Learning About Doors For Your Home

Learning About Doors For Your Home: Available in a multitude of styles and materials, doors are the gateway into the home. Regardless of the doors you decide to install, eventually the quality of your door installation is going to reveal itself in your energy bills. Whether you decide to install wood, fiberglass, aluminum, composite or vinyl, it is imperative that your doors be installed by qualified professionals who can guarantee that your products have been installed and sealed properly.At Window Solutions Plus we are dedicated to helping you navigate the abundance of options you will encounter when searching for the perfect door for your home. And while the front door is the gateway into your home, the back door is the passageway to your family’s outdoor oasis. At Window Solutions Plus we install many styles and materials across numerous manufacturers, ensuring that both ends of your living space are equipped with the absolute best possible fit.

Learning About Doors For Your Home: Styles

Doors are available in 8 different styles. Continue reading below and decide which door style is the perfect fit for your home:

Entry Doors are offered by Window Solutions Plus across 2 manufacturers (Simpson and Therma-Tru) and in 2 materials (all-wood and all-fiberglass). Please continue to browse and decide which entry door is the perfect fit for your home or office.

Hinged Doors are designed as a classic way to enter a room. A hinged door operates by allowing it to swing on its hinges, creating an opening and allowing people to move freely through an elegant doorway. From thicker French style panels to traditional doors, there is an option for everyone. Window Solutions Plus offers hinged doors across 3 manufacturers (Andersen, Marvin, and Pella) and in 4 materials – wood, vinyl, fiberglass, and aluminum. Please continue to browse and decide which hinged door is the perfect fit for your home or office.

Gliding Doors (also known as sliding doors) are engineered and designed to glide effortlessly and open your home to the outdoors. From thicker French style panels, to sleek modern or traditional patio doors with narrower frames, there is a wide range of configuration options across several manufacturers to work together seamlessly for your home. Gliding doors are typically comprised of single, two- or four-panel options, with one fixed and the other actively sliding horizontally over the stationary panel. Window Solutions Plus offers gliding doors across 6 manufacturers (Andersen, Harvey, Marvin, Pella, Simonton, and Soft-Lite) and 5 materials – wood, vinyl, fiberglass, aluminum, and composite. Please continue to browse and select the perfect gliding window for your home or office.

Multislide Doors are engineered for effortless operation, allowing for maximum design freedom and sizing available for openings up to 50′ wide and 10′ tall. Multislide doors are the perfect fit for those whose wish is to enjoy open, unobstructed views of the beauty surrounding their home. Window Solutions Plus offers multislide doors from 1 manufacturer (Marvin) and in two material combinations – wood interior with aluminum exterior, and aluminum interior with fiberglass exterior. Please continue to browse and decide which multislide door is the perfect fit for your home or office.

Lift and Slide Doors are designed to operate easily and open your home to the outdoors. Lift and slide doors glide along guide rails to allow for a wider opening, producing maximum ventilation. Able to be built in endless configurations, the lift and slide door is a large door option which can suit nearly any living space. Window Solutions Plus offers lift and slide doors across 2 manufacturers (Andersen and Marvin) and in 1 style: wood interior with aluminum exterior. Please continue to browse and decide whether a lift and slide door is the right fit for your home or office.

Folding Doors open up your home to a true indoor-outdoor experience, with panels that open and close like an accordion. Available in some of the industry’s largest sizes – up to 10′ tall, with contemporary panel widths up to 48″ wide – these versatile doors offer a bevy of options for a wide range of homes. With folding doors, the door itself will slide open, while its panels fold up and stack against the wall in order to optimize living space. Window Solutions Plus offers folding doors across 2 manufacturers (Andersen and Marvin) and in one style: wood interior and aluminum exterior. Please continue to browse and decide which folding doors are the right fit for your home or office.

