We grew up with storm doors which were really the modern version of the old-fashioned screen door we enjoyed hearing slam shut all day long as kids going in and out of our grandparents’ house. Yes, the connection to the outdoors was a big part of the experience, but that was before our houses became completely “climate controlled”. I think I enjoy them now just because I like that extra piece of separation when I answer the door.
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THe new front door will have some glass, and DH read that some house “experts” say storm doors just trap heat. We’ve also always had a storm door; current one has a drop down screen for warm weather. I like the disappearing screen doors but DH thinks they are just “another thing that’s gonna break”
We’ve never had a problem (breakage or otherwise) with the drop down screen…. current storm door is 14 years old. It’s glass between October and May; screen from mid-May to October with a LOT of ups and downs in between to adjust for unseasonal temperatures. I think we lubricated the mechanism once in 14 years? It’s pretty sturdy… not like the screen doors we all grew up with which were flimsy metal which never closed properly!
We have storm doors on both the front and the back doors. The dog likes to sit at the front door, with the wood door wide open, and look out at the passing sights. In our climate (southern New England), a storm door is kind of necessary to keep both the cold and the hot out and to keep the heating/cooling costs lower.
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We had the roll up screen storm door for many years, with no issues. We would roll the glass up or down regularly depending upon the weather (so not just start and end of season).
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We have a storm door (with the glass up) on the door from the garage to the house and one with a screen on the back door because they were here when we bought the house a long time ago. Not on the front door (which has a covered overhang) or the basement door.
I thought that would be ideal until I realized that we have sidelights on both sides of the door. Oh well.
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We took off our front storm door a few years ago simply because we have a lovely red front door and I felt the storm door took away from the pleasing appearance. The main downside is needing to paint our front door more often.
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We have a full glass storm door on the front and side doors. I love opening the doors door the light and looks welcoming. We put full screens in for the nice weather and full glass for hot and code weather.
@ChoatieMom did you get the retractable screen with the door, or after-market? We want retractable for our sliders, but there is a frame you have to install - I don’t see one with yours.
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After-market. We ordered from a home show. The company measures and installs. The frame blends in because I painted it to match the door.
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