Wood outperforms all other doors

DECENT research shows almost l\507o of retail customers asking questions or showing concerns about the environmental impact of wood products. If you find your customers reluctant !o buy wood doors, because they think they are anti-environmental, you can assure them nothing could be less true.

Despite claims of some using substitute materials, exterior wood dous, because they are manufactured from the most environmentally compatible building product in tle world, perfonn better, are morc energy efficient and more environmentally acceptable.

Wood is an environmental building product for a healthier planet. It comes fron a renewable and natural resource which can be perpemarcd for products and the environment, is both durable and biodegradable and has low energy requirements in its manufacture.

Wood is one of the best natural insulators, Jim Glasgow, technical services manager, Jeld-Wen door group, maintains. 'Wood fiber contains many cells, each of which trap air and create natural insulating pockets throughont the entire wood mass. Insulated glass uses the sane principle. It's the raped air, not the glass that provides tbe energy benefits."

"Wood is several hundred times more energy efficient than metal. That's why we use wood to create a thermal break between the exterior and interior surfaces of metal doors," Glascow adds.

Most energy loss associated with doon occurs in a process called infiltration. Studies conducted by the National Wood Window and Door Association show air travels around an object, rather than tbrougb it, with energy Ioss occuring between the door and the jamb and the threshold as air infiltrates cracks and gaps.

Wood doors are often compared unfavorably with those of other materials because they require finishing

Story at a Glance

Why wood ls the most environmentally acceptable material avallable for a door ... selling points energy efficiency facts ... results of Natlonal Wood Window & D,oor Associgtbn studbs.

and maintenane. However Glasgow is quick to point out that the truly maintenenrce ftee door does not exisl Unfinished metal usually rusts and corrodes and unprotected fiberglass can show Oe effects of exposure to ultraviolet rays.

"Almost all door menufx6turers use some wood," explains Peter Dempsey, Jeld-Wen marketing manager. "All of our O*t" ;rc1uding tbe metal, molded or vinyl ovedays use wood because of its excellent perfornum@ cbarrcteristics."

'It's interesting to note how many sales gambiB make an unfavorable comparison to wood, cleiming that wood can warp or buckle, although the same wood is used for interior frames in metal, molded and fibergtass doors precisely because it is so stable and performance reliable," he adds.

Although wood doors are often accused of having a negative environmental impact, non-wood doon use more energy intensive materials. Both metal and frberglass doors use petroleum-based insulating materials which deplete a valuable, limited energy resource. Metal ranks much higher than wood in energy output from raw material extraction to finished product. In addition, some manufactured materials have a high initial R-rating, but begin to decompose quickly. As Dempsey puts it, "Wood is a natural troduct with energy efficiency tbat does not diminish ovetr time."

"Claims and counter claims of non-wood door mnngfagturers have affected the wood door industry's market share," Dempsey concluded. "BuL speaking ftom tbe standpoint of a manufacturer of many competing exterior door products, we try to be careful about the claims we make. It's more a question of martet niche and appropriateness of tbe installation than a questian of perfamanoe, errcrgy efficiency or maintenance. Not all claims are what tley seem."