8 Benefits of Iron Doors for Commercial Properties

As a business owner, every small detail of your property, from the lighting and window orientation to the quality of the pavement, is of the utmost importance. Those small details will not only affect the appearance of your store and the impression that customers get when they visit, but they will also affect logistical factors such as how much manpower you must dedicate to maintenance, upkeep costs, lifespan, and more.

Unfortunately, one detail a lot of commercial property owners neglect is the type of door used in exterior entryways.

Today, we are going to go over why the door type you use is important, which type of door you need to have, and the 8 top benefits of iron doors for commercial properties.

Let’s get started.

Why Does the Type of Door You Use Matter for Commercial Properties?

With the average residential doorway, you don’t have too much to worry about. There’s not nearly as much traffic, residential homeowners care about their own doors a lot more, and there’s a lot more room to choose materials based on appearance décor themes without worrying about sacrificing longevity.

In comparison, commercial properties deal with hundreds, if not thousands, of customers on a daily basis. That’s on top of the owner and the employees themselves. Beyond the other problems we’ll mention in a minute, that’s a lot of foot traffic, and a commercial door will wear a lot faster than a residential door if you pick the wrong one.

Then, you need to consider that customers can get a bit rough with doors that aren’t their own. especially if they’re disgruntled and leaving in a dramatic manner. Employees might not be as careless, but they usually have to bring a lot of large items through doorways, and accidents happen. That’s a daily occurrence.

Finally, you have to consider that commercial buildings are also bigger targets for crime, and that means that doors might be subject to determined criminals trying their best to break through the door.

With all that considered, you need a door that can stand up to that type of constant abuse and create more problems for potential criminals.

What Type of Door Is Best for a Commercial Business?

Now that you know what a commercial door needs to be able to go up against, it’s time to look at the different types of doors you have to choose from.

First, there are wood, steel, and aluminum doors. These are the same types most residential homes use.

However, they all have major drawbacks. They require lots of maintenance, tons of traffic can wear them down quickly, and they’re damaged with less effort required.

Luckily, there’s another option that you might not have thought about, but you’ve likely seen them hundreds of times every day of your life – iron doors.

Iron is as traditional a door-making material as wood, believe it or not. It’s been used, most prominently, since the Victorian era. However, the iron doors you buy for your commercial business have come a long way, and they certainly don’t look how they used to.

Iron doors offer a number of benefits while looking professional. You’ve probably seen one at most stores you’ve frequented in the last decade or more.

Here are the top 8 benefits of iron doors for commercial businesses.

1: Extreme Resistance to Normal Wear and Tear

One of the major problems we highlighted earlier was that commercial businesses see a lot more daily traffic than something like residential homes. Instead of a door opening a few times per day, it has to open constantly 24/7.

Iron is extremely resilient to forms of damage such as scratches, dents, chips, etc. In fact, even after decades, you’ll be hard-pressed to find much damage at all on an iron door as long as you maintain it.

This is crucial. Wood doors, while great for some applications, can get extremely worn in less than a decade with the type of traffic that a commercial business gets.

2: Strength

This somewhat goes along with our wear and tear category, but it helps with things beyond normal abuse, as well.

An iron door is extremely hard to break or damage. An angry customer can slam it as they storm out, an employee can graze the door while carrying furniture or large products through it without gouging it, storms can hit it extremely hard, and you likely won’t have to deal with any damages.

3: Security

Now, this does depend heavily on the type of door you get. We’ll talk about that more later, but some iron doors have considerably large glass panels, and if the glass used isn’t durable, the frame of the door won’t keep someone out well.

With that being said, well-designed iron doors can be practically impossible to bypass. They’re so strong that prying them isn’t going to work.

Pairing a security-minded iron door with high-quality locks can protect your business far better than wood, hollow steel, and similar options that are fairly easy to damage.

We already talked about ways to improve your front door security and we recommend reading that article for more information on this very important topic.

4: Professional Look

When we said these doors have been around since before the Victorian era, you probably painted a visual image of Gothic architecture or something else that simply doesn’t match the modern business world. Well, the material has been used that long. Designs have changed dramatically.

Most iron doors you’ll find today are heavily designed around perfectly straight lines, and they are designed with a professional appearance in mind. They’ll blend in perfectly with establishments of all kinds. If you do like the more ornate look of the past, you can easily find those, typically marketed for residential use, as well.

This can really help create a professional first impression on your customers and B2B visitors.

5: Lack of Maintenance

This is a huge one. You’re operating a business. You already have a ton on your plate, and you likely don’t have the manpower or resources to dedicate to something as mundane as maintaining a door. Iron doors are great for that situation.

