Choosing doors for a Barton Creek, TX home: pivot and oversized entries, iron doors in Texas heat, multi-slide patio doors and questions to ask first.
The entry door on a custom home sets the tone before anyone steps inside, and in the Barton Creek area, entries tend to be big. On homes in these hills west of Austin you'll see eight-foot doors, double doors with sidelights, iron and glass, and the occasional pivot door. Out back, the house often opens to a pool or patio through a wall of sliding or folding glass.
Those doors look striking. They also have more glass, more edge and more weight than a standard entry, which means more places for heat and air to get through. Here's what to think about when you replace or upgrade one.
A pivot door turns on pins set in the floor and the head instead of hanging on side hinges, which lets it be very wide and tall. The tradeoff is sealing. Many pivot doors close against weatherstripping on only some edges, and the gap at the floor can be hard to seal well. If you're shopping for one, ask for air leakage numbers and look closely at how the bottom seals.
Tall hinged doors have their own issue. An eight-foot slab can bow slightly in strong sun and pull away from the weatherstripping at the top. A multipoint lock that draws the door tight at several spots along the edge helps a lot.
Iron and steel doors with glass inserts are popular for their look and strength. In full sun, though, the metal gets very hot and can pass that heat inside. Look for:
Single-pane iron doors can also sweat on cold mornings, and that water runs down onto the threshold and floor. Insulated glass and a thermal break cut that problem down a lot. An iron door under a deep covered entry is far easier to live with than one facing the afternoon sun with no shade.
Privacy is the other glass question at the front of the house. Textured, frosted or rain glass in the door and sidelights lets daylight into the entry while blurring the view in. Most of these glass styles can be ordered as low-E insulated units, so you don't have to trade privacy for efficiency.
Doors that open an entire wall to the patio are a big part of indoor and outdoor living. They also bring more glass than any other door in the house.
Pay attention to the sill. A flush sill looks clean but usually drains less well than a raised one, and wind-driven rain from a spring storm will test it. Ask how water leaves the track and whether the patio slab slopes away from the opening.
Glass matters here as much as on any window. Low-E double-pane glass with a low solar heat gain coefficient keeps the living room usable on a summer afternoon. Folding doors have more joints between panels than sliders, so check how each joint seals.
Then think about weight. Large panels ride on rollers that wear over time, and quality track hardware makes a big difference in how the door feels ten years from now.
Custom doors are made to order, so lead times often run longer than for stock sizes. Our page on custom doors explains how that process usually works.
A new door seals one opening. If your windows are original or the roof is due, look at those too. Our guides to windows in Barton Creek and roofing in Barton Creek cover the issues that come up on larger custom homes.
Before you spend on a statement door, a free home energy audit from Texas Energy Pros can show how much air and heat are getting in around your current doors and where else the house is losing energy. Find out more about our work nearby on the Barton Creek page.
