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EHI Custom Doors Blog

Door Buying Guides & Advice

Real pricing, honest material comparisons, and Toronto-specific advice on custom fiberglass entry doors, written by the same team that manufactures and installs every door we sell. No fluff, no vague estimates.

Buying GuidesPlanning GuidesPricing GuidesReplacement GuidesDesign Guides

Black fiberglass double doors with leaded-style glass, lanterns and planters of evergreens and ferns on either side, set in a stone wall

Planning Guides

Spring Door Replacement: What Winter Revealed and When to Order

By March, a winter of drafts, ice and salt has shown you which door is failing. A custom door is built after you order it, so here is what to check, when to confirm an order for spring 2027, and how to plan the install.

Black arched-top fiberglass entry door with two narrow sidelights in a stone entrance with black railings and evergreen planters

Buying Guides

Exterior Door Terms: A Plain-Language Glossary for Buyers

Slab, jamb, sill, lite, astragal, U-factor. Door quotes are full of words no one explains. This glossary defines each one in plain language, with a labelled diagram and links to the guides that go deeper.

Black flush fiberglass entry door with a long vertical pull bar and a narrow sidelight, in a modern entrance with brick and white stucco

Design Guides

Front Door Trends: What Is Popular Now and How to Choose Something That Lasts

Paint makers and door suppliers agree on a few directions: earthy greens, deep charcoal, warm wood looks, slim vertical glass and warm metal hardware. Here is what is popular, what suits a Toronto home and how to follow a trend without regret.

Grey fiberglass double doors with decorative glass, sidelights and a transom, set in a stone wall under a covered porch

Buying Guides

Fiberglass Door Care and Maintenance: A Year-Round Checklist for Ontario Homes

Fiberglass is low maintenance, not no maintenance. Here is what to clean, check and adjust each season, how the finish ages in the sun, and how to protect a door from salt, snow and heat.

Wood-grain Craftsman-style fiberglass door with two sidelights on a red brick home in winter, Toronto, Ontario

Planning Guides

Heritage Home Door Replacement in Toronto: Permits, Heritage Planning and What to Bring

If your home is designated, sits in a Heritage Conservation District or is on the City's Heritage Register, a new door may need approval first. Here is how the process works, what Heritage Planning looks at and how to prepare.

Wood-grain fiberglass double door with glass panels set in a red brick wall, with a concrete step and patio outside

Planning Guides

Convert a Window to a Door: Permits, Structure, Brick and What Drives the Cost

Turning a window into a door is a bigger job than swapping one door for another. Here is what the City of Toronto says about permits, what the work involves, and what to ask before you say yes.

Black fiberglass French-style double doors with tall glass panels and lanterns on either side, opening onto a wood deck and stone patio

Buying Guides

Exterior French Doors: How a Pair Works, Seals and Compares With Sliding Doors

Exterior French doors open the whole width of the doorway, but a pair has parts a single door does not. Here is how they work, where they leak, what sizes to expect and when a sliding door is the better pick.

Close-up of a black fiberglass door surface with embossed wood grain running around a raised panel edge

Design Guides

Wood Grain Fiberglass Doors: How the Wood Look Is Made and How to Choose It

A good wood grain fiberglass door looks like wood from the street and behaves like fiberglass in the weather. Here is how the grain is made, how oak and mahogany differ, and what to check before you order.

Wood-grain fiberglass front door with divided glass and two sidelights, framed by lanterns on a covered porch with stone pillars

Design Guides

Front Door Curb Appeal: What to Do Around the Door to Make It Shine

A good door still needs a good setting. Here is how house numbers, lighting, steps, planters, colour and hardware work together, including the house number rule in Toronto.

Dark espresso wood-grain fiberglass front door with a glass panel, sidelights and a wide matching frame with brickmould on a brick and siding entrance

Design Guides

Exterior Door Trim and Brickmould: What It Is, What It Does and How to Choose

The trim around a door finishes the edge and keeps water out. Here is what brickmould is, how it compares with wide, slim and no trim, and what to choose for brick, stone, stucco and siding.

Wood-grain fiberglass French-style double doors with divided glass panels opening onto a backyard deck

Design Guides

Matching Front and Back Doors: How to Make Your Exterior Doors Look Like One Set

Your front and back doors do not have to be twins, but they should look like they belong to the same house. Here is what to keep the same, what can differ, and how to handle glass, hardware and the view from inside.

Custom black arched double entry doors with an elliptical transom set in a brick archway

Design Guides

Arched and Custom-Shaped Doors: What Is Possible in Fiberglass

If your opening is arched, curved, oversized or simply odd, a stock door will not fit. Here are the arch shapes, how curved openings are measured and sealed, and what custom shapes involve.

Custom wood-grain fiberglass double doors with divided glass panels and bronze handle sets with thumb latches on a brick and vinyl home

Design Guides

Front Door Hardware: Handle Sets, Locks, Finishes and What to Choose

Hardware is where a door's security, feel and style meet. Here is how handle sets, pull bars, deadbolts, mortise and multipoint locks and smart locks differ, what lock grades mean, and how to choose a finish.

Charcoal wood-grain fiberglass entry door with a long bar handle and two tall frosted sidelights on a red brick home

Design Guides

Sidelights and Transoms: How to Design an Entry With More Light and Better Proportions

Sidelights add width and light at the sides of a door, and a transom adds height and daylight overhead. Here is how to choose between them, size them, and handle privacy, security and cost.

Grey fiberglass double entry doors with decorative patterned glass and a tall sidelight on a natural stone home

Design Guides

Front Door Colours: How to Choose One That Suits Your Home

The best front door colour depends on the brick, stone and siding around it. Here is how to read undertones, decide between contrast and harmony, choose between wood tones and solid colours, and test before you commit.

