Making the decision to add or change a storm door to your house
can drastically change the look of your home. It is important to choose
the right storm door that fits with the look of your house. When
choosing a storm door, there are 5 main things to consider: Price,
Material, Size, Handing, and Style.
Pricing on Storm Doors
First
and foremost, you should stick to your budget. Storm doors range in
price from around $100-$300 for standard size doors that you can find at
Lowe's or Home Depot to around $300-$500 for custom sized doors ordered
from the same retailers. Now be realistic, while you may find a coupon
that gives you a good deal, a $100 screen door is not going to perform
like a $500 storm door.
Now you may ask, "What makes a $500 storm
door better than a $100 storm door?" The answer is the materials and the
bells and whistles. Vinyl storm doors are less expensive than extruded
aluminum storm doors. While you save money on the price, they will wear
out faster because of exposure to the elements. However, you can get a
wood-core vinyl door which is more sturdy and provides better insulation
for a little bit more money. On a higher-end door you may get a choice
of custom colors like cranberry, hunter green, or almond where on the
lower end you can only have white or black. With more expensive doors
you can usually choose a hardware color ranging from brass or silver to
oil-rubbed bronze and antique brass. One important difference is most
top end doors come with 2 door closure pistons instead of 1. They are
mounted at the top and bottom of the door instead of just having one at
the top of the storm door. This gives the door better rigidity and
allows you to adjust the speed more. Keep in mind that the cost of a
separate piston is only about $5.00, so don't spend an extra $100 on a
door just to get a second door closure.
The best way to get a
sense of the price is to either go into a national retailer like Lowe's
or Home Depot and look at the storm doors or search online If you go to a
store, be aware that while some associates may have general knowledge,
most do not know the first thing about storm doors. I personally try to
avoid them because in my experience none of them has ever actually
installed a storm. To make matters worse, their training is minimal and
they give cookie-cutter answers to all your questions. Personally, I
like to shop online to compare prices and narrow down more what I am
looking for.
Another thing to consider about pricing is that most
storm doors are Energystar compliant, which means that your new door
qualifies for an IRS tax credit. The credit can be up to as much as $500
and is claimed on your next years taxes. So keep in mind that you can
save money on your taxes by purchasing a higher end door. For more
information, refer to our Storm Door Information page.
Instead of punishing the American business with this regulation how about making the Mexicans and Cubans learn English before applying for the job???
ReplyDeleteroofer