If you need to change something about your home, often the first instinct is to go to a home improvement big box store for the fix. It might be a coat of paint, a 2×4, shelves that you put together on your own, or even an entry door.
There’s a convenience and comfort to these stores. They’re located close by, and they have such a wide assortment that you expect they’ll probably have what you need. Plus, these doors are often cheap, relatively speaking. If you’re not being picky, what’s the problem?
But buying from a home improvement big box store could mean you’re missing out. You may not be able to enjoy the best choice for your doors that you could find somewhere else.
Lack of Quality
You might be wowed by the low prices of doors that you can buy off the shelf from big box stores, but there’s a reason those doors are so cheap. Often, they’re not built to last. You’ll pay several hundred dollars to have the door installed, plus another few hundred dollars to have it finished, but in a few years, you’ll likely have to replace it all over again. In the end, you won’t be able to really save money by going with a big box store door…because you’ll have to keep buying it all over again.
Lack of Expertise
You can find just about everything in those big box stores, and you’ll find employees who might know a little bit about all of it. There’s the saying “jack of all trades, master of none” for a reason. But when you buy a door for your home — especially your entry door — you don’t want to be guided by someone who only knows a little bit about the matter. You want to talk to a real expert about the best option for a home with two dogs and three young kids. You want someone who can go over all the door manufacturers and help you find the one for you, not someone just trying to make the sale and make it to their next break.
No Customization
When you order a door from a door store such as Today’s Entry Doors, you can make special requests in terms of customization. For instance, you might want to add a door knocker or you might want glass inserts. Today’s Entry Doors can do this for you with ease so that you end up with a door that truly meets your expectations.
Not so when you go with a big box store. The business model for these doors is that you pull them off the shelf, take them home as is, and have them installed or install them yourself. If you have any customization ideas, you’re out of luck.
Separate Installation Service
The cost on the tag for the door is the cost to purchase the door itself. To have it installed will often cost twice as much. This leads many homeowners to purchase a door from a big box store and then attempt to install it themselves. DIY door installation can lead to a world of headache and trouble. If you damage the door during the installation, you’ll have to get another door and start over. If you hurt yourself during the job, you won’t have any kind of insurance to lessen the cost of any medical bills. Plus, it could mean taking time off from work or time with your family in order to install the door.
At Today’s Entry Doors, we install all the doors we sell ourselves. You can sit back and trust our expertise and professionalism as we remove your old door and add the new door perfectly installed so you can enjoy it for decades to come.
Tricky Delivery Schedule
Did you pick something out in the store and now you’re waiting for it to be delivered? You could be waiting for a while. Big box stores frequently overbook delivery drivers, so that sometimes the item that was meant to be delivered on a particular day ends up taking another day before it arrives. When it’s something as important as the need for a new door for your home, you don’t want to have to wait for a late delivery. You want to have it installed as soon as possible.
You Do Your Own Painting
When you order a door from a big box store, you better be prepared to paint or stain the door yourself. These doors don’t come pre-painted, which is part of the reason they’re able to be so affordable. That also adds a further cost on the customer as they’ll have to buy their own paint and primer or wood finish. If you plan to install the door you order from a big box store yourself, this will add to the time that the project takes before completion.
No Lifetime Warranty
Entry doors from big box stores often don’t come with a lifetime warranty included, or much of a warranty at all. When they do offer a warranty, it’s for the product, not for the installation itself. Fortunately, when you buy from a door store like Today’s Entry Doors, that’s not the case. We offer not only a lifetime warranty on the product but a 2-year labor warranty so that whether the problem is to do with the material or a result of our hard work, you won’t have to pay extra.
So What’s the Answer?
Okay, so if not a big box store, then where? The answer is to find a store that only handles doors. At Today’s Entry Door, you can’t find cans of paint, 2x4s, or a keymaking machine. Instead, you’ll find beautiful entry doors from well-reputed manufacturers. Here you’ll find the expertise and convenience you need to find the perfect entry door for your home. And we install every door we sell ourselves.
Ready for your entry door installation? Contact Today’s Entry Doors today for more information or to schedule a free consultation.
