I just had a good experience with HD when I bought a storm door and had it installed.

I did some on-line research and selected two possible doors (one good and one better) and read the reviews, discovering that the better one had more comments on the installation problems.

I went to the store Tuesday morning and discovered the better door was priced $40 less than on the web site. I bought the door, an Anderson, 4000 series, full view door with quick change, dead bolts, brass hardware and face plate. Installation was available for $97, so I decided to go that route because I have fought with installing a few others. The installation included delivery, removal and disposal of the old door. That afternoon, I got a call from the installing company giving me a 2 hour window for the next day (Wednesday). On Wednesday AM, I got a call from the installer asking if it be OK to start 1 hour earlier. - I said OK.

The installer arrived and had the new door in the box and asked me to see him open it and determine if it was the right door. Less than one hour later he was done and had the old door loaded, the plastic film removed and the glass cleaned. He then went through all of the operations and features and had be pulled out the glass and put in the screen (30 seconds total change time) to make sure I understood and then explained that the lock could be re-keyed or swapped to a different brand if I chose to.

In short, it was a good experience and I could have installed the door in 2-3 hours myself after I picked it up, but would still have to dispose of the old door, glass and screen. - One of those times it is better to have someone else do it right (with a guarantee) and train you on the features and operation.

The lower price was great and the installation better, even though I could have done it myself, but sometimes there is a better use of time, so I was able to finish a wood inside project.

Dick

 

Good to hear...we had a couple of guys who always did just as you describe...and then there were the "others".

 

Dick: I ran up on a similar door on the 4000 series. Man it is a great storm door. Closes with authority, doesn't require a slamming motion to engage the lock. It just stops, then "click" it is secured. Mine is full light with a removable glass unit and insert-able full screen. Nice for this time of year.
But I'm cheap....I saved the $97. Likewise had it in under an hour.

 

I have the same door. I put it in a couple of years ago. I did it myself but it took me a lot longer than an hour. Of course I've been known to take frequent and lengthy coffee breaks.

I don't remember hearing complaints locally about HD installers. I think installation services has become a significant money maker for the company and getting a bad rep there would cut into their profit.

 

A big problem is when things aren't explained well at the sale. It's one thing to put a storm or entry door on a relatively new stick framed house, but when you are dealing with 80-100 y/o homes (my area back in VA) sometimes people couldn't understand that the $200 install charge just became $400 due to the reframing and custom trim required.

btw...as I remember...installers got about 50% of the standard install fee.....HD got the rest.

 

I was able to eliminate two 20 mile trips. If I had been there 2 days earlier, I could have gotten the installation for $18 less. For some reason the only door discounted was the one I bought and it is one of the high volume units. My wife loves the tap and hold button on the lower closer. My cats like to lay on the floor in the sun and the available time in the "basking" season will be longer than with the old door.

Dick

 

I wonder if the 10% military discount applies to installation fees? I was content with just the too short first sentence. However, the forum software was not so I'm typing some drivel just to lengthen my response. I'm now at sentence four and it's still telling me my response is too short!

 

Uh Oh....Wayne...should be only 25(?) characters...