With wood, you constantly have to worry about checking for scratches and gouges from careless customers, and if someone slams it, it can get splintered and need replacement. You also have to refinish it at least every two years if you want it to maintain a professional appearance.  With steel, you have to worry about rust, and since it’s hollow, it’s not easy to just sand it off. You can easily end up with a door with a hole in it.

Iron is nearly impervious to all of that.

Once you install your iron door, you really only need to worry about touching up the paint whenever you notice little chips or scrapes in the paint.

The metal itself develops a patina that helps protect it from water damage even where the paint has flaked, and that same patina works as a “self-lubricating” feature that ensures the door doesn’t start creaking on its hardware.

The maintenance of iron doors is so minor that practically any business can afford to keep up with it. Even a full repaint can be done on an afternoon when the store is closed with minimal skill or training.

6: Ease of Repair

A lot of modern iron doors utilize glass panes. This allows customers to see inside, presents the inside of the store well, and generally helps the business. However, that is a weak spot.

Luckily, because the actual iron part of the door is so strong, repairing the door typically just means getting a new glass insert made. This is a lot cheaper than replacing any type of door, and just about any local glass company can get the job done fast.

In comparison, when a wood door warps or splinters, there’s not much you can do about it. You are stuck spending $1000 or more to replace the entire door. Even steel tends to require a flat-out replacement if it rusts or gets dented.

7: Cost

You are obviously concerned about your business’s expenses. After all, every business has to watch its expenses, or it won’t be open very long.

Well, that’s another benefit of iron doors.

Even the finest iron doors are typically well below the price of even basic hardwood doors, and steel doors are often more expensive despite being lower quality.

So, you’re not only getting a door that is cheaper to repair and maintain. You’re also getting a door that is cheaper upfront without sacrificing any performance.

8: Match Your Door to Your Business

By default, a black iron door with a modern design will match pretty much any business. It’s rare that one looks out of place. However, you’re still free to get creative, because iron is such a flexible material.

First, iron can be made to match practically any design. It’s poured into a mold, and it can take the shape of whatever the designer wants no matter how simple or extravagant it is.

You’re probably wondering if it’s possible to paint iron doors. Iron doors are actually easy to paint, and manufacturers offer numerous pigment options. While standard black is usually fine, you can also opt for wildly colored iron doors that can help your business stand out if the rest of the décor matches it. If you don’t like it, or you outgrow it, you can always repaint it.

Things to Consider When Buying an Iron Door for Commercial Usage

So far, we’ve highlighted the benefits of iron doors for commercial properties, and they’re clearly your best option, but there are some factors you need to consider when picking one out.

We’re going to go over those now to help you make an informed decision.

Go for a Quality Iron Door:

Iron doors are already going to cost less than anything you’d consider professional that’s made from other materials. You might as well go ahead and buy a higher-priced option and get the best you can performance-wise.

You’ll still be saving money, but you’ll rest assured knowing that you’re getting a great door that will last practically forever.

Even though you can find iron doors for just a couple hundred dollars, it’s not always best to buy the cheapest option. Especially when you’re operating a business.

Research Different Coatings:

Iron doors are available with different types of coatings, and this affects a couple of things.

First, it’ll affect what colors you can get the door in. Manufacturers only carry so many types of pigments. That’s a minor issue, though. Most of you will likely go with a plain black door.

The major problem is that different coatings wear differently. Standard acrylic paint is cheap and comes in a ton of colors, but it wears a lot faster. Luckily, it’s easy to repaint. Powder coatings that are pigmented last a long time without wearing, but they’re harder to touch up on your own without the touch-up spots looking out of place slightly.

Look at all the different coating options available and choose the one that will suit your business model more effectively.

Shell Out for Good Locks:

One of the main selling points an iron door has how theft-deterrent it is. Of course, the door’s strength doesn’t mean much if you have low-quality locks. You might think you have a great door and you’re safe, but then someone bypasses it in seconds without even worrying about the door.

Invest in, and install, high-quality locks that are fitting for a commercial establishment. Better yet, opt for a door option that comes with that hardware.

Where to Get the Best Iron Doors for Commercial Use

Among all the amazing benefits of iron doors for commercial properties we discussed, you’ll notice one of the tips we gave was for you to buy a high-quality iron door and not cut any corners. 

You’ll still save money because of how cost-effective they are, but you’ll get the best door possible. Well, you need a good source to know that the door you’re spending good money on is actually worth the price.

That’s where Wholesale Iron Doors comes in.

Our selection includes double iron doors, single iron doors, and even custom iron doors for commercial properties that can be fully customized to match your business’s unique style and requirements.

Get in touch with us today and elevate the security of your commercial property in style!