Choosing a New Charleston Door Installation? Make Sure It Has These Qualities

The trend for open-concept living spaces has been going strong for quite a while now, and it shows no sign of slowing down. While it makes sense that so many people love having a big, open area in their homes, there are still some places that really do need to be closed off from the rest of the house. That's why Charleston door installation is still a much-needed service for both residential and commercial properties alike.

Whether you're planning for an interior or an exterior door installation in Charleston, there are a few things you should keep in mind during the selection process so you end up with a beautiful, long-lasting replacement door. Is it most important that your entryway look great and enhance the design aesthetic of your home? Are you more focused on durability and security? Or, are you looking for ways to reduce your energy costs? All of these considerations have the potential to impact your decision, so it's good to take the time to really think about what you need and want out of your Charleston door installation.

If your current entryway, exterior or interior, is in rough condition and needs to be replaced—or you'd like to add an entry where there's currently only a wall—your local Charleston handyman is up to the task of expert door installation. Rely on the team of service professionals at Mr. Handyman of Charleston and Summerville for trusted handyman services. We are proud to deliver top-quality workmanship and next-level customer service on every job.

What Qualities Should a Charleston Door Installation Feature?

If you've begun looking around at the possibilities for a new door installation in Charleston, SC, you've probably noticed that there's a huge variety of colors, styles, shapes, sizes and features to choose from. It can feel overwhelming at first to browse through such a wide range of options, but once you start thinking about the features that are most important for this particular door installation, it gets a lot easier to narrow down the choices.

Durable & Long-Lasting

Durability may not be your first priority with an interior door installation in Charleston. It should be strong and long-lasting of course, but it's not going to be subjected to anywhere near the same level of abuse that an exterior entryway has to absorb. Exterior entries have to withstand wind, rain and other harsh weather patterns, wildlife attacks, pest infestations—and do it all while looking great and enhancing your home's curb appeal. Fiberglass is a good option when you want something that's going to hold up well for a long time and keep thermal energy from escaping your house. It's very durable and long-lasting, and it's also resistant to damage from excess moisture, pests such as rodents and insects, decay and corrosion.

Secure

If security against vandals and home intruders is your number-one priority, it makes sense to choose steel door installation. Steel is super strong and makes forced entry a lot more difficult. It can also stand up to a barrage of other damaging elements and still look as good as the day it was first installed. Steel entryways come in a wide variety of styles and often include additional safety features to keep your home secure. It can be painted any color to match or contrast with your exterior trim, and is resistant to most damage. Steel does have one weakness in that it's susceptible to rust, but that is easily avoided with some basic care and maintenance.

Energy Efficient

If you're tired of paying eye-wateringly high charges on your monthly energy bill, getting Charleston door installation service for a new, energy efficient entryway could actually help lower your energy costs. When it comes to energy efficient materials, wooden doors are a decent option. Wood has low thermal conductivity and a higher R-value than uninsulated fiberglass or steel entryways, but a fiberglass or steel shell combined with an insulating core will be better at holding in thermal energy than wood. That being said, any entry that features a window will be less efficient than any option that doesn't have a window, because glass is such a poor insulator. Want to know more about decreasing your energy usage? Check out our Charleston home improvements to increase property value and energy efficiency.

Right Aesthetic

If you're in need of interior door installation, you're probably looking for options that match your existing interior entryways, particularly if they're all grouped together in a hallway or landing. If you can't find an exact match, that's not necessarily the end of the world. A similar style with a little tweak can differentiate the purpose of one room in a group. For example, a hallway might have two or three matching doors that lead to bedrooms and a complementary style that leads to the bathroom.

When you have a common area such as a dining room or study with a double-wide arch and you'd like to be able to close it off from the rest of the house without compromising aesthetic or natural light, a pair of French doors can be the ideal solution. They are an elegant addition to your home that will allow light to pass through the glass portions even when they're closed. For entries that connect to a backyard space, consider a sliding patio door or hinged set of garden doors that feature large glass panels and double as an extra large window.

Perfect Fit

Sometimes you need (or want) door installation in a part of your house that really doesn't have the space for a big, hinged door to swing open and shut. It might block a narrow hallway if it swings outward, or bump into furniture or fixtures if it swings inward. In areas with limited space, a pocket entryway can be the ideal solution. Instead of using hinges, they slide into the wall on tracks so they are virtually invisible when the entry is open. Then it can easily be pulled into a closed position when needed. Barn doors are a similar alternative that add some extra style to your home—instead of sliding into the wall, they slide along it so they are still visible when open. This is a great solution for an irregularly-shaped doorway, especially when you want to add some rustic charm to a room.

