We are getting a brand new, very nice new entry door for our home. DH says do we even need a storm door? We currently have one on our steel entry door, mostly so I can open the front door and open the storm door screen and get some air that way.
New door is fiberglass. We live in a 4-season state with winters from Nov-March, a few feet of snow is typical but nothing like the upper plains see. I feel like you are “supposed” to have a storm door but now I am curious! How many of you have both? Does anyone have an entry and a screen door? (Those of you where the weather is lovely year round, I am jealous)
We have storm doors on our side door and sunporch door. No storm on the front door but it’s because we have a vestibule set up with a second exterior door. If you have 4 seasons I’d opt for the storm.
The first purchase we made when we moved in last year was a storm door. We are also 4 seasons and I love the breeze and the light when the entry door is open.
We have a storm door on the front door. I think dh’s mind would be blown to not have one. He sees it as a safety measure. And we like the light and breeze.
When neighbors drop something off (that book they borrowed from you; the industrial strength flashlight) other than a covered but exposed entryway is there a place to leave something that is completely dry?
That’s my favorite use of my storm door. We now open it very gingerly because something usually plops out. No more books getting wet, no more soggy cake tins from last week’s potluck.
I do love the screen door in the summer since I hate AC and prefer a nice breeze…. but having a dry spot for “stuff” is really convenient. The narrow porch overhang really doesn’t provide much protection….
We have a storm door frame which has a glass insert and a screen insert. Our front door is a really nice 100 year old chestnut door which I paid to have refinished, the storm door just frames it. We have a significant long deep front porch, it makes the living room dim so we have our front door open frequently (only downside is we get frequent solicitors who can see we are home if they come up the stairs - 10 in total). Have one on the back, but not the side, which I believe is metal.
We had installed several years ago (after admiring one a friend had) a storm door on our front door where the glass slid down and up very easily. We used it to get air flow and also as a place for people to leave things. We never locked the storm door, when the big door behind it was locked. It also acted as another layer of protection from the snow and cold.
It was similar to this one - and I loved it (pretty sure made by Larson).
Right now, we don’t have a screen door but we need a new front door and we are planning on adding a screen door to it. I want the breeze! I will be a little sad as my wreaths won’t be as visible but I can deal with that.
We have retractable screen doors on our outer doors (you can see the handle on the right side, to the left of the Ring). I’m not sure I’ve seen these in cold-climate areas, but because they completely retract into their casing, I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. In any case, the attraction is that they don’t obscure the outer door.
We have front and back storm doors - the kind where you can slide the glass up or down to expose the screen - and they’re a must-have for us! I think one of our first purchases when we first moved here.
Something to be aware of, if you’re looking for the kind where you can slide the glass panel(s) up and down. Make sure you can pop the panels out for cleaning. We ended up with two different brands for the two doors, and I was shocked to discover the back door didn’t let you take the glass sliders out without pretty much disassembling the door. Very difficult to clean the side of the glass that’s against the screen!
Our split with screen had the screen retracting into the top of the door - there was no issue cleaning both sides of the glass. The glass was even etched to look great when the screen was on the top and when the screen was out of view.
Same here. We will hang the wreaths on one of those suction hooks right on the storm door when the glass is there. My DD has a screen and she figured out a way to hang her wreaths from the door when the screen is in. I’ll just do that.
We have a full view glass storm door (no screen) at our front door. It’s nice being. able to open the door sometimes to get more light, watch for guests driving up etc
I believe in the beauty of a front door so if you have a pretty front door I just say if you’re getting a storm, make sure it’s a “full glass” one so you still have curb appeal of your Mai door.
Our previous house had a full glass storm and you could still enjoy the beautiful bright navy 100 year old Dutch door with brass hardware.
Our current door is also pretty has no storm. I miss the light that a storm gives. And we are 4 seasons but the entry is on a covered porch so the door is largely protected by the elements.
The door in the picture I posted above was originally solid. The entry beyond it really needed light, so we had the glass insert installed shortly after we moved in. All is bright now.
Oh Interesting. I thought maybe 90% of the value of a storm door is the ability to open it to a screen so the breeze can flow in. I’m not sure why someone would want a storm door if it’s nothing more than a plate of glass in front of their main door.
I think that was more true before AC. Actually I think our full glass storm door may have a screen insert in the basement. But we leave it glass all year. It does give the wood door good protection.
We haven’t had storm doors on any of our homes, have lived in both Illinois and NC. I do think part of the consideration is whether other neighborhood homes have storm doors, as someone else said. Our houses have always had plenty of windows for ventilation/air flow, so didn’t feel the need for storm doors for that reason.
