require practically zero maintenance. This is because a fiberglass door is made from polymer that is reinforced with glass fiber to add to its tensile strength and overall durability. Like most plastics, fiberglass is highly resilient to wear and tear, and you typically won’t have to worry about maintaining it at all. 

At most, you’ll have to touch up the paint job if you purchase a painted door, but even that’s a rarity.

Durability:

The same qualities that make a fiberglass door so low maintenance also make it resilient to damage. It’s virtually invulnerable to water damage, can take massive impacts without suffering a scratch, and ultimately, it can outlast you.

Unlimited Customization:

One of the advantages of using any form of plastic is that it’s fairly easy to shape, color, or design in any way imaginable. That’s true about fiberglass, too.

You can find premade doors that look like various wood species, metal varieties, vibrant colors, and a variety of other things. If it’s commonly seen for a door, there’s a good chance you can find a manufacturer producing it in bulk.

However, it doesn’t stop there. Let’s say you have a unique design in mind for a brand-new home you’re building or a renovation you’re doing. If you can’t find a door that matches that design style, you can easily hire a custom service to make the exact door you want. It doesn’t matter if you want a standard door that looks like Teak, or an imaginative, nontraditional door. It can be made without too much fuss.

Given the natural limitations of carving wood or working with various metals, this is probably where fiberglass doors stand out the most. 

Energy Efficient:

One money-saving benefit of fiberglass doors is that they’re 6x as energy efficient as wooden doors. This means that they can help trap heat and cool air – depending on how you’re controlling your home’s temperature – inside of your house more effectively. This can lower your energy bill by allowing your HVAC system to work less, and who doesn’t like saving a bit of money each month?

This can also be an appealing feature if you’re aiming to live a “greener” lifestyle. While the door is essentially plastic, its energy efficiency, and extremely long lifespan more than make up for its manufacturing process.

The Cons of Fiberglass Doors:

After reviewing all the pros, you’re probably gearing up to order your new fiberglass door as soon as possible. However, you might want to think twice. There aren’t many cons to fiberglass doors, but the few that do exist might be deal-breakers.

Price:

This is the biggest drawback of buying a fiberglass door. They are expensive. A lot of work goes into reinforcing the base polymer with glass fiber, and the materials aren’t cheap in the slightest. In fact, you can expect more than twice the price of a premium wooden door for just a stock fiberglass door.

However, you will only need to buy the fiberglass door once; granted no extreme elements or events affect it. So, you might pay twice as much, but you might also have to replace a comparative wooden door multiple times depending on how well you maintain it. In the end, it might be cheaper. Of course, that depends largely on the wooden door you compare it to and how much care you put into it.

Faux:

Fiberglass doors can be manufactured to look like the finest wood species, and they look beautiful. However, there will always be that little difference that gives it away as a “fake” door. It’s kind of like a leather jacket. PLU leather jackets can be on par with the top of the fashion world; they’re still noticeably not real leather.

This is such a minor detail that you probably won’t care, but if you absolutely want a traditional door, fiberglass might not be the best choice for you. 

Availability:

This is a very minor con. You can find tons of online retailers selling fiberglass doors, and you can usually find them at specialty stores that sell doors and other home renovation products. However, you’re not likely to bump into a massive selection of them at a store like Home Depot. So, driving to the store, selecting a door, and quickly taking it home for installation isn’t quite as convenient.

Wood Doors: The Pros and Cons of Wooden Doors

Wooden doors are about as traditional as they come, and they have several pros and cons you should consider.

The Pros of Wood Doors:

Real wood doors balance out well when it comes to their pros and cons. Let’s start with the pros.