YOUR Door Questions

Each month I pick a theme to write about for my newsletter, and this month it’s doors. For fun, I decided to tweet about this and ask people for their questions … Writing about doors this month:front door to bulkhead basement door, etc. Send questions;include #doortips4u (so I can find questions).

Yesterday I got 2 questions and laughed as there’s no way I can give answers in 140 characters or less. Not sure where we’ll end up with this, so decided best thing is to keep all the Q&As here on my blog until I get more insight into how to organize the information. I especially like the new challenge as the first question is tough when I don’t know where the house is or the style/value of the home, both of which typically will influence my answer.

@chirpfrog:got a solid wood door on ’65 house. don’t like the black paint. Better replace or repaint? Many people assume they only need to paint their door when they want to change the color when in fact, painting is critical to protecting a wood door, and even fiberglass doors are wrapped with wood around the edges in order to get a tight fit. Here are the key decision factors to help you decide what to do:

• All exterior wood trim, including doors need frequent painting (maintenance) if they are exposed to weather, i.e. sun, wind, rain, etc. If you’ve kept up with regular painting (every 1-2 years as needed) and the door is solid (check at ground level), then keep your door.
• New fiberglass doors require less maintenance but you still need to touch up the wood that wraps the door on ALL 4 sides. There are 100s of styles and textures that mimic wood grain, so you’re sure to find one you like. When the wood that surrounds a door is rotted, we recommend replacing the door too. Installing a factory pre-hung door is easier (cheaper) and less prone to problems than rebuilding the door frame, and often when we try to save the door we find the rot is there.
• Color and painting – Black is a tough exterior color as it absorbs the most sunlight, so switching to a lighter color might be good if you get lots of sunlight (live in the south?) You might not need to prime the door if you’re putting latex over an oil based paint but you’ll need to research and prep the surface properly to get maximum lifetime for the painting job. Take a small sample of the existing paint to a paint (yes) store for help determining best strategy.

Harvey's Full Lite Storm

@BCFloorStore: Best storm door? I’m a big fan of storm doors as they allow me to leave the solid door open during spring and fall, which lets a lot more sunlight into otherwise dark entryways and stairways. My favorite storm door (Harvey Full Lite – have on both front & read doors) provides maximum sunlight, but I like the style with at least a 6 inch frame at the bottom to reduce broken glass due to someone kicking the door open. Here are key decisions you’ll need to make:

• Do you want interchangeable storm and screen? … yes.
• If your storm door will get wet, pick a foam filled aluminum storm door to avoid water damage. If the door is protected from rain, you can pick between vinyl clad (typical white or bronze) and aluminum … with similar cost and warranty.
• Style really depends on the door behind the storm, and your home style. I prefer to keep the storm door simple and if you want to dress up your front door, look at light fixtures and wood trim to enhance the curb appeal of your home.