Smooth-Star: Despite the popularity of steel doors, builders have never been happy with the problems inherent in this material - most notably, rusting and denting, along with necessitate. Therma-Tru responded in with Smooth-Star, a door that incorporated the smooth fiberglass look of painted steel while eliminating dents, dings and rust. We call Smooth-Star the Steel Beater, not only because it''s competitively priced with steel doors, but also because it looks better, feels better and performs better. Plus, its 20-year limited warranty is twice that of most steel products. Clearly the Best Value It took steel the better part of three handcrafteddecorativeglasspattern decades to overtake wood as the material of choice for residential entry doors. Interior Therma-Tru handcrafteddecorativeglasspattern door expects door to eclipse steel much faster. We have seen fiberglass products readily accepted by home builders across the nation, says Oleshansky. Wood and steel handcrafteddecorativeglasspattern doors simply cannot compete with the beauty, energy efficiency, durability, low maintenance and variety offered by today''s doors that are produced from fiberglass.

People think finishing a door is difficult to do on their own. They worry that they could ruin the door. It''s clear that the new Classic Craft model was created to assuage that concern. The door comes with a red oak-styled grain pattern, detailed panels with shadow lines, solid oak square edges and an adjustable oak sill. The pre-finish is available in the two most popular wood stain colors today, according to Niderberg: natural oak and cherry. Maintenance is simplified, because fiberglass doesn''t have to be restained. All that''s required, he said, is a new polyurethane top-coat every three to five years. The pre-finished Classic Craft costs an additional at retail versus the unfinished model. Both models cost less than a comparable wood door and come with a lifetime warranty. This was intended for those accustomed to buying wood," Niderberg said. "But we wanted to add some extra features and benefits. Chosen for the entrance to the NAHB Show Village 2001 D.R. Horton home is an elegant Classic-Craft fiberglass Raised-Panel door from Theram-Tru. Available in nearly 150 raised or deeply embossed panel designs that produce dramatic shadow lines, Classic-Craft doors give you all the premium touches you''d expect to find in the finest wood doors, plus more.

Therma-Tru Doors have extremely strong brand name recognition with homeowners -- which translates into greater recognition for the builders who use their product. Builders know they can turn to Therma-Tru catalog of Doors to build a new home with curb appeal that starts at the door for the front. Today''s most successful builders demand doors that can withstand the wear and tear that occurs both during installation and over time. The ability to stand up to these demands is one of the main reasons builders are increasingly turning away from wood and steel and selecting doors for the interior. Eliminating builder callbacks, doors save time and money in the repair and maintenance of wood and steel doors.

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