You will not find a quality steel door for $500 , not even close. Thats extremely unrealistic. A quality door that will last and maintain air tightness will be at least 2,000 installed. Hmi, provia, and homeguard are very good doors.
You want 22 guage at the very least, preferably 20 guqge. ( the lower the guage, the thicker the steel) .The 24, 25, and 26 guage stuff at the supply houses are complete garbage, you get what you pay for so i suggest waiting until you have enough money for quality. Do NOT waste your money just because a door is cheap, you will regret it in a few years. Do not get suckered into what some contractors say: " we've been using this for years and never had any problems".

This post was edited by mmarse1 on Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 9:49

I'd assume your talking material only.
Polaris would be an option, it all depends on the dealer's pricing and options needed. At that price you may be stuck with a box store door. I'd use fiberglass if going box store route.

Todd makes a good point. Polaris make a nice fiberglass door.

I like to install solid blocking 6" or so above and below the dead bolt between the door frame and rough opening for added security since this is the week point in a forced entry.and Svhlage hardware.

Have you tried contacting a commercial/industrial door company? They are the sort of place that weld up exactly what you need in an industrial setting, including bomb-proof doors and panic room doors.

They will have truly burglar proof doors that no one will get through without a cutting torch and will have catalogs of doors much more decorative than those gray slabs of steel.

You will indeed pay.

Bomb proof doors???? Unless the OP lives in Afghanistan i doubt thats a feature he needs,

Not out of security concern but rather just looking for better value than a big-box store I was looking for doors in the same price range, went with Polaris, and am a fan. I just photo-whored my original thread if you want to see pictures of them:

Here is a link that might be useful: http://ths.gardenweb.com

Polaris makes a nice door. Fit and finish is not quite at the top level and I'd stay away from their factory stained options, but for a mid level product/price its a good choice.

+1

Polaris makes a nice product with their entry doors. Some of the grains are a bit dated but they are a solid company.