Covered By Warranty

Before you make a purchase decision for your new Charleston door installation, check to make sure it has a decent manufacturers' warranty. That may not matter so much for an interior entry, but exterior entryways are built differently and have a lot of added performance pressure to live up to. You want to know that if you get a faulty product, you can get a replacement quickly and easily without too much fussing around.

Workmanship Guaranteed

Door installation may sound simple, but it often requires a lot of tricky measurements and the ability to think on your feet to come up with solutions for unexpected problems. Mistakes do happen, especially with inexperienced installers. Whoever you hire should guarantee their workmanship so you know they have the skill to complete the project efficiently, and if it's not finished to your satisfaction, it'll be repaired at no additional cost to you.

At Mr. Handyman, we only hire the best handyman professionals Charleston, SC has to offer. We're confident that they'll be able to get your Charleston door installation done correctly, which is why we stand behind them with the Done Right Promise, a full guarantee on our workmanship. If it's not done right, we'll make it right!

How Does Energy Efficiency Impact Charleston Door Installation?

If you've never given much thought to how well your house holds in heat from your furnace or resists thermal energy from the sun, you may be wondering if energy efficiency is really that big of a deal. Most homeowners don't want to pay any more than necessary on their energy bills, but that's what is happening when you have an entryway that is not resistant to heat transfer. There are three main reasons why energy efficiency should be at the top of your priority list when getting an exterior door installation in Charleston, SC.

Your heating and cooling are probably responsible for the biggest charges on your energy bill by far, because your HVAC system uses so much fuel—whether it's electricity or natural gas—to keep your house at the temperature you have set on your thermostat. If your entryway is not holding warm air from your furnace or cool air from your air conditioner on the inside where it belongs, that heat transfer and air movement changes the temperature in your house and your HVAC system has to operate more frequently and for much longer periods of time to compensate. That added operation time can significantly increase your energy costs, taking away money from your budget that would be better used elsewhere.
An entryway that has deteriorated over the years, suffered some major damage or just wasn't installed correctly in the first place will let in air drafts and moisture that make your home less comfortable and livable for your family. It can also cause serious problems like wood rot that infest your timber and can worsen and spread, creating structural stability issues.
Needlessly wasting resources such as electricity and natural gas is really hard on the environment. That's why the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the Energy Star program. It promotes energy efficiency by rating and certifying products such as doors and windows that meet certain standards of energy conservation, along with other measures aimed at helping consumers lower their energy usage.

Does Mr. Handyman Do Commercial Door Installation in Charleston, SC?

Absolutely! If you're a business owner with a commercial property that needs Charleston door installation service, our experienced handyman team can help. Commercial buildings, whether it's a massive manufacturing plant or a quiet little independent café, have unique needs, and we can take care of those services efficiently and effectively. That includes door installation for automatic, revolving and handicap-accessible entryways.

Is Storm Door Installation Necessary in Charleston, SC?

It's not strictly necessary, but it is an added amenity that you might enjoy having, especially for back or side entryways. A storm door installation is a metal frame with interchangeable glass and mesh panels that can be swapped out according to what's most appropriate for the season. Here are some of the benefits of having your Charleston handyman add a storm entry:

It provides extra protection against vandalism, pest infestations, intruders and bad weather
It lets you get natural light and fresh air through the open entry while still keeping small children and pets safely contained inside the house
It will extend the life expectancy of your actual entryway by protecting it from harsh weather, wind and excess moisture, so you can avoid door repair or replacement for longer
You can swap out the mesh and glass panels to offer a bit of added insulation in the winter and let in breezes in the summer to cool down and refresh the house

Storm entries are often mistaken for screen doors, but they're actually a bit more sophisticated. A screen entry is just a metal or wood frame with mesh panels, and usually doesn't feature a latching mechanism. A storm entry, on the other hand, has interchangeable panels and a proper latch. Some of them can be locked as well.

When You're Ready for Charleston Door Installation, Call the Experts at Mr. Handyman

Whether you're in Charleston, Summerville, Moncks Corner, Goose Creek, Ladson or another nearby community in this part of South Carolina, you can count on the experienced team of professionals at Mr. Handyman of Charleston and Summerville for the highest standards of workmanship and customer care that goes above and beyond.

Pick up the phone and contact us today at 843-940-7525 to find out more about why we're considered the best option for Charleston door installation and other reliable handyman services, or to schedule a convenient appointment time with our friendly customer service staff.