Door Developments Major door producers appear to be pushing new categories and new price points for their products. Jeld-Wen was featuring its expanded Alterna line of molded wood fiber exterior doors, including its increased resistance to dents versus steel. Premdor was featuring a similar product also. And, while these products may be higher priced than steel, they may actually cost the builder less, explained Pete Peters of Jeld-Wen. Therma-Tru's Dave Niderberg said sales of its SmoothStar models continue to grow steadily.
Any problem makes the customer less satisfied, even if it can be fixed.
Secondly, he added, once a steel door is dented, the customer can find the dent, even if it's been repaired, and is barely visible. The Aurora collection is designed to more closely deliver the look of custom wood doors than existing fiberglass products, yet withstand extreme exposures to sun, temperature changes, snow, salt air, and humidity. New materials may be making their way into the screen door market also. In the Extrutech Plastics booth, the company was featuring a new cellular PVC screen door manufactured by Ex-Cell Cellular PVC Building Components. Featuring reinforced vertical rails, the product is designed to be maintenance free, never need painting, and resistant to rotting or warping.