My opinion is it is a little lower in quality then Masonite.

Provia and Homeguard are very good, probably better than Thermatru. You may or may not be able to find them cheaper than your other quote. Prices can vary wildly by dealer.

I could show you a fresh steaming pile of manure and show you a video stating how you could eat it to cure cancer, but would you believe it?

The features that are touted in that video or nothing special, and in fact not as good as some other premium products. I thought it was quite entertaining actually. The guy was even pointing to the wrong parts on the door as he was talking about them.
On the other comment: "true Hydroshield Technology"? Really? That comment was obvoiously made by a company rep.
I have not used that particular product so I really cannot comment on its quality, however Thermatru is generally known as a "solid" choice, not elite level, but generally comes at a competitive price. If this other product is HALF of a Thermatru price, that raises some red flags IMO.

ThermaTru doors were more comparable to PlasPro price-wise back in November when I first priced them but they had a huge price increase between then and now.

And I was wrong, it is not half, more like 2/3 right now.

From what I could gather, the doors are made the same but the warranties are different.

Also, there was a patent lawsuit a few years ago which indicates (to me) that the doors might be quite similar.

"In a legal decision that will have positive ramifications for competition in America's door and window industry, a U.S. District Court Judge has ruled that fiberglass entry doors made by Plastpro, Inc. do not infringe a patent assigned to Therma-Tru Corporation. The decision is the culmination of six years of costly legal disputes in which market leader Therma-Tru brought patent infringement actions against virtually all of its competitors in what Plastpro executives called "a determined effort to reduce competition for the benefit of Therma-Tru, and to the detriment of consumers, retailers and distributors of exterior fiberglass doors." In his decision, United States District Judge John C. Lifland of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted summary judgment that grained fiberglass entry door products of Plastpro do not infringe U.S. Patent No. 4,550,540 assigned to Therma-Tru."

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/plastpro-wins-favorable-federal-court-decision-in-6-year-patent-dispute-on-fiberglass-doors-70772637.html

What do you think?

It could have been because the door was fiberglass woodgrain, or it could be because they used a similar door sweep. It could be as little as that and as HomeSealed mentioned that video is comical as I had seen it prior and if anything their misinformation would remove even more of their creditably in my opinion.

Thank you!

Let me re-state my original question.

If you lived in a hot and humid climate with very mild winters (no snow), and it were YOUR patio door with a large patio overhang, would you shell out extra $$$ for Thermatru, or go with another brand, e.g., Masonite or Plaspro?

I am not even considering ProVia b/c it is simply not worth it to me for these doors (though I might for the main entry door). Again, I am not trying to be frugal (I have just installed Marvin windows throughout the house), just trying to be sensible as we are remodeling other parts of the house and we do not have have disposable income, kwim?

I look at in the same way I would windows, do you want to chance having to do it twice in a short period of time due to material failure? A warranty on the product will not do any good if the flooring, siding or interior finish gets ruined.

From the perspective of a professional that regularly sees product failures, I would always choose the superior product. That said, obviously my experience has shaped that view, so a "cost to benefit" analysis would certainly be in order. What I would say, is that you want a product that at least meets a MINIMUM level of quality. Whether or not the two choices that you are considering meet that, unfortunately I can't say. I'd have to defer to the guys that have actually worked with those specific products.
As MWM mentioned, the worst thing that you can do is go TOO cheap, and end up having to redo it again after a few years poor performance/operation.
Have you gotten Thermatru quoted from other vendors? Pricing can often vary wildly between dealers.

Yes, I have with the quotes within ~$50 of each other.

However, I am sure both Masonite and PlasPro meet a MINIMUM level of quality requirement. They are among top-sellers, aren't they? I wouldn't call them "cheap", would you?

There is a well-known company in town that does not sell ThermaTru, only PlasPro (and have for years). The owner says he likes their product and sticks by it (when it comes to fiberglass, that is). That is why I started questioning whether I should go with them.

Again, I haven't used either of those products, but I would not purchase anything based on the fact that it is a "top seller".
Personally, Thermatru (or comparable) is the minimum that I will sell or recommend. Maybe Plaspro is comparable, maybe it is not. As I mentioned previously, the large price discrepancy may speak to that.

"the large price discrepancy may speak to that"

Not always, IME.

Williams-Sonoma charges more (sometimes, a lot more) than Bed Bath and Beyond for the exact same product made by the exact same company and their customer service is only marginally better than BBB's, IMHO. It is often about marketing not quality.

ThermaTRu hiked the price a month or two ago but I'd bet money they did not suddenly increase the quality of their product by 33%, kwim?

I am curious if anyone here has actually sold or installed both brands.

I doubt they raised their price by 33% either as that would be asinine and suicidal in my opinion. Your dealer may have told you that but in my 30 yrs in the construction supply industry have never heard of a supplier have a 33% price increase at one time, ever! And we have told you repeatedly, and not one of us has a thing to gain so why would we steer you wrong, you asked our opinion and now argue were wrong.

