How to Decorate Your Door for Christmas

What to Look for in a Storm Door

Storm doors serve several important purposes for your home. They don't just limit weather damage and enhance energy efficiency; they also add an appealing touch of decor to the outside of your home. Here's what to consider as you shop for a storm door.

Types of Storm Doors

Several types of storm doors exist, giving you a variety of options when choosing one for your home. A full-view storm door features a frame with a pane of safety glass that reaches from top to bottom. This type of storm door provides a full view of your front door and can allow more sunlight into your home. A full-view door typically doesn't have a ventilation screen, so it isn't useful for creating cross breezes in your home.

A split-view door has two glass panes and a screened pane on either the upper or lower half. Typically, one of the panes is fixed in place. A window track enables you to slide the other glass pane up and down to have full glass or half glass and to access the screened section for ventilation. A security storm door includes steel bars over the glass pane, providing an extra element of safety. These doors may also have mailbox slots.

Materials for Storm Doors

Storm door materials vary, also providing you with a variety of options and price points. Vinyl-clad is typically the least expensive material, and the vinyl material resists peeling and rust. Its low maintenance needs are a further selling point, and these doors come in various styles.

Aluminum storm doors vary in price and are relatively lightweight. These doors resist corrosion, require little maintenance and often have extended warranties. Wood storm doors are typically heavier than the other options, and they can be carved and embellished to add a more decorative touch to your home. It's easy to paint the frames of these doors, too.

Features to Find

A number of features can make a storm door more appealing and helpful to use. The glass might be high-performance Low-E glass, which reduces the amount of ultraviolet rays that enter your home. Safety glass can also resist shattering into sharp pieces; instead, it breaks into smoother chunks. Having a hold-open closer on a storm door makes it easy to just press a button so the door remains open until you press the button again. That's great if you're unloading groceries from the car. An overlapping edge seals the door frame more efficiently to prevent drafts.

Storm Door Installation

Storm door installation is not a complicated job, and you can finish this task with just a few tools. Determine which side of the door frame you want the hinges on, measure the opening height and prepare the Z-bar by cutting it off to fit the opening. Place the storm door into the opening, level it and screw it into the Z-bar to secure it. Then, you can adjust the Z-bar to fine-tune the fit and operation of the door.

Getting It Handled

The storm door you choose may or may not come with a latch or handle pre-installed. If you need to install it yourself, match it up with the placement of the handle on your front or back door — it should be on the same side. This ensures it's easier to get into your home, even though you do need to open two doors. You can also look for a storm door that comes with a handle already installed, but again, look for a door with a handle and hinges that have the same placement as the door you're installing the storm door in front of.

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