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 housedoor 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 decades to overtake wood as the material of choice for residential entry doors. Interior Therma-Tru 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 doors simply cannot compete with the beauty, energy efficiency, durability, low maintenance and variety offered by today''s doors that are produced from fiberglass.

Vinyl and aluminum cladding each have advantages and drawbacks. With vinyl, the color permeates the material, so scratches don''t show. Aluminum will scratch, but it is tougher and available in a wider variety of colors. Neither With basic accessories, a 6-foot-wide clad-wood slider costs about; an 8-foot-wide door. Installation will cost, depending on exterior siding repair needed and the general complexity of the job. Click here for the catalog. Of course, there are economies of scale: The more doors you install, the better the deal on both materials and labor. You can also buy wood sliders factory-primed or prepainted in standard colors; some manufacturers will custom-paint them for a premium. For a dual-glazed, solid-wood door that isn''t clad or painted, you''ll pay about. housedoor Other materials Fiberglass and steel are particularly durable door materials. Both are made to simulate the look of wood, but fiberglass does housedoor this more convincingly than steel. Fiberglass, Factory-primed doors can be painted or given an opaque wood stain. A 6-foot-wide door costs. A 7-foot, 6-inch door with three panels costs about. Steel doors are rugged and typically cost less than fiberglass.

©2003 www.fiber-craft-door.com All rights reserved.