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Integrating Thick Door with Storm Door

cs55 | Posted in General Questions on

howdy, don’t really know what to call the doors other than euro style door. e.g, entry doors with 2-3″ thick leafs, a robust multi point locking system, a metal frame, etc.

been in the market for a new door, finally ready to buy one. theres lots of option for these doors in the US now, since theres a few companies that keep them in stock state side and have a constant supply of them from the manufactures in china.

not really sure how they would integrate with a storm door, though. generally the doors are about 2-3″ thick, with the frame only being 4″ thick.

storm doors are somewhat convenient for us and would like to keep it.

what also doesn’t help; the house framing is 2×4, and the front porch has standard masonite siding. so no thick masonry walls or siding to work with.

would it be a terrible idea to extend out the 2×4 door frame?  basically the same concept as a jamb extension kit..  just to give the storm door something to screw into.

any suggestions on how to make a storm door work?

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Replies

  1. old | | #1

    Could you post an example of this type of door or a link to the supplier? I would be interested in seeing one of these. I am looking for high performance door options and coming up short.
    Thank you!

  2. Expert Member
    Michael Maines | | #2

    I've never seen or considered putting a high-performance European-style door in a 2x4 wall. Usually they are in thick walls where there is plenty of space for a screen door. Extending the frame would work, though the aesthetics may or may not be in keeping with your house's style. You might consider an "invisible screen" that retracts to one side when not in use. Or go with a North American-style door; my go-to is Thermatru Smoothstar with a 3-point lock. It doesn't seal or insulate quite as well as European doors but in a house with 2x4 walls I think it would take a long time to recover the cost difference of a European door.

    Old, every manufacturer of European-style tilt/turn windows that I know of also sell doors. These are my go-tos: https://logicwd.com/swing-door/, https://performancebuildingsupply.com/product-category/european-windows-doors/.

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