Replies

1. 
   WayneL5 | Apr 02, 2006 06:01am | #1

   You're best off to check the manufacturer's recommendation.  The door on my house is fiberglass without a storm door and it warps and changes shape with the temperature and sun.  I bows so badly that the weatherstripping doesn't seal on cold days.  I can only imagine it worse in direct sun with a storm door, double pane or not.  This is the only house I've had with a fiberglass door.

1. 
   JDRHI | Apr 02, 2006 07:56pm | #2

   Wayne.....thanks for the input.

   J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements

2. 
   NickNukeEm | Apr 02, 2006 10:15pm | #3

   JD, the only restrictions I know of (or read from the mfgr's literature) is NOT to install an unvented storm door if you have glass lites with plastic trim, and the door is subjected to some amount of full sun.  I usually try to steer people away from storm doors when installing a new door; I think it detracts from the door.  I tell them to call me back after a year if they still want a storm door.

   I haven't heard of any problems wrt the FG door itself.  Maybe Gene Davis will stop in a enlighten us all...

    

   "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."  Invictus, by Henley.

1. 
   JDRHI | Apr 02, 2006 11:58pm | #4

   Thanks....I'm planned on checking with the manufacturer, but I always appreciate information gleened directly from the field.

   J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements

1. 
   Gene_Davis | Apr 03, 2006 12:20am | #5

   Fiberglass doors suffer from the thermal warp syndrome.  Heat up the exterior skin, and no amount of interior reinforcement will keep them from warping.

   The thermal warp behavior is the reason ThermaTru redesigned their foamfilled weatherstrip a few years back, to have maximum recovery reach when the warmed up door is backing away from it.  If you work with their doors, hung with their weatherstrip (the TT logo is embossed on the jacket), you will note that the latchside WS has the S shape, while the hingeside is the old V.

   A well-sealed storm door, as in a good Larsen or Emco, will bake a fiberglass door or any other door.  If you must have a storm door, you are best off with a good quality steel door behind it.  I recommend the Benchmark door with its 22 gage skin option.  I am pretty certain no one else in foamfilled residential steel doors offers that heavier gage option.

   If you must go fiberglass, use the ThermaTru Classic Craft product.  It probably has a beefier lock stile than any other door in the field.

   And paint the exterior white, or some pastel color.

3. 
   Matt | Apr 03, 2006 01:27am | #6

   We install fiberglass doors on our mid priced houses.  Haven't had problems that I'm aware of, although I have been warned about the storm door thing by salesmen and tell my customers about this during their final walkthrough - the houses don't come with storm doors.  I have a fiberglass door on my own 6 YO home (no stormdoor) and haven't had a problem.  I think it helps a lot if you have a front porch.  I'm sure these problems occur but it's not like it's all the time, or even on a real regular basis - at least not if there is no storm door.

   
   

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   Edited 4/2/2006 6:38 pm ET by Matt

4. 
   DanH | Apr 03, 2006 01:33am | #7

   Not just fiberglass, and not just thermal glass. Any door can be damaged by exposure to the sun through a glass storm. You basically get a Thromb (sp?) wall -- a heat trap. Temps can probably hit 300F on a sunny day, especially in the late spring/early fall when the sun angle is lower.

   We had a steel door with plastic decoration -- melted the plastic up into a blob, and heated the door enough to put a warped (sunken) spot the middle. And this was a door with eastern exposure, so it only got the morning sun when outdoor temps are coolest.

   Now we always leave the movable storm sash open a crack.

   I hear there are some storms with special thermostat-operated vents at bottom and top, to prevent this problem, but have never seen one.

   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

1. 
   hurnik | Apr 03, 2006 04:57am | #8

   I'd heard the same thing about fiber glass exterior doors and storm doors.However, (whether or not the guy lied, I don't know), supposedly in my case, if the exterior door and storm door were from the same manufacturer (Pela in my case), then it was "allowed".Now, keep in mind that I do not normally leave the storm door as "full glass" except in the winter. I'm sure the sun can heat up the door somewhat, but given that our temps (usually) in winter are cold (Jan we're like below zero), and that we don't get much sunlight in the winter, it probably doesn't matter.I change out the door and put in the screen in spring (probably next week or so) and put the glass in around end of October.

1. 
   DanH | Apr 03, 2006 05:12am | #9

   Don't bet that it can't happen in December. We live in southern MN.
   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

1. 
   JDRHI | Apr 03, 2006 04:23pm | #10

   Thanks guys....Y'all are the best!!

   J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements