By Polly Keary, Editor
As autumn approaches with a promise of cold weather to come, now is a good time to assess the doors in your home to see if replacing them could save you money.
"Any door over 15 years old, if it has glass, isn't insulated," said Peter Bingham, owner of Monroe Door and Millwork last week. "Studies show you can lose $100 a year on a non-insulated glass door."
Today's doors can keep you safer, too. They are more fire resistant, and they also have safety features and options that weren't available even a few years ago.
"There are various strike-plates that are burglar proof," said Bingham. "And there are different add-ons we can do. We can put in a metal plate that will help prevent anyone kicking in a door. And there's also a three-point locking system that locks above, below and at the side."
Not only that, but if you are considering selling your home, your investment could return some pretty considerable dividends right away.
"Realtors tell you to put a new door on," said Bingham. "You gain at least a 100 percent return on your cost. So if you spend $1,000 on a door, you can get $2,000 back. And white doors inside your house make your house look bigger."
At Monroe Door and Millwork, which was founded in 1998, there is a vast array of doors available, and they can be customized to suit nearly any need.
For example, one reason doors often need to be replaced is because wood rot has set in along the bottom. That need never worry a homeowner if the door is made of fiberglass, which at Monroe Door come with a 10-year warranty.
And they can find doors to fit any doorway.
"We do what's called a match cut," said Brian Jefferson, a specialty carpenter at Monroe Door. "You can leave your existing jambs all through the house, and we bring in already-painted doors and put them in your existing jambs."
Across Tye Street from the sales office and main warehouse, in a second warehouse, color match technician Josh Lamoreaux specializes in mixing paint to match anything a customer might need. Sometimes it's a challenge.
Once, a client wanted to match a color that was actually two different colors because the sun fell on just part of the wood each day. So Lamoreaux sun-faded wood until he had a match.
One if his favorite looks to create is a distressed look.
"That's fun," he said. "You just beat at them and then paint over it, and it looks like it's been there for years."
In addition to doors, Monroe Door also does cabinets, crown molding, windows and more.
And they even have doors for the inhabitants of your home who aren't people.
"We even have custom, self-closing doggy and cat doors," said Jefferson.
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