House door questions/opinions

[TR Custom Parts]

The renovations on our house we bought continue! Have 2 of the bedrooms done and one of the bathrooms, not bad for 2 months. Now I am getting ready to change the front door and also replace a sliding glass door.

For the front door, what seems to be the best choice, wood, steel? I need a 36" door with the glass sides you normally would see on a raised ranch house. Will probably be getting everything from Lowes and I know they have the Pella brand which is pretty decent.

For the slider, have looked at the ones that have blinds inside the glass. Anyone using these? Just wondering how they hold up. I have a slider out to my deck and always hate struggling with the vertical blinds to go out, thought one of these doors would be a good solution.

As usual, I seem to always ask the board for advice since we seem to have people with expertise on any subject out there. Thanks for any advice!

 

[tom h]

Mark -

don't assume the Pella brand is "decent" just because it's popular, has national marketing, or is in the big-box home centers.

amongst professional builders & remodelers, Pella is one of the least-liked brands.

for all the gory details, research the online forums at
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/index.asp
and
http://www.jlconline.com/

I believe the articles and information there to be much more reliable & informative than what you'll find in the "consumer lifestyle" fluff magazines and their TV show offshoots.

I too agree that good quality fiberglass entry doors should be given consideration. The better ones have very natural appearing "wood grain"-like appearance. It looks less fake than when steel doors try to mimic the look. I guess it's always a debate whether to go for a "fake wood" or "real steel" look, I happen to think the subtle surface texture of wood looks more appealing. I'm not saying I like wood doors, only the look (the maintenace sucks), some wood-like appearance seems more appropriate on a residence (unless you've got a hi-tech, modernist style home)

 

[GNSCOTT]

Mark..I just priced a Pella door at Lowes on rt 80 and it came out to a little over $1200. They had some for 2 grand too.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Hi Scott,

I was just there too! Around 2PM or so. Unfortunately, my rough in dimensions of a 61" width are going to force me to go to a 32" door. Currently have a 36" with 10" sidelights. Looks like all the new doors come with 12" sidelights. Got a quote of $1200 for the door we settled for. Went with a steel one with a nice window in it.