While I’ve been working with more and more fiberglass doors over the years, there are still plenty of projects where a steel door is the better fit—or simply the material the client prefers.
This Oakville project is a good example.
The entry features an 8-foot steel door with extra-deep paneling known as executive panels, or EXC panels. Visually, they create a much stronger profile than the typical stamped panel you would normally see on a steel door.
What Are Executive Panels?
A standard pre-molded door panel is formed directly into the door skin during manufacturing. The shape is essentially stamped into the surface of the slab as part of the production process.
Executive panels work very differently.
Instead of being formed into the door itself, they are separate inserts. The process is actually much closer to installing a glass insert: an opening is cut into a flat door slab, and the panel is installed into that opening using molded frames similar to the ones used around decorative glass.
That extra depth creates a much more pronounced architectural detail.
Why Use EXC Panels?
There are a few situations where executive panels make a lot of sense.
Sometimes the panel profile we want simply isn’t available as a standard pre-molded steel door design. In other cases, we use them because the deeper profile gives the door a more substantial, higher-end appearance.
They’re also useful when we want the panel dimensions to line up more precisely with the glass.
A typical stamped panel is often just slightly different in width from a standard glass insert. It’s a tiny detail, but once you start paying attention to proportions, those differences become noticeable. With an executive panel, we have more flexibility to make the panel and glass feel properly aligned.
The Details That Complete the Door
On this project, the extra-deep panel profile gives the 8-foot door a lot of presence without making the design overly complicated.
The sidelites feature SDL moldings, or simulated divided lites, which add some traditional structure to the glass while keeping the overall design clean.
To finish everything off, we used chrome-finish Emtek multipoint hardware. The taller proportions of the door, deeper paneling, divided glass, and polished hardware all work together to give the entry a more refined look.
Final Thoughts
This is one of those projects I really should revisit someday.
It turned out beautifully, but somehow I ended up with very few good finished photos of it. That happens more often than I’d like—sometimes by the time the installation is wrapped up, taking proper photos is the last thing on my mind.
Still, it’s a great example of why steel doors remain such a useful part of what we do. With details like executive panels, custom glass layouts, and the right hardware, they can offer a lot more design flexibility than people sometimes realize.