The entryway adds to value of home

Investing in a home's exterior really pays off.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
It's the passageway into your home, the way in to your prized possessions and the gateway guarding your privacy: your front door.
And chances are you've given it little thought since the day your real estate agent pushed the key into the lock and let you inside for a tour.
Think again.
A new doorway -- be it wood, fiberglass, steel or stained glass -- will garner more than mere kudos from the Joneses, it'll considerably boost value of your abode. A revamped entryway, in fact, can tack as much as 6 percent onto a home's perceived value, according to a recent study commissioned by Therma-Tru, an Ohio-based door manufacturer.
"It's certainly part of the curb appeal package that's extremely important," said Rick Turley, a San Francisco real estate agent.
Dollar value
The study, believed to be the first attempting to place a dollar value on so-called "curb appeal," asked more than 2,400 consumers across the nation if investing in their home's exterior really paid off when it came time to sell.
The answer was an overwhelming "yes."
On a $280,000 residence, for instance, a new door added $18,900 to its perceived value, according to the survey, which was conducted by an independent research group. Likewise, installing a new front entrance added nearly $25,000 to a house originally worth $403,000.
True, the way into a dwelling is merely one element in its overall facade. There's also the quality of a paint job, building material, landscaping and the ever-important location, location, location to consider among other factors. Still, many real estate experts agree that a doorway's condition and appearance is key.
As proof, Turley offered up a simple reminder for would-be home sellers: A large number of calls to his company are those from prospective buyers inquiring about a house they spied while walking or driving down a street, and not from the real estate listings.
"How important is the porch, the doorway and the threshold?" he asked. "Let me put it this way: When a client steps inside a house, they're only confirming what they did or didn't like on the outside. They've often made up their mind on a property and are just going through [the interior] to confirm."
Whether you're thinking of putting your home on the market or putting it in your will, the exorbitant cost of energy should be enough to revamp our door or at least dress it up.
"People are taking more control of their living space and doing what they can to cut down on energy expenses," said Rod Tactaquin, chief of operations at Smart Windows and Doors in Dublin, Calif. "Those who have older homes are fixing them up -- taking advantage of, say, a split door to install a nicer, more energy-efficient door."
Choosing fiberglass
Materials and price vary drastically, but fiberglass doors in particular have grown in popularity since they were introduced in the 1980s. The synthetic material offers the look and feel of wood but without the headaches often associated with its natural counterpart such as splitting, cracking and warping.
Fiberglass likewise is rendering once-popular steel doors obsolete, according to Therma-Tru officials. Aesthetics is one reason, cost is another. Steel doors can dent and rust, while fiberglass doors tend to maintain their "just-installed" look long after the warrantee has run out. They also cost less and help conserve energy, providing five times the insulation of standard wood doors.
Be it from the independent door maker down the street or from a corporate manufacturer such as Therma-Tru, Anderson, Larson or Pella -- putting in a new entry also can give you peace of mind by providing the added safety of a new lock and stronger door materials.