Pivot Doors are offered by Window Solutions Plus across 1 manufacturer (Andersen) and in 1 material design: wood interior and an aluminum exterior. Please continue to browse and decide whether a pivot door by Andersen is the right fit for your home or office. Andersen Weiland pivot doors are designed for large, spectacular openings. Think bold and non-traditional. Instead of hinging off of a jamb, pivot doors rotate on a pivot box and can swing in, out, or both in and out. These are made with the same profile options as the Liftslides and Bifolds. Pivot doors take the entry door into new territory, and recently Andersen has taken the idea even further – engineering and testing their pivot door to meet weather ratings with a patent pending flush sill. With panel sizes up to 9’ x 11’, these are a perfect option for true design lovers – as they make a bold and modern statement.

Storm Doors are an additional outer door utilized for protection in inclement weather. Storm doors are designed and engineered to be easy to use and to offer customers a wide array of options and styles. Window Solutions Plus offers storm doors from 1 manufacturer (Andersen), in one material (aluminum). Please continue to browse and decide whether an Andersen storm door is the right fit for your home.

WE OFFER DOOR INSTALLATION AND REPLACEMENT SERVICES

Interested in finding replacement doors for your home. Our engaging design process will easily help you navigate and find the perfect window for you! As questions arise in your mind our product experts will assist helping bring your vison to life. Our 5 steps process will take you through all the doors features and options such as glass, color, hardware and screens. Please click here to view our Doors projects near you

Learning About Doors For Your Home: Materials

Door materials are an integral part of the product selection process. At Window Solutions Plus, we approach materials differently – rather than pitting one material against the other, we analyze each on its own merits and then compare and contrast. The prevailing principle is that we hold ourselves to the highest standards for educating our customers, allowing them to make the most informed decision regarding which product selections work best for their style and budget. There are a multitude of options outlined below.

Wood

Beauty that withstands the test of time
Multiple wood species available to match any design requirements
Offers outstanding insulation
Creates a cozy, natural feeling in both modern or historic buildings
Wide range of customization options for staining and paint options
Color and staining options that will look great for decades

Aluminum

Low-maintenance
Easy to clean
Lower energy bills; environmentally friendly
Available in custom profiles, allowing for design flexibility without sacrificing quality
Color and performance that withstand the test of time
Resistant to warping, moisture absorption, and rusting

Composite

Sleek and modern aesthetic
Among the most energy efficient door materials in the industry
Environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced
Maintains rigidity and stability in even the harshest climates
Resists rot, decay, and fungal growth
Blocks thermal transfer, which helps reduce heating and cooling bills

Fiberglass

Easy to clean
Available in custom profiles, allowing for design flexibility without sacrificing quality
Offers some of the best thermal efficiency in the industry
Resistant to warping, moisture absorption, and rusting
Variety of hardware options available: from satin nickel to bronze tilt latch
Many fiberglass windows offer insert replacement options, allowing for a seamless fit into most existing window openings

Vinyl

Low-maintenance exterior
Great performance in all climates
Allows for design flexibility without sacrificing quality
Wide array of colors and options to fit any living space
Color and performance that withstand the test of time
Resistant to scratching, warping, rusting, and moisture absorption

Learning About Doors For Your Home: Energy Efficiency

This is the most practical aspect of selecting a new door. The three areas that determine energy efficiency properties of a door are the frame, seal and glass.

Frames

The primary materials are wood, vinyl, composite, fiberglass and aluminum. Of these aluminum is the least efficient because is readily conducts heat and cold. With the proper manufacturing and frame construction all of these material can be made to meet Energy Star ratings.

Glass

The two most important contributions to the improved energy efficieny of glass are Low_E and double glazing. Low-E is clear coating applied to one side of the glass. The term Low_E stands for low emissivity. Emissivity is simply the measures of the surface’s ability to absorb or reflect radiant heat. The lower the rating the better in preventing heat loss. Double glazing is the use of two sheets of glass separated by an air space to improve insulation against heat transfer. Note many companies also offer triple glazing options for added energy efficiency.

Seal

A spacer is inserted between the panes of glass and bonded to the glass with a primary and secondary seal to create and airtight seal between the two sheets of glass. The most common spacers are aluminum spacer bars, intercept spacers or warm edge spacers. To further improve the efficiency argon gas is injected into the space.

