nepool, I love the picture in your first post. That door is beautiful and it looks so nice with the wood floor and the whole room. Are cased windows something a lot of people do? We have never had cased windows. Of course we have a window sill but not cased. Maybe it's a regional thing. Since you have stained trim maybe you can answer a questions for me. I am concerned that if I do all stained that it will limit paint choices in the future. My house has all white except the kitchen cabinets. I remember when we painted the kitchen having to find a color that went with the cabinet color (some stains have more red or yellow in them). My sister has stained trim and doors (in her words, ugly stained trim) and when she painted a room and didn't think about the trim and the dark blue doesn't look like she had expected next to the dark trim. I have a dark blue room with white trim and the contrast is striking. We don't even have a floor plan yet and these details are driving me crazy.

kellyeng - wow those are really nice!! soonermagic - I just saw your door in your other thread! I have picked out the door! I gave the catalog back to the builder or I would scan it in and post it. It almost looks like teach 2007. To be honest, I am kind of forgetting what it looked like! LOL! I looked at soooo many. I do know there is 6 windows at the top of the door! LOL! I guess I will remember when I see it on the house! Thanks everyone! I am sooo glad I went with Alder. I LOVE the wood! I am dieing to see the cabinets! Kel

Here we go, another Wayne Dalton Rant. Anything that bears the name Wayne Dalton is a glorified piece of Sh#t. Does not matter if it is a door and especially their openers. 1. The 9800 series door has an R value ( insulation value ) of 7.3 Most of you vinyl back insulated doors have an R value of somewhere between 6 and 7 and are built to last. 2. With Wayne Dalton your going to get the torquemaster spring system. This spring system does not last nearly as long as a conventional torsion spring systems and is more expensive to repair once the spring breaks and again the spring is going to break more often. You could ask for the torsion spring system instead, but I would imagine they are going to charge you more, b/c they love their torque master. 3. The hardware ( i.e. hinges, rollers, cables even track ) are made as cheaply as possible. Cables are 1/16 of an inch compared to regular 1/8 inch cable, Rollers are plastic, hinges you can bend with your bare hands and tracks you can bend with your bare hands. 4. Now with the 9800 series I assume you are interested in the dent resistance fiber glass. I would recommend not letting the kids use the door as a back stop and invest your money in a different brand door. I don't know how much they charge for this door, but I would imagine it is a pretty penny. You can buy a conventional steel door with better hardware, higher R values and a nice design on the outside and it will last you alot longer than any Wayne Dalton will ever last.

Didn't your sales rep recommend the factory finish? Or did you buy it at a box store? Anyway, finishing fiberglass doors is much different than wood because it's not porous. We use a base coat (not primer) followed by two topcoats. I can't share the brand with you because it is a proprietary finsihing product available through authorized finishers only. The product we use requires drying at 100 degrees for 24 hours. Pella should have a finishing instruction sheet with the door. If not, call Therma-Tru or Perma Door. The door may be made by one of them and then labeled Pella. Michael