Front doors, patio doors, sliding glass doors, screen, and storm doors – of the many types of doors for your cabin; what do you consider when making a selection? We’ll use the Pretty Good House as our guide as we walk through what to consider when deciding on door placement, use, and selection for a cabin.

Placement

Weather

Like windows, doors are a weakness in your building envelope. For that reason, paying close attention to where you place them can have a big impact on their longevity and performance. The location and weather of your cabin should guide every aspect of your door design and selection.

• Consider the orientation of your building based on your latitude. Which aspects have windows and doors? How much?
  • Doors with glazing should follow our window advice on latitudes and orientation.
  • Northern latitudes should minimize openings (i.e. doors) on the north side to avoid heat loss in the winter.
  • Southern latitudes should minimize and/or shade openings on the south to prevent heat gain.
• Building code specifies requirements for egress. In addition to these requirements, cabin designers should consider a few other weather-related egress scenarios:
  • What kinds of extreme weather may prevent egress from your cabin? Do you have a second-story egress window or door if there’s a blizzard? What about egress on multiple orientations of the building in case there’s drifting snow?

Wildfire

If you haven’t already – be sure to review our wildfire area building guidelines.

• It’s best to use solid wood (no laminates) or fire-rated doors.
• Avoid placing doors with glazing windows on the walls of the building most likely to be approached by wildfire.
• Ensure you have a means of egress on the walls of the building most likely to provide an escape from a wildfire.
• Any glazing in doors should be at least double-pane and tempered (tempered is a code requirement too).

Use

• Sliding doors offer great views and provide huge space savings over their swinging counterparts. Unfortunately, they perform terribly. Always choose a swing over a slide operation. If you must choose a slider – opt for a European-style lift-and-slide.
• Doors under a covering last longer and are great for keeping people out of the weather as they come and go. They’re also a great idea in snow country to prevent doors from being snowed in.

Selection

• Per our wildfire guidelines above – choose solid wood or a fire-rated material.
• Laminate doors lose their shape, leak, and perform poorly.
• Fiberglass doors are a good option and expand and contract at a similar rate to glass – making them a good choice for doors that include glazing.
• Steel doors are affordable and last a long time. However, without proper care, they can rust and dent easily.
• Swinging doors seal (and thus perform) much better than sliding doors. Avoid sliders when possible. If you have to use a slider, opt for a European-style lift-and-slide.
• Doors with three-point latches will maintain a better seal longer than those with just one latching point.
• Any glazing should be at least double pane and tempered.