Some of our clients are interested in our steel security doors, but they want them to look like wood.
What they definitely don’t want are wrought iron doors that look like they belong on the front entrance to a corner bodega downtown. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with wrought iron security doors, they simply don’t fit in on a luxurious residential property near the beach.
Our clients who own more traditional-style homes, or simply want warmer textures in their design aesthetic sometimes ask for wood-finished doors — but they need them to be security doors.
Can you make me a wood security door? They ask us.
The short answer to this question is a resounding yes. Wooden doors can be completely secure. They can keep intruders out — even determined ones.
Here’s how you can get a wood security door for your beautiful luxury home.
Security Doors Made with Steel Frames
We have a little secret about why our wooden doors are secure — it’s that they’re actually made of steel.
Alright, maybe it isn’t a huge secret. We’re pretty transparent about our process and all the ways you can customize your security doors.
We don’t mean we create steel that masquerades as wood. We mean that the most important parts of the door — the parts that actually make it a security door — are made of steel.
All of our custom security doors start the same way. Regardless of what the final finishes will be, or if there will be additional certifications required (such as hurricane or ballistic certification), every door begins with a steel frame and core.
Why do we use steel for our security doors?
That question has an easy answer: steel is the best. It’s the strongest type of metal.
Your regular, run of the mill exterior doors are made of aluminum. They’ll withstand a lot, but they’re not nearly as strong as a steel door. While not always the case, most security doors are made from something stronger than aluminum — either wrought iron or steel.
Your interior doors, on the other hand, are probably some sort of hollow core. Typically, wood panels make up the parts you can see, but inside, it’s just honeycomb or grid patterns of cardboard filler.
You can certainly get a solid wood door, but they aren’t necessarily standard in new builds. And you can absolutely tell the difference. Solid wood doors feel sturdy, whereas hollow doors feel cheap.
While typical wood doors would be more difficult to break through, it’s certainly possible — especially if someone came prepared. A hollow door would be very simple to break through.
If your goal is to keep your home safe from intruders, steel is your very best bet. That’s why we use it.
That being said, you as the homeowner will never see that steel frame. It’s the first piece of the door that is made, and then it’s covered up with whatever finishing touches you’ve chosen.
Let’s talk about how we cover our doors to make them elegant, extravagant, and everywhere in between.
Steel Doors that Look Like Wood
Our steel security doors can look however you want them to — and we really mean that. We like to say that if you can dream it, we can do it. Here are our wood covering options to turn your security door into a work of art.
Enhanced Wood Security Door Coverings
We have two tiers of security door coverings that include wood-styled pieces. Our Enhanced tier includes specially treated wood composite.
Our wood composite can be made in multiple finishes, including dark or light okume, pine, fir, oak, and mahogany. With a variety of shades, your wood composite security doors can match any design aesthetic.
You can also choose more than one shade and make a pattern. And with that in mind, you can also combine the wood composite with another material from this tier, such as anodized aluminum.
Anodized aluminum is a specially treated type of aluminum — we won’t get into the technical details, but the anodization process essentially turns aluminum into an impervious metal. The wood composite can be combined with the anodized aluminum to make a pattern, or the aluminum can be used as a decorative feature on its own.
Wood composite (and the anodized aluminum, for that matter) can go on the interior or exterior of the door. However, architectural considerations must be taken into account when used on exterior surfaces (more on that later).
For photos of our Enhanced security door coverings, see our door coverings page and click on the gallery under Enhanced.
Elegant Wood Security Door Coverings
Our Elegant tier is the second covering line that includes wood-styled options. This tier includes solid wood that can be stained in any shade you’d like — including existing shades in or on your residence.
Much like our PerfectMatch™ system, we can mix stains together to match even the most obscure shades resulting from old age and weathering. If the goal is for your door to blend into your existing decor seamlessly, we can make that happen.
Another option in this tier is Italian gres. If you’re unfamiliar with gres, it’s hard pottery that is made with pieces of stone. The end result (especially when made by our artisans) is a very durable material that requires very little maintenance — even on the exterior-facing side of our security doors.
The final option in our Elegant security door covering tier is decorative security glass. Your custom-stained hardwood can be beautifully broken up by a pattern, or even a simple window so you can see outside.
Our decorative security glass can be frosted for privacy so people can’t directly look into your home. You could choose to tint the glass in any number of colors to fit your design aesthetic. You could even choose to have it etched with a unique design.
And of course, we can use any combination of Enhanced or Elegant coverings to design the wood security door of your dreams.
