Therma tru vs Provia, factory painting vs DIY

11 years ago

I want a new entry door with grills, painted finish. My installer suggested Provia steel but it only has grills between the glass which I really don't like. So now I am looking at Therma-Tru smooth star fiberglass which I've read is inferior to Provia but has exterior grills. Are there any other good choices for painted door with exterior grills?

I also want a custom color and am struggling with the quote from Therma Tru of $1000 for factory painting. Is this really worth it vs painting by hand?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Comments (3)

HomeSealed
11 years ago
Provia is phenomenal door along with HMI, and then you have Polaris, Thermatru, Homeguard and probably a few others that are very good. All should offer exterior grilles (SDL) and factory finish in one configuration or another. Did you look at the Provia fiberglass product? I prefer FG for only a small premium in price.
The factory finish is HIGHLY recommended regardless of which product you choose, but $1k sounds a bit high for that option in my experience. You might want to shop around a little bit on that.
millworkman
11 years ago
If you do not go for the factory finish (which I highly recommend as well) at the very least get a price from an auto body shop to spray the door. This will hold up much better than a field applied brush painted finish.
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Buyer Beware: I just purchased and had installed a Therma-Tru Smooth Star front entry door which was pre-finished with a clay color by Harvey Building Products. I loved how it looked. I had my house painted a month after the door was installed and during the power washing my door turned a pinkish color. This front door is in intense heat during most of the day and I believe that this may have been part of the reason the door changed color. I am disappointed and frustrated that I received no customer service from Harvey concerning the painting. My installer contacted the Harvey rep and they won't come out-they blame it on the painter. I paid good money to have this door pre-painted because I thought that the paint would last, not fade, etc. I'm sure we are not the first house that was power washed with a pre-finished painted door. Nothing else faded on my house after washing it, just the door. I was hoping for a little compensation, an "I'm sorry this happened...", something to make me feel better, but right now I'm just bitter. I will be sure to tell all my friends what happened to the door and to beware...

When I posted on their Facebook page:
DISAPPOINTMENT & FRUSTRATION: Harvey really doesnÃ¢ÂÂt care about the consumer. After being in contact with a Harvey rep, who then contacted my painter, it seems that Harvey is lucky my painter took full blame. My painter wanted to finish the job and he took the fall so that he could finish the painting job at my house and make me HAPPY (That is customer service). This therefore led to Harvey washing their hands of the issue. They raised their hands and claimed itÃ¢ÂÂs not their fault-- your painter took full blame. I barely got a sorry after I asked for it. I am now out several hundred dollars for a job that I truly feel was not properly done. I thought I deserved at least a partial refund on the factory paint job. I spoke with the wonderful gentleman that did the actual repainting of the door, and he felt that the factory paint job was thinned out. The Harvey rep just didnÃ¢ÂÂt want to understand my frustration. I want to make sure that any consumer who buys a door from Harvey and has them factory paint it to beware. DONÃ¢ÂÂT DO IT! I basically got nowhere with Harvey and am truly disappointed. All the rep did was get me more upset and angry and made me even more sorry that I had them factory paint the door. (He couldn't even get my name right on the last message I received.) I am even going to tell my door installer not to recommend the factory painting

I'm still bothered that they didn't understand how disappointed I was that the paint job did not live up to my expectations. Any consumer would be. I paid a lot of money for nothing. I am out hundreds of dollars and still not happy.

Therma tru vs Provia, factory painting vs DIY

Comments (3)

HomeSealed

millworkman

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cjlk

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