InstaBidsFor homeowners
Types of front door: which one fits your home?
Choose Wood for a wildfire-prone area, as a fire-rated solid-core wood door (PNNL names metal too); Steel (metal) for areas where severe termite or insect infestation problems exist (a 2009 FEMA coastal construction guide, via PNNL); Fiberglass for an insulated door that usually has a wood-like look and can be painted or stained (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025).
The right choice depends on whether your area has severe termite or insect problems, whether you live in a wildfire-prone area that calls for a fire-rated door, and how well the door insulates (its U-factor) and how much upkeep you accept.
| Type | Best for | Main advantages | Main drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | a wildfire-prone area, as a fire-rated solid-core wood door (PNNL names metal too) | a wood panel door has "less expansion and contraction than steel doors" (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025) | "a relatively poor thermal performance" and "higher maintenance requirements" (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025) |
| Steel (metal) | areas where severe termite or insect infestation problems exist (a 2009 FEMA coastal construction guide, via PNNL) | PNNL Building America Solution Center, citing a 2009 FEMA coastal construction guide: in those termite areas, metal doors are recommended; insulated steel doors "can exceed the energy performance of a wood panel door considerably" (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025); PNNL Building America Solution Center: insulated foam-core, metal or fiberglass ENERGY STAR doors should be selected if possible; PNNL Building America Solution Center: in wildfire-prone areas, install fire-rated exterior doors made of solid-core wood or metal | fiberglass doors have "less expansion and contraction than steel doors" (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025) |
| Fiberglass | an insulated door that usually has a wood-like look and can be painted or stained (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025) | "less expansion and contraction than steel doors" (Minnesota Home Energy Guide, 2025); PNNL Building America Solution Center: insulated foam-core, metal or fiberglass ENERGY STAR doors should be selected if possible | no official source names one |
InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.
Post your job on InstaBids, and contractors can bid in writing on one written scope.
- Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
- Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
- Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
- You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.
For your AI assistant
MCP connector · REST API · plain HTMLHand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.
- MCP connector URL
https://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp - Agent API (OpenAPI)
https://instabids.ai/openapi.json - Start-request link
https://instabids.ai/intake?from=options-front-door&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=options&page_type=options#job=front%20door%20replacement - Prompt for any AI, with your job
- ChatGPTOpens with the prompt
- ClaudeOpens with the prompt
- GrokOpens with the prompt
- GeminiCopies the prompt, then opens
Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.
Get written bids
Contractors who take part bid on one written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices.
Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.
Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing.
Sources for the facts on this page
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Building America Solution Center: Exterior Doors Are Insulated, Impact Rated, and Fire Rated, national laboratory, read 17 October 2026.
- Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources: Home Energy Guide (July 2025), government, read 22 October 2026.
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Building America Solution Center: Air Sealing Doors Adjacent to Unconditioned Space, national laboratory, read 17 October 2026.