I sell Thermatru as one of my door offerings, and I can confirm that any price increases were minimal. Single digits, certainly not 33%.
If you saw a 33% increase, that was probably a dealer that was previously losing money at the price that they were formerly charging...
The other hard part to figure about TT, is that they sell their product to various "finishing" companies, that finish and distribute the product for them. It could be that this was the origin of the increase, if in fact you saw a similar price jump from dealer to dealer.

33%...not quite.

I would not, however, be surprised to see prices going up a good bit in the near future with the adoption of the Affordable Care Act.

It is going to cost companies a good bit in many cases and that will just pass through to the contractor/consumer.

OK, sold!

33% was a miscalculation on my part because I didn't do the math, just "eye-balled" the two prices. The new price is actually 25% more. Same finish but I did change to out-swing. Do those cost more?

I'll try to clarify with the dealer.

Thank you very much for all your help!

I would say exactly the same thing about 25%, no way. Normal price increases 3,4-5%, extreme increases 8-9%. I think something must have changed for this to be the case other than outswing as that from my recollection is basically NRP Hinges and a different sill so maybe $100 more?

If I e-mailed those of you who sell TT the exact specs, would you be able to tell me the list price for one door?

That would be VERY helpful! I have been dealing with this window and door business for a full year and can't wait for it to be over.

If I had asked for a dollar for every delay, it'd have covered my expenses for replacing the doors and windows, LOL. Do you know how many times someone came to take a look, spent an hour or two, promised to give an estimate and disappeared? And how many times I was sent a wrong quote (e.g., for a different product)? Etc.

Not being negative about everyone. There were four guys (two sales reps and two installers) who were very fast and efficient I would have gone with them in a heart beat but they did not have the right product, unfortunately.

Why don't you just simply compare ThermaTru and PlastPro's warranty?

In TT's warranty , it says "For continued warranty coverage, all fiberglass Therma-Tru� door systems (Products) must be finished within 6 months of the installation date"

They basically don't warrant the product if you leave the product un-finsihed.

ThermaTru's frame system is pretty bad; they don't offer fully composite drooframe system. So it's useless you have a fiberglass door but with a rotten jamb.

You registered to tell me this? :-)

I have compared the warranties, that is the point.

I have no problems finishing the door within 6 months, In fact, I intend to do so within 6 days.

This post was edited by eleena on Tue, Feb 5, 13 at 20:25

Your becoming one of the pros eleena! LOL ;)

Would your contractor/dealer not just tell you the list price? The list price really doesn't have anything to do with the actual COST, as everyone has a different multiplier.
I'll tell you the list price if you'd like, just email me the specs.

Eleena, could you please email me directly, I cannot respond to your email through the site.
Brandon@homesealed.com

Well...it's my first time on this forum.

My husband and I went through their warranties words by words and noticed something :
"However, all bare or unprotected wood surfaces (such as door frames) on all steel and fiberglass Products (note: including any bare or unprotected wood surfaces used or exposed by builders, contractors, dealers or distributors on or in conjunction with the Products) should be primed and painted or stained and top coated within the lesser of 2 weeks of installation or exposure to weather."

So does it mean that we need to paint over the hinge location? who paint the hinge area before installing the hinges? NO ONE does that.

Anyway, we end up with PlastPro door and we are very happy with it. Plus, their door doesn't have the ugly screw hole around the glass like the old door.

Common sense should come onto play with the above statement as anyone should know bare wood should be finished immediately or even before exterior installation. Should not need a warranty to know that.

PS3220,

The hinge area is not "exposed" and therefore not covered by the that provision.

Your registering and posting that information on the same day is a bit interesting to say the least.

PS3220,

Actually, it was your post that "sealed" my decision to go with ThermaTru, not kidding. So, if you did want to steer me toward PP, you achieved the opposite result. :-)

I called another door company and got a quote for TT that is not only lower than the most recent quote from the other dealer - it is less than the original quote I had. So, it is hard to believe but it is truly a 33% difference! And it is not a "lemon", they just buy direct from a wholesale distributor - unlike the other guys. I had no idea about such intricacies. :-(

I am going there tomorrow to place my order. Thank you everybody for your help!

Good luck, good decision and post pictures when your done!

well..good luck then. :)
We did our own research and decided to go with PP and are still very happy with the result. Only thing I can complaint was that we had some issues on the stain color and quality, but after 3rd trial, we finally got it right.

Hi Eleena:

I am in your situation you were in last year, I am deciding which brand of patio doors to buy. How is your Therma Tru patio doors doing? Are they doing as good as you expected it to be? I am planning to install a double door in swing french patio door. If you can share your experience, that would be awesome! Thanks in advance.

Does anyone have experience with MMI (Milliken Millworks) wood-grain fiberglass doors?

I bought Plastpro doors 3 years ago, mine warped after one year