Custom Steel Door Design: Sidelights, Transoms & One-Piece Engineering
A custom steel door lets you match your entry to your house, your light, and your lifestyle. You can add sidelights and transoms, choose precise finishes, and rely on one-piece engineering that keeps wide glass spans strong for decades. Every steel door at Love That Door is designed and engineered in Texas to your exact opening, and we own our factories so the craftsmanship stays in our hands from start to finish. Schedule your free consultation at any of our 4 DFW showrooms to design your entry.
What Customization Options Are Available for Steel Doors?
Love That Door®
Your entry can be built to fit your architecture and your taste, not a stock catalog. The options start with layout and spread through glass, finish, and hardware, so nearly every part of the door is a choice you make.
- Sidelights and transoms add natural light and make a wide opening feel taller and more balanced, with the mitered corners cut precisely from 10-gauge cold-rolled steel so the frame stays square
- Glass configurations range from narrow vertical lights to floor-to-ceiling panels, always using tempered glass sealed into the frame
- Finish options include a full palette of custom colors applied as a triple-coat paint system, backed by a 10-year finish warranty
- Hardware packages let you pick handles, locks, and hinges that fit the style of your home rather than a generic builder set
If you want to see how these choices come together in a full opening, our steel door buying guide walks through the entire design process. Schedule your free consultation to start yours.
Book your FREE in-home or showroom consultation today—we'll measure your space, explore custom designs, and bring your vision to life!
Get a FREE quote! Share your measurements or a photo of your space, and our design experts will send you a personalized price estimate.
How Do Sidelights and Transoms Work with a Steel Door?
Sidelights are vertical glass panels that sit beside the main door slab, and a transom is the glass panel that sits above it. Together they turn a plain doorway into a framed composition of light and line.
- A transom spans the full width of the opening and is built into the same continuous frame as the door, so there is no seam for water or air to sneak through
- Sidelights flank one or both sides and are glazed into the frame with the same tempered glass as the door
- Because the unit is one continuous structural frame, the glass and steel move as a single piece instead of flexing against separate headers
- The glass is set with proper thermal spacers, and the steel is protected by its zinc coating and baked paint, so the assembly stays weathertight across seasons
This is where one-piece engineering earns its keep. Read how the continuous frame is constructed in our deep dive on one-piece door engineering. Schedule your free consultation to see it in person.
What Is One-Piece Engineering?
One-piece engineering means the door slab, sidelights, and transom share a single continuous structural steel frame rather than being bolted together from separate pieces. The concept is at the heart of why Love That Door doors stay square and quiet for years.
- The design is built around a continuous structural tube that runs the full width of the opening, so load transfers evenly from glass to frame to the wall
- Founder and Chief Engineer Chad Crenshaw holds the patent on this continuous tube construction for double doors — read his story on the about Chad Crenshaw page
- A continuous frame eliminates the welded joints that can show and flex, giving you the clean lines versus visible welds comparison
- The result is a door that operates smoothly on its hinges year after year, with no sagging header to deform the slab
This approach is why a big glass entry can still be a strong, air-tight steel unit instead of a fragile assembly. Schedule your free consultation at one of our 4 DFW showrooms.
Book your FREE in-home or showroom consultation today—we'll measure your space, explore custom designs, and bring your vision to life!
Get a FREE quote! Share your measurements or a photo of your space, and our design experts will send you a personalized price estimate.
How Long Does a Custom Steel Door Take to Install?
Timing splits into two parts: the build and the install. The build is made to order because every opening is measured and fabricated for your specific dimensions.
- Fabrication takes roughly four to six weeks, where your steel is cut, welded into the continuous frame, coated, and finished
- Installation usually happens in a day, handled by the team that builds the door so the frame is set square and sealed properly
- A steel-frame opening leaves no floor-to-ceiling steel seam that needs patching, keeping the finish clean around the edges
- Because we own our factories and our install crews, the schedule stays in our control rather than bouncing between separate vendors
Every project starts with a Schedule your free consultation where we measure and talk through your layout.
What Finishes Can I Choose for a Steel Door?
Finishes are where a custom door becomes yours. Your steel starts as 10-gauge cold-rolled steel, gets a protective zinc coating, and ends in a paint system built to hold up outdoors.
- Color choices span a broad palette, from deep blacks and rich bronzes to custom hues you choose to match trim or accents
- The triple-coat paint system gives depth and durability, covered by a 10-year finish warranty
- Interior and exterior faces can be finished differently, so you get the curb look you want outside and the finish you like inside
- Hardware finishes can be matched to the door color, and glass can be clear, frosted, or Low-E depending on light and privacy goals
Your door is delivered with a lifetime warranty on the frame and slab, a 10-year finish warranty, a 5-year glass warranty, and 1-year labor coverage. That kind of coverage only makes sense when the door is built to last.
Why Does Design Detail Matter for a Steel Entry?
Love That Door®
The small decisions in a steel door are the difference between a strong statement and a constant headache. A mitered corner cut at the wrong angle, a header that sags, or a weld that bleeds through paint all show up over time.
- Precise mitering on steel means your transom and sidelight lines stay crisp for the life of the door
- Continuous framing stops water ingress and air leakage that separate-piece doors allow at the seams
- Factory coating beats field-painted steel, because the zinc and paint are applied before the unit leaves the shop under controlled heat and humidity
- When a door is built as one piece, visible welds and seam lines disappear, leaving a clean, modern profile
We designed our doors this way on purpose. It is easier to build a cheaper door with joints and fillers, but it will not hold a wide glass opening straight for twenty years. We choose the harder path because it is the right one for your home. Schedule your free consultation to feel the difference.
Expert Insight
From Chad Crenshaw, Founder & Chief Engineer:
“I’ve seen homeowners spend $15,000 on a patio door and get it installed by a handyman with a tube of silicone. That door will fail — not because of the product, but because nobody who understood it was there when it went in. We build the door and we install the door. Same team, same standard.”
Book your FREE in-home or showroom consultation today—we'll measure your space, explore custom designs, and bring your vision to life!
Get a FREE quote! Share your measurements or a photo of your space, and our design experts will send you a personalized price estimate.
Frequently Asked
Questions
01.
Q: Can a custom steel door include both sidelights and a transom?
A: Yes. Sidelights on one or both sides and a transom above are all built into one continuous steel frame, so the opening reads as a single designed unit rather than pieces glued together.
02.
Q: How thick is the steel in a Love That Door entry?
A: Doors are formed from 10-gauge cold-rolled steel, which is stiffer and more dimensionally stable than thinner hot-rolled sheet, giving the frame strength without adding bulk.
03.
Q: What warranty comes with a steel door?
A: The frame and slab carry a lifetime warranty, finishes are covered for 10 years, glass for 5 years, and labor for 1 year, so your investment is protected across every component.
04.
Q: How long does fabrication take?
A: Most custom steel doors take roughly four to six weeks to build, followed by a one-day installation handled by our own factory and install team.
05.
Q: Do I have to choose from preset colors?
A: No. You can pick from our standard palette or work with the finish team to match a custom color, applied through a triple-coat paint system warranted for 10 years.
Book your FREE in-home or showroom consultation today—we'll measure your space, explore custom designs, and bring your vision to life!
Get a FREE quote! Share your measurements or a photo of your space, and our design experts will send you a personalized price estimate.
Get a free quote
REQUEST A QUOTE
Ready to Elevate Your Home with Custom Doors and Windows?
Fill out your contact details and let our design experts guide you through the process:
- Free in-home consultation tailored to your needs.
- Rough measurements and custom design for a perfect fit.