Storm door installation
A storm door does three jobs. It buys you a layer of dead air in February, it lets you open the house to a breeze in May without inviting the insects, and it takes the weather off an entry door you would rather not replace. We fit them, and we replace the closers that fail on them, as part of our door repair service.
Openings that are square, and the ones that are not
A storm door is sized to the brick mould of your existing opening, and almost no opening in an older house is truly square. The difference between a clean installation and a door that catches is in the shimming and in how the hinge rail is set. We hang the rail to the opening as it is rather than to the instructions, which assume a perfect rectangle.
Full view, mid view and the screen question
Full view doors carry a single large panel that swaps between glass and screen, or slides within the frame. Mid view doors keep a solid lower panel, which stands up far better to children, dogs and snow shovels. Households with a busy entry usually regret full view within a few winters. We will say so before you buy.
Closers, and why yours failed
The closer is the part that wears out, and it fails early when the door is oversized, when the wind catches it or when the arm was never adjusted properly. Two closers are better than one on a wide door. A wind chain is worth fitting on any exposed entry, because one gust past the stop is what bends a frame.
- Storm and screen doors fitted to the existing brick mould
- Closer replacement, single or paired, with the arm adjusted
- Wind chains fitted on exposed or west-facing entries
- Sweep and expander adjusted to the sill as it sits
- Handle, latch and strike aligned before we leave
Heat, glass and the door behind it
One thing worth knowing. A full view storm door over a dark-colored entry door can trap enough heat in summer sun to damage the finish or void the entry door warranty. South and west-facing entries are where this shows up. Where that risk is real we recommend a vented or mid view door instead, or a lighter finish on the door behind.
Screen season and the swap nobody wants to do
Doors where the glass and screen have to be carried in and out by hand get swapped once and never again. Retractable screens solve that and cost more. If you are the sort of household that will do the swap, the savings are real. If you are not, buy the retractable and be honest about it at the point of purchase.
What a storm door will not fix
It will not rescue an entry door that has rotted at the bottom rail, and it will not cure a draft coming through a failed threshold. Those are repairs to the door behind it, and the wider pass is weatherstripping installation or, where the unit is past saving, exterior door replacement.
Security, and what a storm door adds
A storm door adds a second latch and a second barrier, both of which are modest. Treat it as weather protection with a small security benefit rather than the other way around. The real security work happens on the entry door behind it, with lock and deadbolt installation and a reinforced strike.
- Measure the brick mould, not the door slab, before ordering
- Decide handing by which way the wind hits the entry
- Choose mid view where children or pets use the door daily
- Check the entry door color against summer sun exposure
- Plan for a wind chain on any exposed elevation
Winter performance, in plain numbers
A storm door does not insulate the way a wall does. What it does is stop air movement across the entry door and hold a still layer between the two. On a leaky older entry that is a noticeable difference at the threshold on a cold morning. On a newly fitted insulated entry door the gain is smaller, and we say so rather than overselling it.
Fitting it alongside other exterior work
Storm doors go in faster when the crew is already on site. Households often pair the visit with exterior hardware installation for house numbers and handrail brackets, or with the seasonal winterize your home visit before the first hard freeze.
Handing, and the mistake that gets made at the store
Handing is decided by which side the hinges go on, and it is the single most common ordering error we see. The right answer depends on the prevailing wind at that elevation, where the walk approaches the door and whether a railing crowds the swing. Take a photo of the entry standing on the walk and bring it with you, or let us measure and order it, because a door hung the wrong way cannot be flipped on site.
Sills, sweeps and the gap you can see light through
The bottom of a storm door meets a sill that is rarely level, and the expander at the base is what takes up that difference. Set it too tight and the door drags all summer. Set it too loose and you have bought a decorative screen. We adjust it with the door hung and the weather stripping compressed, then check it again once the closer is on.
Pets, children and the lower panel
The lower half of a storm door takes every knee, boot and paw in the house. Glass down low is the first thing to break and the most expensive to replace. Households with dogs are better served by a solid kick panel, and where a pet door is wanted it should go in the entry door rather than the storm door, which is too light to carry one well.
Paint, finish and how long the color lasts
Factory finishes on aluminum storm doors hold up for years, though a west-facing door will chalk before a north-facing one. Dark colors show heat distortion first. Where a homeowner wants the storm door to match new trim work, it is worth coordinating with painting and exterior touch-up so the colors are chosen together rather than matched afterward from memory.
Screen doors on porches and back entries
Back doors, mudroom entries and doors onto a covered porch are where a screen door earns its keep in summer, and they take less weather than a front elevation. Lighter hardware is fine there. A mudroom entry used daily by children is the exception and wants the same mid view panel a front door gets.
Replacing a storm door that came with the house
Older aluminum storm doors are often salvageable, and a new closer with a fresh sweep can buy several more years for a fraction of a replacement. Where the frame has bent from a wind event, where the corners have opened or where the glass channel has failed, replacement is the better spend. We look at the frame first, because that is what decides it. Storm damage of that kind is also covered under storm damage board up when it happens suddenly.
Book storm door installation
Most storm doors are a single morning, including the closer adjustment that decides whether you like it. View our Portfolio to see the finish our crews hold, then contact us now for a free quote. If the door behind it is also due for attention, mention it when you call so we bring what we need for both.
