Sun and doors....Need advice

[believe]

We recently replaced our front door because of Sun damage. We also found at that during the replacement water had damaged under the door. Our dilemia is a new storm door. I really want to be able to open my front door. If we put a full glass storm door the sun will bake the door more than it already does. If we put just a screen in the full length door I can't open it when it is hot outside because the A/C is on and my door may get water damage again because the door is just in a very 'weather' hazard spot. I thought about having the door 'tinted' but was advised against it. The door company said it would draw more sun to the door. Any suggestions for solving this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Minnie824]

What about those doors that come in 2 halves...I Think you can have them all glass or all screen or half and half by moving stuff around. Pella has a lot of nice screen doors and I think some like that. Good luck!

 

[mtemm]

just the question I wanted to ask! We are buying a new house and the front door is sun-damaged, so we agreed to replace it ourselves (they are giving us money).

Where is a good place to get a door? Is it hard for 2 barely handy people to install, or should we get someone to install it? Where do you find someone to install it if so? What should we be looking for in a door? Are they hard to paint or will they come painted (I want a red door, with white on the inside).

I can't imagine not having a storm door, but if its just going to bake/practically melt again, what other choice do I have????

 

[vickyBaby]

What does "sun damaged" mean? The door is faded?

 

[janette]

We need to replace our storm door and possibly our front door. I've looked at storm doors with screens because we have a problem with the sun and the heat generated from the glass storm door. The door handle gets so hot you almost burn yourself this time of year. Our house also faces west so we get the evening sun directly on the front of the house.

We have sun screens on all the front windows so I'm thinking that if I get a door that has a screen I'll call the screen company and have them replace the screen in the door with the better screens that match the rest of the house. I'm hoping that helps with the heat problem, I probably won't use the screens for anything other than the sun filter but that would be better than just the plain glass.

 

[mtemm]

in our case the sun damage is that the door is faded in spots, yes, but also the fan shaped window's frame at the top of the door is literally warped, looks like a Dali painting! LOL!

 

[Jenzebelle]

There are storm doors that are interchangable between glass and screen. We have those on our doors. If I want it screen, I just slide down the glass part. If I want it all glass, then I just push up the glass part to cover the screen.

 

[believe]

Thanks for all the replies. We had a half/half storm door, but it no longer will look 'right' with our new door. The door has an oval glass window and the bar goes right across the window. We can't do the interchangeable because of the amount of rain that hits the door, it is best to not take that chance again.

Original posted by mtemm:

Where is a good place to get a door? Is it hard for 2 barely handy people to install, or should we get someone to install it? Where do you find someone to install it if so? What should we be looking for in a door? Are they hard to paint or will they come painted (I want a red door, with white on the inside).

We bought our door at Home Depot and had them install it. They ran a sale on installation and it was only $100.00, well that was before they damage and we had to pay an extra $50.00 for labor and materials to fix the water damage our other door had caused.
We went with a fiberglass door. They are suppose to be more resistant to weather damage and it looks like a natural wood door.

 

[dianeschlicht]

GO buy a very good quality glass door form a major company like Andersen, Kolbe& Kolbe etc. They make low-e glass doors that allow all the visibility, but very little of the heat and UV through. We have this on our new windows and french doors in the new house, and it is amazing how little heat comes through them!

 

[WebmasterAlex]

We had the same problem, even with low-e glass the heat build up can be tremendous because of the oven effect between the doors. We ended up just leaving ours off but we have enough windows that it isn't a big deal.
I wouldn't reccomend installing a door yourself unless you had at least a clue what you are doing. It's a lot trickier than it looks!

 

[mtemm]

so is the only real reason for having a storm door to be able to open the regular one to let light in? Or does it really make a difference guarding the door against the elements? Sounds like it does more damage than good if the door bakes all day...the elements hit it anyway.

So frustrating!

I had heard that steel doors were the way to go. Is this true, or are fiberglass better?

I was leaning towards having someone install the door, and now I'm convinced that is the way to go. We'd also like to replace the closet doors and bedroom doors in the house. Do you think we'd be able to get a deal or do you think they'd charge for each door? Or do you think we should try a closet door ourselves and see how hard it is first?

 

[mtemm]

also, if we have someone install the front door, how does it work with locks? Do they install them, too?

 

[WebmasterAlex]

It's a good thing we aren't a bunch of house contractors mtemm or you would have just started a huge debate
With the older leaky doors they definitely helped protect against the elements. That isn't so neccesary with modern doors.
Steel doors work but the fiberglass look much closer to a wood door.
They should do the locks and try a closet door...but I'll warn you getting it to work RIGHT isn't all that easy... think shims

 

[Dan Murphy]

We have several 'Forever Traditionals' and love them. We have had them for probably close to 20 years, work perfectly. http://www.allseasonsdoors.com/doors/index.cfm?brandid=3

Our front door is wood, about 30 years old. It has an east exposure and is protected by a porch roof. It is urethane sealed and never been a problem. We have screen up in storm door for about 6 to 8 months, window up for winter.

I would say if we ever replaced the wood door, we would do steel or fiberglass, just two materials of choice of modern day building, both very impervious to damage.

Hope you get it figured out, Amanda, so many choices.