Reliability

Maintenance

For many homeowners a low or no maintenance product is an important consideration. White vinyl requires no maintenance. Fiberglass and steel need to be painted to protect the door.

For proper function choose a quality manufacturer.

Warranty

The best indications of a quality manufacturer are to measure the strength of their product warranty. If a manufacturer knows they make a great product, they will stand behind it with the warranty terms.

How much do Doors cost?

From least-to-most expensive, here is the average price scale per one doors unit, minus installation:

Wood/Vinyl:

($200-$800). Most popular since the 1970s. Maintenance free, good insulation, moisture resistant.

Wood/Aluminum:

($500-$900) Modern, sleek design. Least energy efficient, so fairly unpopular and many modern installers don’t carry this type.

Composite:

($600-$1000) A combination of wood fibers and thermo-plastic polymers. Resembles wood. Strong, resists moisture and decay better than real wood. Can be textured, stained, and painted.

Wood/Fiberglass:

($750-$1200 per door) Fastest growing option today. Incredibly strong. Some estimates say it lasts 40% longer than vinyl counterparts. More efficient, environmentally friendly, and have a near “zero thermal expansion rate,” i.e. tight seals.

Aesthetics

You will be surprised at the myriad design possibilities in Doors. Doors are available in shapes ranging from quarter rounds to ovals. Consider an arrangement of smaller Doors instead of one large one, or vice versa. The options are almost endless.

What makes us the best place to buy your windows and doors?

COMPETITIVE PRICING

Our prices are low all year round. And with a range of finance options across the whole project, your dream windows and doors are closer than you think.
WARRANTY

Our windows and doors all carry lifetime warranties for their core components, plus a warranty of at least ten years on glass seal failures.
CERTIFIED INSTALLERS

With a best team of specialists, from design to fitting, we are here to help make your dream windows and doors a reality.

What Our Customers Say

Peter D'Aguanno, Roxbury CT

Highly recommend Window Solutions Plus! Top notch work. From the start of the process until completion, I found them to be professional, with high quality workmanship and product. I interviewed several companies, Anderson, Pella and more. Upon meeting John, one of the owners, I immediately felt conformable. There was no high pressure, never ending talking like the other companies did. He took me through product choices, the various price points and made great suggestions! The unique thing with this company,they are working with the best window companies in the business. Anderson, Pella, Harvey, others. They have access to all those...
Elizabeth Sanger, Larchmont NY

Excellent and professional service from the owners to the installers.They kept the initial install date, were responsive and communicated well.Spent a lot of time carefully installing five windows on my second floor.Would highly recommend the company, and that comes after spending more than a year researching window companies.Glad I finally settled on Window Solutions Plus.
Doug Libby, Ardsley NY

Angelo and his team did an outstanding job replacing 4 patio doors and 2 stationary panels on my deck with new Anderson doors, The crew was great and a pleasure to have around. Every aspect of the job was handled professionally, starting with m initial contacts with Greg and John right through project completion.
Peter D'Aguanno, Roxbury CT

Highly recommend Window Solutions Plus! Top notch work. From the start of the process until completion, I found them to be professional, with high quality workmanship and product. I interviewed several companies, Anderson, Pella and more. Upon meeting John, one of the owners, I immediately felt conformable. There was no high pressure, never ending talking like the other companies did. He took me through product choices, the various price points and made great suggestions! The unique thing with this company, they are working with the best window companies in the business. Anderson, Pella, Harvey, others. They have access to all those l...
Ellen M, Danbury CT

Amazing company & people! Highly recommended! I recently had Window Solutions Plus replace all the windows (15) and 2 patio slider doors in my condo. These are the most professional and efficient people I have ever dealt with. Everything was spelled out clearly and honestly. From the initial estimate, finalizing the plans, to the installation...everything was right on schedule and went smoothly. John and Greg communicated with me monthly to keep me informed of the timeline; then weekly leading up to the actual installation. I can't say enough about the men who did the installation. They showed up on time every day and never stopped wor...