There are better doors out there depending on where you are located(Provia, Homeguard, HMI), but Thermatru is a fine choice among those that you can get at a supply center if you are set on that route.

As far as the color, a black door facing south is going to test the quality of the door and finish. It will absorb a fair amount of heat, and that dark paint will fade faster than a stain with clearcoat combo. If you use a storm door as well, make sure that its a ventilated model and you should strongly consider tinted glass (in the storm) as well.

Painting or staining the door? If painting you may want to look into having the door prefinished by TT or sprayed by an auto body shop.

I need to ask our sales rep, but they paint & stain where I buy it. I thought he told my hubby that due to the heat, that the paint may be a better option than stain. But I need to check that. Thanks for the advice so far everyone!

It depends how they finish it (re: paint vs stain). TT uses third party finishers so you’ll need to find out what they do. A company like Homeguard for example sprays an automotive grade clear coat over their stain, so it’s actually more durable than the paint (which is is still nice regardless). If they don’t do that then it’s possible that the paint would be better.

We have one 5+ year old TT, and really like it. Tried to get a new one last summer through our lumber yard dealer. Special order took 4 weeks. It was a piece of junk! Had to wait over 2 weeks for the rep to come out and approve the return & re-order.

6 weeks for the next door that wasn't any better.

We went with a regional company (Bayer Built). Had the special order door within a week. Significantly better quality!

Similar experiences in this long-running thread on Therma Tru doors:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2588272/problems-with-thermatru-entry-door#n=122