Wandering around HD today, I noticed they started carrying Jeld Wen doors.

Are they any good? In particular the fiberglass 9 lite doors.

Been looking for a decent exterior door, but most of the good exterior door places are far enough away that its not convenient (and they all seem to close long before I get home from work!)

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

 

I am always suspicious about big box products. They have some quality brand names but the quality seems to be lower when it gets to HD/Lowes. And I understand that the products do no go thru the same quality checks as required by other vendors. And they never seem to carry one product line more than a few years, so where do you go for service/parts when they drop that manufacturer?? Things like doors should last a lifetime, except with teenagers, so I recommend a local lumberyard over big box.

 

The Jeld Wen doors sold by Home Depot are just fine. They are not the top of the line Jeld Wens by any means, but carry their characteristics just as well. Go to a Jeld Wen showroom and you will see the difference. I deal with a local one here in the mountains all the time and the showroom doors tend to be a little pricey when compared to those offered by Home Depot. The local store's front door unit is fiberglas, double door, smooth as mahogany, and cost a cool $15k on the truck.

 

Looked at the Jeld Wen doors at HD a little better today. They dont seem too bad, but I wonder why I cant find them on Jeld Wens website ?

I was looking specifically at the 9 lite, and I cant see it on their site. I can see the other versions (oval lite, etc) but not the 9. Is the 9 lite a "cheap" version compared to the actual Jeld Wen products? Pretty sure it cost less than the oval lite door (about 60 bux) but if the oval lite door is that much better the 60 bux might be worth it.

 

9 lite doors are considered "utility" grade, or construction grade doors, mainly for their appearance. That is why you don't see them on the Jeld Wen site. Jeld Wen makes some really upper end doors, and caters to that market in their showrooms and on the web. That doesn't mean their Home Depot doors are "inferior", it is just not "uppity" enough to warrant floor space for them.

 

Thanks for the info, had a feeling it was something like that.

One more question....I checked out Reliabilt at Lowes last night, and I see they have a door with blinds built in. How are they in regards to letting in dirt, bugs, etc? I think its a nice idea, but 5 yrs from now I dont want to be cursing them because of dead bugs and stuff inside that I cant get to.

I also noticed that the Reliabilt steel doors in general seemed more "real" than the smooth Jeld Wen steel/fiberglass doors at HD. And the cores seemed more substantial, but maybe I just didnt notice it on the HD doors.

-Chris

 

I have a Reliabilt door with built in blinds. I have not had any problems with anything getting inside the blind cavity.

Having said that, if you buy this door, be careful how you handle it.

When I was installing the door, the blinds got tangled up inside the cavity because I somehow lowered them before the door was installed. I was determined to untangle the mess without taking the door apart. I put the door through all kinds of gyrations and finally got the blinds straightened out.

I have been satisfied with door. No other problems.

 

Many people use the blanket statement "HD/LOWes products are crap!" for a number of reasons (though I don't understand them). I purchase almost everything I use (I remodel/flip) at both places. Granted, the products aren't top of the line - but they work, they look good, and, if installed/maintained properly - last as long as anything I've ever purchased at a higher end store. Their in stock doors/windows tend to be utility grade - but that's exactly what you'll find at 90% of the new homes built today.

 

My dad made that same point to me. He had a "cheap" HD door installed and it worked perfectly fine for YEARS. They moved out and the door is still there.

I was a little weary because I put an HD door in my house about 4 yrs ago, and its always been hard to open. Not sure if its the install (everything is plumb and level) or the door itself (it seems like the bottom weatherstrip might be hanging up on the threshold), but it got me thinking to avoid HD/Lowes doors. But I think it might be worth a shot to try one anyway, seeing the prices of doors that I wouldnt consider "utility" grade. And it helps I just want a simple simulated 9 lite door, instead of the fancy leaded glass stuff.

 

Your door may have been installed properly up to a point. If you didn't remove two of the hinge screws on the top hinge and install 3" screws into the framework, then the installation was only half complete. The result of not putting in those screws would have been a sagging door that drug on the threshold. That is the first thing I have to do when I punch out a house, because the door installers are too lazy to do it right. The hinges, in most cases, are even marked "install 3" Screws here"

 

Unless Lowes has changed to Jeld Wen also, their doors are Masonite. I used to work for Home Depot and the dors came from the same place and were just re-labeled for whichever store they were going to.

 

Nope, I knew that and did it myself Still didnt help. I think part of the problem is that the door might be plumb, but the wall might not be, not that it should make a difference.