To see examples of Elegant door coverings, see our door coverings page and click on the gallery under Elegant.
Customized Design from the Inside Out
For some of our clients, one of the most important aspects of their custom security door is that it doesn’t look like a security door. They don’t want to advertise their security measures to anyone who may be looking a little too closely.
We can even create hidden compartments for you to hide valuable items, such as firearms, jewelry, passports, or family heirlooms.
But just as important as the security measures our doors provide, clients need their doors — whether interior or exterior — to perfectly fit in with their existing architectural and design themes.
Regardless of whether they want their doors to stand out or blend in, the integration should be seamless. Luxury homes and upscale residences shouldn’t have a single piece out of place. You’re already paying enough to build or renovate — everything should be perfect.
No matter what design decisions you make for your wood security door, it’s guaranteed to be a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Unless they were intentionally designed to look like other doors in the house, no two doors we’ve ever made have been exactly the same.
Wood Pivot Doors
The architect working on your residence can probably tell you how popular pivot doors have become.
Pivot doors are unique in that they lack a hinge. Instead, they quite literally pivot on a designated point that depends on the size and weight of the door. Typically, the pivot point is located between one-third and one-quarter of the way in from the frame.
However, it’s also possible to set the pivot point in the middle. The resulting effect is a bit like having two openings — an entrance and an exit, with space on both sides of the door.
One of the best things about a pivot door is that it’s not restricted by the limits of a hinge. Hinges have weight limits, which depend on the material the door is made from and how large it is. This typically means that the largest door we can make is 90 inches tall and 37 inches wide.
Of course, this is assuming that the door is of average weight. If high-end finishes are added (such as Italian gres), the heavy coverings could mean that the door needs to be made smaller to accommodate the extra weight.
Because pivot doors don’t have weight or size limitations, they can be massive. We’ve designed pivot doors as tall as 13 feet in the past, and one client requested a pivot door to replace their garage door.
Pivot doors can be placed nearly anywhere, but most people like to use them as front entryways. While homeowners don’t typically use their front doors, their guests do. In fact, front doors are the first impression newcomers have of your home.
You could probably guess on your own, but we could talk about doors all day. The thing is, there’s no door cooler than a pivot door.
Fully Automated Wood Pivot Doors
As is the case with all of our doors, they can be motorized and synced with our facial recognition devices.
Not only is facial recognition one of the most effective forms of security, but it’s also incredibly convenient. Imagine walking up to your door with your arms full and not even needing to fish out a key fob to open your door. The facial recognition panel opens it for you, closing it behind you and locking it.
You can even program regular visitors or house managers into the system with detailed schedules according to when they’re allowed entry. For example, if your housekeeper cleans on Thursdays, you can set their preferences to allow entry on Thursdays between, say, 9:00am and 4:00pm.
The same goes for your house manager, personal assistant, nannies, or anyone else who may need to regularly access your residence. Every one of our clients who’s incorporated this technology into their residence loves it and doesn’t want to live without it.
Wood Security Doors: Climate Complications
One thing our architectural design team keeps in mind when they’re mocking up your wood security door is the location of your residence.
Certain covering options aren’t necessarily suited for the exterior side of your security door — and solid wood can be tricky in that regard.
Many factors will be considered when making our covering recommendations, including the climate, the likelihood of severe weather, and whether or not your door is covered. Porticos or awnings can help shield the door from the direct impact of harsh weather.
To that end, the direction the door is facing is also a factor — will it be getting harsh weather straight on? Or is it facing the side of the house that doesn’t face the wind?
Of course, you may have the option of using wood composite materials as well. Once again, it will depend on the weather conditions at your location.
Humid rooms inside your residence also pose a challenge for solid wood coverings. Places like bathrooms, pools, or saunas would need special consideration.
Remember that our doors can look completely different on the inside than they do on the outside. If your wood security door dreams aren’t possible due to the climate on the outside, it certainly can be on the inside.
Customizing Your Wood Security Door
Not all of our clients need security doors, but all of them want beautiful, one-of-a-kind doors. If a wood door is what you need to fit your design aesthetic — and you also need it to be a security door — we can accomplish that better than any other company.
Our custom security doors are designed by architectural designers in-house, or we can work with architects and interior designers already on the project. After the designs are finalized and approved, artisans at our factory in Italy build the doors, finishing design elements by hand.
We’re extremely proud of what we do here at FBS. We love designing and building beautiful doors and windows for luxury homes and businesses, but we also take pride in the peace of mind our security doors provide for people.
If you’re ready to discuss your security needs, contact us today!
