One of the questions I get asked most often is: Which is better—steel or fiberglass doors?
The honest answer? It depends.
Each material has its strengths, and the choice between a steel door and a fiberglass door usually comes down to what the project needs in terms of scale, durability, design flexibility, and overall aesthetics.
A great example of this came up during a custom build we worked on in Woodbridge.
When Steel Becomes the Right Choice
This particular home called for an entry setup that included a 40-inch wide front door—an uncommon size that’s not readily available off the shelf in fiberglass. We needed that extra width to maintain the proper balance with the sidelights while keeping the entrance from feeling cramped or overbuilt.
Because steel door slabs can be custom-fabricated in almost any size, this became the perfect use case for steel. But one of the trade-offs with custom-sized steel slabs is that they typically arrive completely flat—no panels, no texture, just a blank slate.
That’s where executive panels come into play.
What Are Executive Panels?
Executive panels are pre-fabricated inserts that can be installed into a flat steel slab in much the same way as a glass insert. These panels come in a wide variety of patterns and sizes, giving us the flexibility to scale them proportionally to any door width or height.
For the 40-inch steel entry door on this project, we selected a panel style that felt appropriately scaled and clean for the architectural style of the home. The result was a well-balanced front entry that didn’t feel bulky or stretched.
If you scroll through the project photos, you’ll also see the side door—a more standard 32-inch width—but outfitted with the same executive panel design. That decision created visual continuity between both entrances, even though the door sizes were very different.
Why the Details Matter
Projects like this highlight how important flexibility is in custom door design. Steel doors give us the ability to hit unusual size targets, and when paired with the right inserts—whether it’s glass or executive panels—they can match or even exceed what a traditional fiberglass door can offer in terms of aesthetics.
The key is knowing how to scale the components, match the sightlines, and use detailing like panel depth or sidelight spacing to bring it all together.