Another theory is that the weatherstrip on the bottom of the door is interfering.....Ive just never gotten enough ambition to pull the door off the hinges and look at the weatherstrip.

It seems that at least some of the "Reliabilt" doors at Lowes are Jeld Wen (some of the labels even say it). But I guess it doesnt really matter because from what I understand, Jeld Wen bought Masonite.

I have a "Masonite" steel door in my basement that I installed a couple years ago. Doesnt see any weather (opens to my hatchway door steps), but its held up pretty well even with a novice installer such as myself doing the work

BTW, I went with the Jeld Wen fiberglass from HD. I really liked the Reliabilt doors, but Lowes didnt have any 32" width FG versions. The guy at HD (taken with a grain of salt) said the same thing everyone here did.....its a nice "commodity type" door. I dont need to be "uppity" (especially considering the door isnt really visible just looking at the house) so a commodity type door is fine by me.

-Chris

 

We just installed a new door ourselves and we love the door but it seems the door is not closing all the way at the top of door, we can see light from about middle of the top all the way to the edge. Wondering if their is something we can do to fix it, we put a level on every part of door and frame and they are all level. The bottom of door is fine and does not drag it is just the top. Any thoughts?? After thought: we purchased the door from Lowes as sos, and picked it up ourselves, it is our front door.

 

Welcome to the forums! If your jamb is plumb and square on all points, remove the door and lay on a known flat surface, hinges pointed up and the hardware off. You will, then, be able to know if it is the door or not. Lowe's sos program sometimes turns into a "sol" program, since you can't return it.

 

We installed a JW fiberglass 9 lite exterior door about a year ago. it was in a small entry way, so it was never directly exposed to the weather. This spring we decided to demolish the entry and rebuild. We noticed that the door started to fit poorly. The seal around it was open. So after the new entry was built. A total enclosure with storm and windows. We needed to insulate around the door and run some wiring around it as well , we removed it. We found out the reason that it fit poorly. The frame that came with the door on the lock side had bowed. Not from top to bottom, left to right. But, top to bottom in to out! Putting a 6 ft level on the brick mold at the outside of the door revealed at least a 5/8 " bow.

We contacted Jeld Wen and an inspector came out and scratched his head and said it was the damndest thing he ever saw. He said that he would report and that they would probably replace the door.

6 weeks later after 3 phone calls to a voice mail my wife got a call. since the door wasn't painted, they weren't honoring the warranty. The door was never exposed to the weather. The warranty person was adament. The door has to finished for the warranty to be applied.

Has anyone had a claim into Jeld Wen and if so did you get satisfaction? The warranty papers that we can find on line say to contact the dealer first, I think we are going to go back to HD today and pitch a *****.

 

First thing you should know is that all door manufacturers state that their doors must be painted or stained in a certain amount of time. I know one year goes far beyond their time limits. some are 3 months some are 6 months. If you do not paint your door slab and door jambs then you voided your warranty including painting your brickmolds which could be why your door warped. This is legit why Jeld-Wen did not warranty your door. If after reading this you still go to HD you are basically stealing. This is why its preferable to hire a professional contractor.

PS. You stated that the door wasn't exposed to the weather. Do you keep your house vacuumed sealed? Most of our homes maintain humidity and therefore the door was exposed. It's why they tell you to paint the door to seal the wood that is known to warp. Jeld-Wen doesn't use magic wood to build their frames, jambs, and brickmolds. lol food for thought.

 

Builder-Remodel, welcome to the forums! Hopefully they Op and others have their problems solved by now. Since this is a do it yourself forum, advice to "hire a professional contractor" to install a door seems counterproductive. There are instances where we see the OP is over their head and recommend they consult an electrician, etc., but we try to help them do things themselves.

 

My post was to see if others had the same issues. I believed I had installed the door correctly. The installation instructions we got with the door "did not mention" that the warranty was dependent on painting it. The door has a "Lifetime Warranty" so beyond a year was within the warranty period. We got a new door (HD replaced it under a customer satisfaction) and installed it after thoroughly painting it. I hate to say this but I am having a problem with the replacement door. It (the door itself this time) has bowed. The top and bottom meet up with the jamb but the middle does not. The bow is about 1/4 inch, so much that the weatherstripping doesn't seal on the lock side unless the deadbolt is thrown. I am at a loss as towhat is happening at this entrance, I will be calling Jeld Wen to have them come out and see what is going on. I have used their product on two other entrances without a problem.