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jyyanks

iron or fiberglass Dutch door

2 years ago

Hello
Looking to replace a very wide door (60 inches) with a set of double Dutch doors (2x30inch doors). We were looking at fiberglass but very few companies make the size we need in a Dutch door. I saw an iron door available but reading some of the nightmare stories on these forums has me concerned. Would you recommend a fiberglass or iron door? We’re in the NE.

iron
fiberglass

Comments (14)

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Honestly in my opinion the only thing worse than double doors would be Dutch double doors. Especially in the northeast. Do you have to have Dutch doors? Do you have to switch to a double door? Why not a single door with sidelites? What manufacturer makes a fiberglass Dutch door?

  • 2 years ago

    @millworkman it’s a Dutch colonial built in 1901 with a 5 foot Dutch door with stained glass on both sides. I was trying to keep the integrity of the house but the old door is broken and too costly to try to fix. I actually love the Dutch door and don’t want to replace but it’s broken so we have no choice.

  • 2 years ago

    I think Masonite makes double Dutch doors. Thermatru might make a single and there are a few iron door companies that also make double Dutch doors.

  • 2 years ago

    Metal shrinks and expands, so I'd imagine an iron door would shrink in the winter and let cold air in and, possibly, stick in the summer.

  • 2 years ago

    @sigrid that’s what I was afraid of. I heard the doors can be ‘therma- sealed’ to prevent cold and heat from affecting them but not sure if that will actually work.

  • 2 years ago

    Bite the bullet and have a new door made to protect the integrity of your house. Have you actually gotten a price on reproducing your old door and a price on double Dutch doors? How much difference in price ?

  • 2 years ago

    @remodeling1840 I think the price is similar. We were trying to avoid wood only because we’ve had fiberglass doors before and we like the low maintenance aspect of it. Guess we can’t have it both ways but was hoping we could keep the integrity but have a low maintenance door.

  • 2 years ago

    I would double check the availability of a Dutch Door from either of those two as I have never seen one in steel or fiberglass from anyone. Personally I would not buy a standard type steel or fiberglass door from Masonite or even Therma Tru any more let alone a specialty door like a Dutch door. IF (and a big IF) they make one, Provia would be about the only manufacturer I would buy a fiberglass Dutch door from.

  • 2 years ago

    @millworkman thank you. Will look into provia. Unfortunately a Dutch door might not be an option…

  • 2 years ago

    Here’s the current door

  • 2 years ago

    Because of the deep porch, your wood door will not be weather beaten. I would want to replicate that beautiful door to keep the house honest. Neither iron nor fiberglass will give you the look and feel of the original. My wood door is 220 years old and I will haunt the person who replaces it with fiberglass or iron. FWIW, I sold Therma Tru doors and would never again have one in my home. The customer service was rude and insulting when customers had a problem.

    jyyanks thanked remodeling1840
  • 2 years ago

    Looking at your door, I don’t know why it can’t be saved by a craftsman. When our house was being repainted, my husband rebuilt three or four of our original shutters.

  • 2 years ago

    @remodeling1840This is the fight I'm having with my husband. We are remodeling the inside of the house and the door is broken (it doesn't fully open or shut anymore). Additionally, the weight of the door is messing up the structure inside the house and has scratched up our original floors. I want to keep the door but thought a double door would be less strain on the structure than one giant single door, Not sure if that makes sense but that is what was explained to me.

  • PRO
    3 months ago

    @jyyanks - What did you ever end up doing with your dutch doors? Also looking for a reasonably-priced single fiberglass dutch entry door. Not many manufacturers supplying these in alternate/durable materials.