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Discussion Forum

Windproof storm door?

DanH | Posted in General Discussion on December 28, 2004 08:01am

Is there any good way to make a reasonably wind-proof storm door, without spending a fortune to install a solid titanium unit?

During Sunday dinner at my MIL’s there was a noise like someone at the door. She went to investigate and found the storm hanging loose. A gust of wind had grabbed it, straightened out the W-shaped wire holding the “shock absorber” spring (also stretched the chain about 20%), then ripped the fixed end of the pneumatic closer out of the door frame, taking a chunk of wood with it. Amazingly, the door itself (aluminum with 2/3 moving glass) was only slightly damaged.

How can one prevent this sort of thing, given that there will always be times when the latch doesn’t catch or works loose somehow? This is Fargo, where wind gusts can come out of nowhere. The exposure of the door is west side, near the southern corner. It’s in an older residential neighborhood, but still a gust of wind can sneak in between the houses.

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  1. UncleDunc | Dec 28, 2004 08:33am | #1

    >> ... there will always be times when the latch doesn't catch or works loose somehow?

    IMO, if the door and latch are properly adjusted, there will not always be times when the latch doesn't catch or works loose somehow. In my experience, all incidents of this nature are caused by someone relying on a door closer that either doesn't work reliably or doesn't work fast enough to close the door before the next gust comes along.

    Whether I'm entering or leaving, I always stand there and watch (or help) until the storm door closes and latches, even if the wind isn't blowing. It gets me some funny looks when I visit places that don't have gusty winds, but it keeps my storm door from being damaged or removed.

    1. DanH | Dec 28, 2004 09:26pm | #2

      I've had the storm door style latch on our deck door work loose in a gusty wind situation. The only way to prevent this is to lock the door.You can't always check that the door closes completely, such as when you enter the house with an armload of groceries, or when the paperboy opens the door and tosses the newspaper in.

  2. MikeSmith | Dec 28, 2004 11:37pm | #3

    you can use double pneumatic closers.. one high  & one low..

    but you really have to make sure the latch engages..

    just like you make sure the primary door latches

    Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
    1. DanH | Dec 28, 2004 11:44pm | #4

      Generally the primary door opens inward and is in no danger of being damaged by a wind gust. Occasionally our front door will blow open (certain seasons seem worse for it not latching), but it's not a serious problem. (I always double-check before retiring at night, of course, or when leaving the house.)The thing is, you can't ALWAYS assure that the door has latched. Even if it's latched 99.9% of the time, that means that 2-3 times a year it will be unlatched in typical use. In a gusty environment with a badly-positioned door that's all it takes.

      1. mitch | Dec 29, 2004 12:32am | #5

        this is probably more hi-tech (and maybe $$) than you want, not to mention will likely be at least a little annoying in use, but you could look into some sort of a piston/shock absorber type damper (it'll probably look pretty much like a door closer unit) that restricts how fast the door can open.  maybe you can find an adjustable one that will allow the door to be opened acceptably fast when you want it to, but will keep it from really getting whipped open and ripped from its hinges with a sudden gust.  there may even be factory units made just for this purpose- wouldn't surprise me.  might be able to reconfigure/reposition a standard closer on the outer wall somehow to accomplish the same thing- i'd have to play with it a bit to see if that would be feasible.

        m

        1. DanH | Dec 29, 2004 02:03am | #6

          Seems like this is a big enough problem in general that someone somewhere would have come up with a reasonable solution. The opening damper is probably a good idea, especially if it's rigged so that it resists more (or even locks up completely) when opened rapidly.Another approach would probably be some sort of hinge arrangement that would allow the door to "come unhinged" in a controlled fashion.Like I said, seems like someone would have already produced products in this area.

          1. BSayer | Dec 29, 2004 02:32am | #7

            Seems like a damper could work on the same principal as seat belts with the gravity lock or whatever its called. Locks in place if the (de)accleration exceeds some prespecified amount.

          2. DanH | Dec 29, 2004 03:00am | #11

            Actually, a seat belt (literally) might be just the ticket. Ie, a belt and spool, with a centrifugal brake in the spool.

          3. mitch | Dec 29, 2004 02:40am | #8

            "The opening damper is probably a good idea, especially if it's rigged so that it resists more (or even locks up completely) when opened rapidly."

            that's why i think it might be mechanically possible to rig a standard closer rod & cylinder to work this way.  a closer not only closes the door, but controls the rate of swing (for example, you can't slam the door- it'll just bounce on the air trapped in the cylinder until it meters/leaks out at a controlled rate) - maybe it could be set-up to work on the out swing.

            m

            i just read bsayer's suggestion-  rigging a simple seatbelt mechanism to the top of the door might work really slick if there's a solid, well protected place to mount the reel system to the wall so it doesn't get full of spiderwebs and ice.  hmmm, i like it.

            Edited 12/28/2004 7:44 pm ET by mitch

  3. JJHess | Dec 29, 2004 02:51am | #9

    I repair about 8-12 door jambs a year because of your situation. When I reattach the new mounting brackets, I replace the cheap 1 1/2" screws with heavy 4" screws. The screws that come with the storm door just go into the door jamb, and that wood is not very solid. The longer screws penetrate into the jack stud and hold very securely. I have never had to go back and fix a door when I have used longer screws. Also, adding another closer will help with the wind problem. However, if the wind is strong enough it will still tear stuff apart. The door is only as strong as its weakest connection, and that is usually the closer connection.

    1. DanH | Dec 29, 2004 02:58am | #10

      The closer was only attached with 1" or so (maybe #10 or #12) screws (and I replaced with 2.25" -- the longest that would work without penetrating the trim of the adjacent lite). But the force of the wind not only ripped out the closer (shattered the door frame) but totally straightened the "hairpin" of the shock spring attached to the top of the door -- pretty impressive, force wise. I was amazed that the door itself suffered only minor damage.

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