Double front doors are becoming increasingly more common in new homes. While beautiful, they can often increase construction costs by about $1000 to $2500, and even more for custom doors or doors with custom glasswork.
The increased construction costs have led many people to ask if double doors are really worth the extra costs. While there are a few exceptions, adding double doors to your home is definitely worth the investment.
Letting More Light Into Your Home
Double doors greatly increase the amount of light that can enter into the front of a house by doubling the amount of window space.
Double doors open up a lot of possibilities for architectural design; the extra width makes it possible to create dramatic entryways, which can lead into large rooms.
While it is possible to still have large front rooms without double doors, it is very difficult to get the right amount of light to come in without completely redesigning the windows on the front of the house.
According to leading home improvement website RWC, “If you have a larger home, the double entry doors’ advantages are even greater. They create a focal point for the viewer, drawing the eye to this positive trait of the home and accentuates all other architectural features. It is more difficult to accomplish this visual contrast with a single entry door.”
Without the extra sunlight from the double doors, it’s very probable that additional light fixtures will be needed to get adequate light into the room.
Between that and probably reworking the windows, it often won’t save much money to opt for a single door.
In fact, it’s rarely a good idea to redesign a house after the architect has completed plans, and especially not to save the few hundred dollars that opting for a single door will save.
Advantages During Moving
One of the biggest advantages to installing a double door on the house is how easy it makes moving.
When combined with a wide entryway, a double door makes it possible to double the amount of space that movers have to get large pieces of furniture into the house. This isn’t just a one-time advantage either.
Over years of living in the house, there will be multiple times when furniture and large appliances need to be moved in and out. During the holidays decorating the large entry way to the home will be beautiful and welcoming to guests.
While you might not need to use the extra space that double doors afford every day, the times that you do need the space, you’ll be glad you have it.
Double Doors Hold Their Value
One of the best reasons to invest in double doors is that they have an excellent return on the investment.
Plenty of home improvements are sold as good investments, but multiple studies have shown that the vast majority of them do not pay back their cost when it comes time to sell a home.
The one type of home improvement that does seem to return back more money than was originally spent, however, are improvements made to the outside of a home.
Opting for double doors means that you’re choosing to improve the appearance of the outside of your home.
When realtors show a house, it is very common for them to leave potential buyers at the front door for several minutes while they look for a key or get a lockbox code.
During this time, it’s common for potential buyers to take a hard look at a home. Many potential buyers make the decision whether or not to buy during these few minutes.
That means that any investment in the front entryway of a home will pay off in spades.
For someone who is considering whether or not to invest in double doors for a new construction house, this means that there is a very high likelihood that any money that is spent on the entryway will come back to the homeowner when it comes time to sell the house.
Double doors are among the best investments that can be made when building a house.
If you have the ability to build double doors into your new home, make the investment.
You’ll love the extra light, the extra space when you’re moving in, and when you go to sell your home double doors will increase the price and decrease the amount of time it will take to sell.
