Basement exterior door

[ChadTower]

Yeah, another basement thread. 

I'm replacing my furnace friday, basement windows soon after that, and in between putting in an exterior door.  Basement is concrete slab and exit is up some stairs through a bulkhead.  Right now there is a wood door there that the previous owner made out of what looks like tongue and groove planks.  Decent but not made as a heat barrier.

Normally this isn't a question but since those of us who can use our basements as gamerooms I thought I'd see what others have here.  If I put in a standard exterior door and frame it narrows the opening such that it will be a lot harder to get games in and out.  Has anyone done anything other than a standard door for this reason? 

[Chadwick]

A 3'-0" door isn't big enough?  How big are your machines?  Were you looking at a 2'-8" door?

[ChadTower]

After doing some measurements, turns out I was off.  The current door is just under 35".  A standard door is probably the way to go if I have height clearance.  I wonder if you can cut at the bottom of a standard exterior door... panel appearance only has to be neat, doesn't have to look high quality, since no one will really see it from the outside.

[kingflynn]

If the height is an issue, call a local lumber yard, not HD, and give them the rough opening dimensions.  They can get you a price on a door that will be cut down at the factory. 

[CCM]

I would think you would want a 36" door to accommodate games, furniture, appliances etc...  Anything much smaller than 36" and you may run into problems down the road. 

Cutting the door down is no problem at all.  Since it is an exterior door it should be solid wood, get out your circular saw and measure and cut.

[ChadTower]

I would think you would want a 36" door to accommodate games, furniture, appliances etc...  Anything much smaller than 36" and you may run into problems down the road. 

Cutting the door down is no problem at all.  Since it is an exterior door it should be solid wood, get out your circular saw and measure and cut.

Around here most people aren't going to use a solid wood door for a below grade exterior.  Too moist.  It will end up more than likely being a solid core steel door.

[CCM]

DOH..  I missed that it is below grade!

[shardian]

Wood entry doors are a thing of the past. Most new doors - even the ones that look like wood - are fiberglass.

[kingflynn]

You're right.  99 percent of entry doors are fiberglass or steel with foam cores.  It's best just to order the door cut down from the factory, because they cut the jambs too, and it will come as a prehung unit.

[boykster]

It IS possible to buy a solid wood exterior door, but I agree, if its below grade, you're better off with a steel - or better yet fiberglass door.  You can't easily cut either of those, but you can custom order one to size.  If you want to go with a wood door, you can make it pretty much weather impervious, but it will require 10-12 coats of valspar varnish / urethane, and by the time you're done, you'll wish you got the fiberglass door 

I have a wood with glass inlay exterior door as my front door.  Its wood and glass - no fiberglass or steel involved.  And yes, it has 12 coats of valspar urethane on it.

[Blanka]

You're right.  99 percent of entry doors are fiberglass or steel with foam cores.  It's best just to order the door cut down from the factory, because they cut the jambs too, and it will come as a prehung unit.

Nice trans-atlantic difference here! Fiber glass is not very well received in Brussels. The material is very bad for recycling. The main reason why the Eames Plastic Chair is Polyethene now instead of FG. Besides, composites do very bad in local building regulations. They give you major 'bad' points on the sustainable materials check lists.
Here housing doors are 90% multiplex (with a sheet of aluminium for real stiffness), 10% solid wood I guess (the classic models).

[ChadTower]

I have a wood with glass inlay exterior door as my front door.  Its wood and glass - no fiberglass or steel involved.  And yes, it has 12 coats of valspar urethane on it.

My front door is wood and glass... no urethane, though, just paint.  It doesn't matter that much behind a storm door.