Residential Exterior Door

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Author Message Jo Drummond Senior Member Username: jo_drummond_fcsi Post Number: 21 Registered: 06-2007 Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 11:48 am:    What brands do you recommend for a residential door from the garage to the exterior, south exposure, east coast of Florida. Existing door is a steel door with vision lite with 'tween glass Venetian blind. Existing frame is wood, but it would be preferable to have a flush steel door, hollow metal steel frame, with a half-vision lite, unless that doesn't work in Florida. Venetian blind would be good. I'm a Californian, don't know much about Florida exposure problems. Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 842 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 12:07 pm:    Don't know if you are there, but Miami-Dade County, FL has a very strong program of product approval, based on hurricane requirements. That may be both a resource for you and also an advisory on what extra may be necessary. I think there is a web site for the county to see their product approvals. Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: rlmat Post Number: 275 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 01:38 pm:    Jo, Florida is a lot wetter and more humid than SoCal. You might try Weathershield for entrance doors - they have a line of fiberglass that look just like wood - I saw them in a showroom in Scottsdale, AZ Ralph's suggestion is very good. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 900 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 02:20 pm:    You need to determine whether the door is in a hurricane zone, as Ralph suggests, to know whether the door must meet the large missile test. It is not required in all locations in Florida. Also, if tested storm shutters are installed, the door does not need to meet the test. I think one of the more important durability issues in south Florida is the same is southern California, and that is UV exposure and solar heating. In the past, some manufacturers had problems with the plastic glazing trim, but that has supposedly been addressed. They say dark color paints work okay now, but I'd be reluctant, still. Did a project in Houston with dark paint, with storm doors (which aggravate the problem), and have not heard of problems. Residential builders commonly use the set-up systems such as supplied by Benchmark and Weathershield. They can be fiberglass or steel, and perform similarly. Both have metal frames over which wood or other trim is applied. The manufacturers of these system actually make door "slabs" which they ship to large distributors who hang them on frames, add hardware and install a threshold. I have no reason to suggest that these system should not be used in your application. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 552 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 12:43 am:    For Dade, Broward, & Palm Beach all exterior doors for new construction must be tested and approved with a current product approval: Miami Dade County Product Approvals: http://www.miamidade.gov/buildingcode/pc-search_app.asp?class_id=1&class_desc=High%20velocity%20winds elsewhere in Florida: Florida Product Approvals: http://floridabuilding.org/pr/pr_app_srch.aspx PS - current building code is 2004 FBC, 2007 FBC starts October 1. I think the door you want used to be called a Miami Slide, a wood or aluminum exterior flush door with a center upward sliding window. I have not been able to find those doors in years, my former residence in Miami had one, which I wound up replacing after Hurrican Andrew and by buying it from Home Depot - so if this is a replacement door, check with the Home depot in that part of Florida and see what they have available for that application. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 902 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 08:24 am:    To Jerome's list, add Monroe County (the Keys). Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 553 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 08:33 am:    Actually Jo your best bet is to call the building dept in the municipality, there are other building departments in the state that will only accept Miami-Dade County Product Approvals...the bottom line is the CBO of each municipality makes the final decision on what is acceptable or required. Remember that on Oct 1, 2007 the code changes again and so may the rules. Jo Drummond Senior Member Username: jo_drummond_fcsi Post Number: 22 Registered: 06-2007 Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 12:08 pm:    Thanks everyone. This is for my sister, who lives in Brevard County, in Malabar, scene of the recent fires. Fortunately she is not affected. We'll check the codes there.