The entry of every house is guarded by the main door. It acts as an access control protector for the house. This door can pretty much withstand most man-made forces and give us a great sense of security. But this door cannot last long against the wrath of our mother nature. i.e., snow, storms, heavy rain, cyclones, tornadoes, etc. To make the main doors last longer we use storm doors in addition to the front door. Here in this article, we are going to explore in detail about one of the most underrated home security accessories.
Before discussing the storm doors, let us discuss about the reason for their installation in your house.
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Why should You Install Storm Doors at House?
There are several reasons to install storm doors in your homes. Some of them include,
- It comes with an extra layer of insulation which you will not find in the normal entrance doors. Most of the storm doors come with two layers of solid or foam core.
- To protect your door, it comes as the best accessory and also extends the life of the door.
- To protect your door away from insects or dirt things or other unwanted desirables.
- It allows extra air and light from outside to your house
- The storm door comes as an extra protective measure
So, these are the reasons to install a storm door in your house. There are a lot of different types of such storm doors that one must carefully choose from. Let’s go over a few of the most predominantly used storm doors, their utilities, properties, and aesthetics.
Key Points to Consider While Choosing the Storm Doors
- Geography
- Budget
- Size
- Design
- Durability
- Maintenance
Let’s discuss about storm doors buying guide in the following sections.
1. Geography
Geography decides which type of materials will fare better. For example, if you happen to live in the coastline or bay areas, the wind is more likely to be humid, and salinity and moisture are high as well. This salinity and humidity will affect the ferrous materials more than that aluminum or wooden materials. Ferrous materials tend to rust more quickly than in the rest of the location. Few protective paints can litigate this issue, but again it is a more maintenance-intensive task. Material choices are listed below
Aluminum – Goes well with every location but will be a bit expensive. It is a lightweight choice but stands stronger than vinyl clad and wood.
Vinyl Clad – Here moisture afters the vinyl cladding doors life span, white-colored doors can camouflage color fading longer.
Steel – Salinity and moisture can create rust over time. It is expensive.
Wood core – It is not preferred in heavy rain areas but works well in rest areas
A Mix of aluminum and wood – This can give good aesthetics but can be quite expensive as well depending on the choice of wood.
2. Budget
Any house improvements are going to be a pricey affair. If you have absolutely no budget constraint, then you may not consider the specific section for material selection. Few Budget-friendly orders of choice:
- Vinyl Clad
- Aluminum
- Aluminum + Wood core
- Wood core
3. Size
Choosing the right size of a storm door is not a big deal unless you have some irregularly shaped doors. One can get the storm doors in all the available standard door sizes such as
- 30 inches
- 32 inches
- 34 inches
- 36 inches
In addition to the above sizes of the storm doors, you can also get some customized sizes of doors. But such customized doors seem to be expensive and may not come under your budget. Even you can get the double-door kits.
Before buying any storm door, ensure that you measure the width and height of the old door. Also, measure them from the exterior frame by avoiding the inner door jamb. This will give you accurate measurements. Furthermore, you need to measure the width of the door at different points like the top, bottom, and middle.
Storm doors can be hung to open in two directions such as left-swinging or right-swinging. But ensure that you choose such a door that allows you to install it both ways. Thus, it all depends on your preference to hang the doors right or left ways.
4. Design
There are quite a few varieties of storm doors. One needs to make a conscious choice of design type depending on the overall design of the house. Few of the most used types of the storm doors are
- High View doors
- Full view doors
- Half view doors
The mesh or grill openings in the storm doors also act as a source of ventilation for the house.
5. Durability
The Durability of the storm door depends on the type of natural force that your storm doors are up against. If snow is the cause of concern, then most of the types will suit well. But when it is a storm or rains it is better to avoid wooden material choices. Also, steel doors should be maintained well and they are more likely to be tested by water/wet forces.
6. Maintenance
Every household item needs maintenance over time. Storm doors are no exception. The wooden and steel doors need wood protector painting that needs to be done once every alternate year. The aluminum doors need only dusting and cleaning the rails and grooves. The vinyl-clad doors tend to fade over time and may need replacement after a few years of use.
The Bottom Line
Before buying the storm doors, you need to look after several crucial features. Ensure that you never miss a single feature while buying a storm door. In addition to the above factors, you can consider the perfect configuration (full or half view) of the storm door to go well with your house.
