Selling A Door Is Not Installing A Door. Make Sure You Hire Door EXPERTS, As Opposed To Door Sellers.
Most door companies will sell a door and then refer you to an installer.
Hanging a door is not a simple task. You need a Good Entry Door Installer for that perfect installation.
Installing Entry Doors
Orange County homeowners often ask if we can install their new fiberglass entry door. Many Orange County door companies are simply salesmen – they act as the middlemen between the manufacturer and the installer. The homeowner is then left to rely on the dealer’s recommendations for entry door installers, or research and find one of their own.
Installing a new, pre-hung fiberglass entry door is harder than it looks. It actually requires a considerable amount of knowledge and expertise to do it properly. Unlike many home improvement tasks, fiberglass entry door installation is not an intuitive job, even for an experienced carpenter. And if a seasoned carpenter can’t do it, it’s definitely not a job for the handyman.
At Today’s Entry Doors, you have not only a dealer, but a entryway designer & professional installer as well. We are all-around Door Experts. We take pride in knowing everything there is to know about fiberglass entry doors:
- pros and cons of fiberglass vs wood
- design and manufacturing – how they are made
- fiberglass door brands, styles, colors, stains, etc.
- glass and hardware options
- security
- installation
- post-installation care
- warranties
The Perfect Door Installation
The hard part is the actual installation. A reputable fiberglass door installer will understand the four dimensions of entry door space to achieve the perfect installation:
- level
- plumb
- square
- rack (alignment)
If the installer is inexperienced in these areas, one of two things will happen: either it will be a very long day filled with frustration (and possibly many expletives – might want to keep the kids out of the house); or your new dream door will look…just like your old one.
The nuances of getting that “perfect” installation starts with the initial home visit. As a prerequisite for success, the salesperson should have an intimate knowledge of the door installation process and manufacturers they sell. All our sales persons have a minimum of one years entry door installation experience. But it doesn’t stop there – how the dealer purchases that product has a lot of bearing too! Most manufacturers do not sell directly to a dealer (some do) but rather distribute through licensed vendors. This adds another level of complexity. You have to know what that distributor is capable of. Can they build a door for older homes that don’t always fall into the cookie cutter mold? Can they build a door, per the dealer’s request, to fit a unique situation? The manufacturer, distributor, and dealer all have to work together for the best outcome for the customer.
What makes a good installer stand out
A REALLY capable installer goes a long way. This experience is not something you picked up in a couple of days working with your uncle. Like any journeyman, they should have worked years as an apprentice before being loosed on an entry door. For the door to fit properly they have to understand plumb, level, square and rack and how those interact with one another during the installation process. We have all seen the outcome of a “handyman’s” work!
An experienced fiberglass entry door installer will be familiar with the door’s manufacturer. Before his work even begins, he will go through his mental checklist: double-checking the size of the door and the size of the frame, verifying the door swing, and inspecting the door for any damage during shipping. He will be sure he has any and all extra materials he may need to complete the installation.
When he arrives at your home, a professional installer will survey the work area and thoroughly explain the installation process and approximately how long it will take.
The best installers treat the customer’s home like it is their own, minimizing the work area as much as possible and cordoning off the remainder of the house with a curtain of protective plastic. They will clean up after they are finished, leaving little to no trace that they were ever there…besides, of course, your elegant new fiberglass entry door.
Orange County Door Installers
Here’s the thing about Orange County – and basically all of the West Coast. Most of the popular fiberglass entry door manufacturers come from the East Coast, and for some reason they tend to make the doors a bit differently there than what we would expect here in the West. So what happens is, the manufacturers ship the door slab only (no frame or components) to West Coast distributors, who then build the door on frames built by other companies.
The implications there are, you now have a handful of different warranties to consider: manufacturer’s warranty, distributor’s warranty, and possibly their vendors’ warranties. And NONE of those are likely to cover installation mishaps. (We will cover warranties in an upcoming post, so stay tuned.)
The moral of the story is, find an installer who will warranty his work. (We warranty our installations for 2 years.)
Hopefully you will only have one or two entry doors installed in your Orange County home in your lifetime. Make sure the job is done right the first time by having a qualified, experienced installer do the work.
Our Approach to Front Door installation
We strive to educate every Orange County homeowner who comes to us about all the options available to them, we sell only the highest quality fiberglass entry doors made by the world’s leading manufacturers, and we provide professional installation. Our goal is to make shopping for and selecting your new entry door system as easy and low-stress as possible.
Our installers have years of experience installing new pre-hung entry door systems. They will install quickly and efficiently yet meticulously, leaving no trace of their presence behind. There are many complexities that may arise in the installation process and our professional installers are equipped to handle every challenge they encounter.
Feel free to contact us with any questions you have about fiberglass entry door systems, brands, warranties, security, installation, and more. Our friendly team of experts will happily answer all your questions thoroughly and honestly.
