Which Exterior Door to Buy?

  Will be replacing all the exterior doors on a forty year old house.  Need
some guidance from you guys as to what name brands to purchase or not.
Lowes offers the Relia Bilt brand.
Home Depot offers the Jeld Wen brand.
Menards offers the Mastercraft brand.
I'm going to install steal doors, some of which have insulated glass and
will be in the $200-$500 price range.

Does anyone have a preference on Schlage "F" series (ansi 2) or Kwikset
"Signature" series (ansi 1) locks?

Thanks for the help....

 

FWIW, Menards locally has Jeld-Wen as a premium line. Recently
installed some of their windows and was quite pleased with the
quality.


ThermaTrue is one of the major door specialist companies. Normally
sold through better lumber yards. Paid $400 for a fiberglass 36" on
recent project; has nice solid prehung frame and finished off with a
Schlage lockset.


Preferences here are Schlage and Weiser. Kwikset is common on the
subprime projects, probably OK for basement doors and guest
bedrooms.YMMV

Joe

 
DK about the doors but Kwikset locks are generally considered builder's
grade/bottom of the line. Most of the Schlage locks usually rate well
however.

 skidog wrote:

Steel doors are a bit more burglar resistant - though with windows, I don't
know.

Hint: Remove the door from the frame and paint (or otherwise finish it)
before returning it to the frame and hanging it. Pay particular attention to
anti-rust priming, especially near the bottom.

If you REALLY want a super paint job, take the door to an auto paint shop.

 

I recently changed all my doors (5 in all) including a beautifull stained
glass one for the front door and bought them all at Homedepot when they were
on sale...I got fiberglass doors as they don't dent or rust like the ones
that I replaced..Jen Weld is as good as the Therma True doors my dad bought
for more money at the local lumber yard...I bought Schlage locksets for the
house (keyed alike) and Quikset for the basement and garage (keyed alike) at
Homedepot as well...Been a few years and am happy...Don't paint them a dark
color if you plan on a storm door...You don't need to take them to an
autobody shop to paint even if you get steel doors...Just use a mini roller
and a good quality small sash brush and a good quality exterior acrylic
latex paint..Same for fiberglass doors...As usual prep is important..Clean
with soap and water should be all that is needed for a new door...I prefer
to remove the door from the frame AFTER it is installed because I might
scratch it during install being the cluts that I am. , but you can paint it
while on the frame though a bit harder on the back...LOL......Good luck...