Black wood-grain fiberglass double doors with long vertical pull bars and narrow vertical glass inserts in a dark brick entrance

Design Guides

Modern Front Door Ideas: Flush Slabs, Pull Bars, Slim Glass and More

A modern front door is defined by what it leaves out. Here are the building blocks, from flush and grooved slabs to slim glass, pull bars and 8-foot heights, and how to combine them on a fiberglass door.

Wood-grain Craftsman-style fiberglass front door with divided glass at the top, a dentil shelf and two sidelights on a red brick home in winter, Toronto, Ontario

Design Guides

Front Door Styles: How to Match a Door to Your Home's Architecture

A front door looks right when it speaks the same language as the house. Here is how Colonial, Craftsman, Victorian, Tudor and farmhouse doors differ, and which fiberglass models suit each.

Custom wood-grain fiberglass double front doors with frosted glass and two sidelights, set in a matching frame with brickmould on a brick home

Replacement Guides

Do You Need to Replace the Frame When You Replace a Front Door?

Sometimes a new door can go into your old frame, and sometimes the frame is the problem. Here is how to tell, what a matched frame and slab gives you, and where brickmould fits.

Modern brown flush fiberglass entry door with two tall frosted glass sidelights in a brick entrance

Buying Guides

Front Door Sizes: Standard Dimensions, How to Measure and When You Need Custom

Most front doors are 36 inches wide and 80 inches tall, and plenty of homes are not. Here are the standard sizes, our own catalogue sizes, how to measure your opening, and what to send us for a quote.

EHI installer at a black fiberglass front door with sidelights and a transom during a winter installation in Toronto

Buying Guides

Energy Efficient Entry Doors: What Makes One Keep the Heat In

A door loses heat through its slab, its glass, its frame and the gaps around it. Here is how each part works, what U-factor, R-value and Energy Rating mean, and how ENERGY STAR Canada fits in.

Black fiberglass double entry doors with decorative iron-pattern glass sidelights at the top of a wide curved stone staircase

Buying Guides

Front Door Security: What Actually Makes an Entry Door Hard to Break Into

A door is only as strong as its weakest part, and the weak part is rarely the slab. Here is what police advise, how frames, strike plates, hinges, locks and glass work together, and what to ask before you buy.

Dark espresso wood-grain fiberglass front door with a glass panel, two sidelights and a transom in a brick and siding entrance

Buying Guides

Door Manufacturer vs Dealer: Who Should You Buy Your Exterior Door From?

The real question is who is responsible when something goes wrong. Here is how buying from a manufacturer, a dealer and a big-box store differ, and how to check any door company before you sign.

Black fiberglass double entry doors with narrow vertical glass inserts and lever handle sets in a brick entrance

Buying Guides

Single vs Double Entry Doors: How to Choose for Your Home

A single door is simpler and costs less. A double door gives a wide, formal entrance and easier furniture moves, with more to seal and more to plan. Here is how to choose.

The same double back door opening shown in a wood-tone finish on the left and a solid black finish on the right, on a brick home

Replacement Guides

Back Door Replacement Guide: How to Choose the Right Back Door

Your back door gets used every day and takes weather without a porch to shelter it. Here is how to choose the type, glass, lock and swing, and what a custom fiberglass back door costs.

Espresso wood-grain fiberglass front door with two tall frosted sidelights in an arched stone entrance

Buying Guides

Fiberglass vs Wood vs Steel Entry Doors: Which Suits Ontario Homes?

Steel is the strongest and cheapest, wood is the classic, and fiberglass sits in between. Here is how the three compare on insulation, upkeep, security, looks and cost, and how to match a material to your entrance.

Two-tone grey fiberglass entry door with a chevron wood-grain panel pattern and a long brass pull bar in a brick entrance

Buying Guides

Advantages of Fiberglass Doors: What You Really Get

A tough skin over an insulating core, on a frame that cannot rot. Here is what fiberglass doors do well, where they fall short, and why a custom-built fiberglass door fixes most of the usual complaints.

Wood-grain fiberglass front door with divided glass, two sidelights and a transom on a stone and siding entrance

Replacement Guides

When to Replace an Exterior Door: Signs and the Repair vs Replace Test

A worn seal can be fixed. A failed door cannot. Here are the signs that tell them apart, a simple repair vs replace test, and a 10-minute check you can do at home today.

Custom wood-grain fiberglass double doors with divided glass panels and bronze handlesets on a brick and vinyl-clad home

Pricing Guides

Custom Exterior Doors Cost in Toronto: A Real Price Guide

Single custom fiberglass doors start at $2,500 installed and double doors start at $5,100 installed, for front doors, back doors and entry doors alike. These are starting prices. Here is what is in them, what moves them, and how to get an exact number.

Espresso-finish arched double entry doors under a gabled porch on a pink brick home

Planning Guides

Fall Door Replacement: How to Plan Custom Doors Before Winter

A custom door is built after you order it, so the calendar decides when you get it. Here are the order-by dates for fall 2026, what causes delays, and how to have your front or back door done before the cold sets in.

Wood-grain fiberglass double doors with clear glass panels on a red brick home, opening to a paved patio

Buying Guides

Exterior Door Glass Options: Privacy vs Light

Glass brings daylight into your entry, and it also lets people look in. Here is how clear, frosted, textured and decorative glass compare on real exterior doors in Ontario, and how to choose for each door in your home.

Custom black fiberglass double back door with glass panels opening onto a wood deck and stone patio

Buying Guides

Custom Doors vs Stock Doors: Why Go Custom

A stock door is built to a standard. A custom door is built to your home. Here is what that difference means for fit, comfort, security, cost and lifespan, and when a stock door is still the smarter buy.