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I’ve just found this place and it looks like a lot of very good pros frequent here. I need some advice.
I’d like to replace my ugly front steel door with a new one, but still keep a glass storm door over it. It’s south facing with no protection. I’ve heard some doors will melt under these conditions. What can I use that will also last and look nice? Thanks.
Mary
Look closely at these common locations for hazardous materials in older homes.
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Replies
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Hi Mary,
I don't know what you mean by ugly steel door. Is the design of the door ugly regardless of the material it's made of?
Or is it the steel door that you object to?
You can get steel doors in a thousand different designs or you can get a style of door in a couple of dozen materials, none of which will melt, unless they're made of cheese. :)
I would advise that you visit your local building supply store and look at what they have in stock and ask for brochures on the lines that they carry.
Take your time, find a design that you like, in the material of your choice and inquire to make sure that it's available in a size that will fit your present door frame.
Take your time, it's on your side, inform yourself and then make an informed decision that you will give you a door that will last you for many years to come.
Gabe
*There's a current discussion here in BT and also a recent topic in the Archives to which I contributed.Thanx for the compliment on behalf of all of us.BillLinks: b meyer "Entry doors" 7/8/00 7:00pm BG_71 "Exterior doors" 7/4/00 5:26am
*mary.. generally you can use steel as long as none of the decorative details are plastic (which is almost ALL of the decorative details)..some of the fiberglass doors are safe..another thing you can do is not worry about the door and concentrate on the sun -angle..protect the door with an overhang that will shield the door from about 10 am to 2 pm in the storm door months of say november thru march... another thing is to NOT paint with anything approaching a dark color.. you will create a perfect solar collector..actually a south door is easier to protect than an east or west door.. because of teh high sun angle.. especially at your latitude..all of the mfrs are aware of this problem and all have fine print that absolves their responsibility if you paint the door dark... or put a storm door in front of it.....i had similar problem with a dark green door...we opted to put just a screen door and left out the glass panel..the heat gain still cracked the plastic molding on the glass inserts..go figgerall doors are absorbing the same heat gain.. wood , steel, fiberglass.it's the composites that fare the worst.. the sun is just death on doors.. think WHITE.....
*Hi Mike,I'm not familiar with the problem of cracking plastic trim, that you describe. Would it not be simple to trim in wood instead of plastic?Gabe
*well gabe i guess it would.. but the trim i'm describing is the factory trim that they use to hold their glazing in place.... any of the steel doors ( and i would bet the fiberglass ones too ) use a male / female plastic molding to sandwich the glazing units into the foam insulated opening...a lot of the distributers simply buy steel blanks from the mfr. and make their own cut-outs in their door shop.. then the go to bin # ten and pull out the glazing and bin # 22 for the molding frame and screw 'em together and ship 'em to the job...i'm pretty sure all the steel doors and teh fiberglass doors use the same techniques..they have about four basic blanks and abut 6 basic moldings and they mix and match to come up with all their permutations....maybe someone who has done a fiberglass door lately can enlighten us..
*Mary, I read that children have received burns from steel doors painted in dark colors. I can't cite the source, but recall it was in one of our Builder's magazines a couple of years ago. The heat collected by a steel door is intensified by having the storm door in front of it, of course, so be doubly warned...Others here may correct me, but I'm of the impression that fiberglass doors don't have the heat buildup of the steel units. Anyhow, I regularly specify and install Thermatru "Smooth Star" doors to replace the dented/rusted/crushed steel units that clients have come to hate. These doors have no fake grain, and look amazingly like wood when the finish is brushed on.In this area, most entry doors are 6-panel colonial, so the applied trim around the glass is not an issue.Good luck, Steve
*Good advice all around. The plastic and dark paint are the two biggest problems. Eliminate them and You should be home free.Strangely enough the low winter sun angle seems to affect my south facing door more than any other season. Skip
*Hi Mike,All the doors that I use are either solid wood or commercial grade steel, so none of them would have the cheap plastic inserts that you describe and are used on most production housing.The colour has always been an issue. Light is better, not only on doors but roofs as well.LaterGabe
*Good point Steve. Just the other day I was at the door shop picking up a couple slab doors and happened to pick up on a brochure from the Pease Door Co. advising not to use a storm door in conjunction with a steel insulated door due to the door then becoming a solar collector.Pease states that if you are installing an insulated door as so many of today's doors are, there is enough insulation built into the door itself that there is no need to install a storm door.In my opinion, a storm door takes away from the clean lines of a properly installed quality built exterior unit.
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Wow, thanks for the help. In response: ugly as in the design, not really the steel.
I really wanted to put more glass in the door and have it a dark green - look great against my red brick facade, but I guess that's a bad idea. I really like having the storm door - makes the house much nicer to live in. The storm door is dark green. Perhaps a white door behind it would look fine. I'll take your suggestions and start looking more intently. Thanks again.
Mary
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mary... if you are thinking of a full view storm door and a full view steel door.. a lot of the sun's heat is going to go right thru the innner door...
can you provide shading as described above ?
the dark green will look nice..hmmmm.....conflicts, conflicts..
*Mary,I don't know where you are in Maryland, but would urge you to consider some security precautions when thinking of putting glass in a front door. Just my .02 worth.Frank
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fortunatly, I seem to be in an area with very little problems in that regard. I would agree if I lived in any of the cities. Thanks.
Mary
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MaryB if you are going to use a storm door, then i would consider a nice warm real wood door. The storm door will provide you with add protect for the wood door.
David
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Now, I do like the look of a pretty wood door best of all. Would it be durable and fairly carefree with the storm door over it and the sun? I wouldn't mind a covered porch over it, but realistically, that's not going to happen any time soon, if ever. That would cost a lot more than just replacing the door. I was afraid it would take a beating with the sun too. Any input would be most appreciated.
Mary
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MaryB - Why not use a high-quality wood storm door, Taylor, for instance, who offers several designs with sticking within the lower section of the frame, painted mahoghany.
It would seem to me that in areas where intense sun exposure is possible on the door during the day, that it wouldn't be too hard to design a storm/screen combination door with a thermocoupled vent flap (few moving parts) that would open if the temp in the space between the storm and front door exceeded a preset limit. Manufacturers?
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I've just found this place and it looks like a lot of very good pros frequent here. I need some advice.
I'd like to replace my ugly front steel door with a new one, but still keep a glass storm door over it. It's south facing with no protection. I've heard some doors will melt under these conditions. What can I use that will also last and look nice? Thanks.
Mary
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They do make those arms for opening greenhouse windows and cold frames for about $50 with a temp range to open at 75 or so and close at 40 or so. I wonder if one could be adapted to a storm door. One couldn't have it latched tho.
that's an idea.
Mary