Best Exterior Wood Doors for Specific Climates
A Guide to the Best Exterior Doors for Specific Climates
TL;DR – Article Takeaways
- Different climates present unique challenges for exterior entry doors and dictate optimal wood species, design features, and routine care.
- Allegheny Wood Works has decades of experience building exterior wood doors for all climates throughout North America.
- Durable wood species include mahogany (Sapele or African), white oak, cypress, Spanish cedar, hickory, hard maple, red oak, and Brazilian cherry.
- All exterior doors are engineered with unique features like side stiles, expansion gaskets, and solid wood panels that provide exceptional protection against environmental exposure and seasonal fluctuations.
Quotes for Exterior Wood Doors
Choosing An Exterior Door & Wood Species for Your Climate
Matching an exterior door to your home or commercial property is often more about design or appearance than functionality. However, with a genuine Allegheny Wood Works solid wood exterior door, you can have both. With our products destined for homes and commercial properties across North America, we’ve manufactured durable solid wood exterior doors that deliver guaranteed performance characteristics no matter the climate conditions.
Whether you’re building a new home, remodeling, revitalizing a historic home, or just looking to enhance a business entrance, finding the right wood species for your door that delivers optimal results in your climate is essential. Thankfully, after manufacturing thousands of exterior wood doors, our team understands the optimal wood species to use in specific climates.
Best Wood Species for Exterior Doors in Specific Climates
While features like awnings, porches, or protected entrances may allow for more delicate wood species to be used on your exterior door, these are the most commonly recommended species for exterior doors in specific climates.
If you have additional questions about picking the right wood species for your exterior door and climate, please reach out to a member of our team today. All of our exterior doors are custom manufactured to individual specifications and engineered to perform for years in wet, hot, dry, or frigid climates.
Are Exterior Wood Doors Durable Enough for My Climate?
Even though steel and fiberglass doors may feel like a longer-lasting solution, they will also show wear and are more challenging to repair or maintain than a solid wood exterior door. Wood, no matter how hard or durable, is not infallible and will suffer from continual exposure to certain climate conditions. Even choosing one of the recommended species above is not a guarantee that the door will last in certain conditions. The following features of Allegheny Wood Works exterior doors provide the longevity and confidence homeowners need when upgrading their existing solution.
- Solid Wood Engineering & Design: Over the last two decades, we’ve refined our exterior door design to feature reinforced anchors, engineered side stiles, solid wood panels, expansion gaskets, solid rails, center stiles, and cope/stick joinery.
- Traditional Woodworking: Despite adding countless pieces of modern processing equipment and machinery to meet demand, we still pride ourselves on using traditional old-world woodworking methods to manufacture long-lasting exterior doors.
- Finish Sealing & Stain: Every door is finished with Sherwin-Williams sealants and stains before leaving our facility. This helps preserve the wood, enhance existing characteristics, and provide an extra barrier of protection against the elements.
- Simple Maintenance: Solid wood exterior doors are easy to maintain in any climate. Use gentle pressure washing or a hose to clean away debris, allow it to dry completely, and reapply stain or sealant as necessary.
Advantages of Wooden Doors in Cool, Hot, or Wet Climates
Every climate presents a different set of challenges or conditions that impact wooden doors. This breakdown helps illustrate the benefits of an Allegheny Wood Works custom-manufactured door as they pertain to each unique location.
- Hot Climates: Our exterior wood doors are designed to leave zero gaps along the door jamb or edges that can allow for heat intrusion or unwanted thermal exchange between the interior and exterior. Additionally, the solid wood construction reduces thermal expansion in high heat or direct sun conditions.
- Cold Climates: Solid exterior wooden doors provide thermal exchange protection (keeping warm air inside and cold air outside, while also offering exceptional protection against ice or moisture intrusion that can produce cracks in the door.
- Wet Climates: The final sealant application creates an additional layer of protection between the elements and the raw wood. Provided this sealant or stain is regularly applied during annual maintenance or cleaning, it should maintain an adequate level of protection in areas with high humidity or consistent rainfall.
- Changing Climates: Our doors are engineered to adapt to all climates, not just withstand them. With the side stiles and expansion gaskets, our doors can expand and contract with the elements and return to normal without showing any evidence, and keep performing year over year.
Quotes for Long-Lasting Exterior Wood Doors
If you’re seeking an exterior door to withstand a specific climate, we’re confident that our products meet your requirements. Whether that means building a front door for a heavy precipitation climate in the Northwest or one exposed to consistent UV rays, heat, and salt spray in the Southeast, our custom front entry doors are a perfect fit. With industry-leading pricing and custom fabrication capabilities, let Allegheny Wood Works build you the front door you want and can expect years of regular use from.