Spotlighting 3 top door brands: Marvin, Andersen and Therma-Tru
When it comes to choosing an attractive door, the modern homeowner’s options are wide open. They come in styles ranging from the classic look — a basic upright rectangle — to much wider horizontal designs that fold and slide back and forth with complete ease of effort.
Beauty through simple, uncluttered design gives modern doors much of their charm, but they are also capable of providing many levels of color, material and hardware customization, along with greater weather resistance and home security than most homeowners might imagine. Here’s a look at what America’s top door brands have to offer.
Marvin Doors
Marvin Doors provide clear beauty, but also a very high standard of materials combined with precision engineering. Low-maintenance extruded aluminum exteriors with a choice of rich wood interiors or wood throughout are available on several models in the range. The classic single swinging French door is available through Marvin’s Signature range, which also offers swinging arch tops, elevated French and sliding doors.
Every Marvin option is extremely versatile. For example, the swinging French door ranges from traditional designs to contemporary and comes in multiple heights and widths. More modern elements, such as optimized weathertight (hurricane-proof) and energy-efficient performance seals, provide functionality and value for money along with aesthetic value. Marvin models can also be security optimized to link with your smart home and indicate if the door is locked or open.
Marvin breaks from the norm by offering bi-fold doors, which open and close like accordions and provide 81 opening configurations, contemporary and customizable hardware options, and some of the biggest open-door spaces in the industry (up to 55 feet). Marvin Lift and Slide doors provide huge glass panels with fingertip activation for weightless operation. With widths of up to 47 feet and 22 operating configurations, these options offer a seamless connection to the vista outside your window.
Customization is impressive across the range. Swinging French doors offer 19 exterior cladding colors and seven interior wood finishes. Further customization includes door handle types in multiple finishes, 16 glass tints, eight exterior casings and door shades in 15 colors. Many of these features are shared by the other Marvin models where design and functionality allow.
Andersen Doors
Andersen has the distinction of topping the charts of American door and window manufacturers, according to independent research data released at the start of the year. The company was number 1 with over $1 billion in sales (an exclusive list which Marvin doors also won a place in). They offer standard doors, slide doors, screen doors, patio doors and big doors that give Marvin a run for its money.
Andersen’s big doors offer ease of operation and precision engineering to compete with Marvin. Their Lift and Slide door extends up to 60 feet and can be thermally controlled for maximum energy-efficiency. There are 50 exterior colors, 10 standard interior woods, multiple grille types and a big range of hardware available across the complete Andersen big door range, which also offers many other installation options.
Storm doors offer tough and energy-efficient alternatives that don’t compromise on curb appeal. These Andersen options allow for maximum interior light, extra simple and secure operation, an insect screen, and optimum airflow for healthier levels of home ventilation. There are five main options in this range as well as customizable sizing, hardware and colors.
The classic residential patio doors in Anderson’s range are crafted from the finest wood. Available in both inswing and outswing, these beautiful natural wood options offer 10 selections, including mahogany, walnut and maple, which can be left as they are or stained/painted. Andersen offers 50 standard aluminum clad exterior colors ranging from whites and browns to reds, greens and blues. The shade can also be customized. The range comes in 8 main styles, including straight line, arch, gothic and arts & crafts.
Andersen offers numerous parts, accessories and supplies for the upkeep of their patio doors, a range that comes with full-service replacement and which prospective customers can browse via their free brochure. Anderson all provides a virtual reality tool to let homeowners see how these products would look as part of their home.
Therma-Tru Doors
Therma-Tru proudly states that they have a door to suit any budget. It can’t be argued that their vast selection of door, pane and surround styles satisfy a wide range of tastes. Prismaguard stain options can render Therma-Tru doors in many colors that will remain bold against time and environmental pounding. The company also offers a 10-year limited warranty on this finish (plus a 5-year warranty when a customer uses Therma-Tru’s DIY stain kit).
Decorative door glass is available in 27 exclusive designs, and textured glass can be selected for both beauty and privacy. The doors themselves split into six different collections: Classic-Craft, Fiber-Classic, Smooth-Star, Pulse, Profiles and Traditions. Here’s more on those at a glance:
- Classic-Craft: Exclusive pane options, wider glass panels, realistic woodgrains and premium fiberglass construction. Lifetime limited warranty.
- Fiber-Classic: Realistic oak and mahogany wood grain effect at excellent value for money, 14 glass designs, internal blind options in multiple colors and fiberglass construction. Lifetime limited warranty.
- Smooth-Star: A smooth and ready-to-paint fiberglass door in your choice of color, no priming required. Low-E glass is available for internal blinds, divided lites and clear glass with this option, and so is Fiber-Classic, Pulse and clear Classic-Craft glass.
- Pulse: Very similar in options to the preceding types, Pulse also comes with steel construction and a bold set of statement combinations in glass and frame. 10-year limited warranty.
- Profiles: 24-gauge steel doors with triple-shadowed panel embossments. Durable, secure and fire-rated, Profiles are ready to paint without priming.
- Traditions: This option is also a steel door, but a more cost-friendly alternative to other options without sacrificing durability and attractive designs. Available in a range of sizes with or without panes.
Therma-Tru’s door designer gives homeowners a chance to quickly narrow the range and see more tailored options. Many of these designs are impact-rated to protect homes against severe weather conditions like high winds, heavy rain and debris. This safety feature is not simply one-size-fits-all — it can be modified depending upon the local risks of the homeowner’s location. Therma-Tru fire resistance protects doors in the 20- or 90-minute exposure ranges.
Over 80% of Therma-Tru door and glass options are NFRC and ENERGY STAR-approved. This means they are composed of materials that offer a very high standard of energy efficiency, providing impressive return on investment as better balanced utility bills lead to long-term savings.
Which door can serve you best?
This question always hinges on subjective preference and objective practicality. An attractive view with some privacy may well benefit from a wider door, while suburban homes may prefer something less expansive. Environmental exposure and interior design both contribute to factors like sills, exteriors and directional swing.
Marvin offers a neat summary of the key aspects of energy efficiency, which is a big factor in how well doors can serve homeowners. A home in a particularly hard weather area may require energy efficiency and greater resiliency, and so might find Therma-Tru’s resilient range the more suitable option. Andersen’s prestigious place at the top of the sales charts might be enough to make a homeowner inspect them more deeply.
“It all depends” is initially the right answer to which door can serve you best, but Blue Nail doesn’t leave it at that. We find out exactly what it depends on for every individual home to give our customers advanced advice they can trust.
Our final verdict
We’re proud of every door brand we carry. They offer a massive range of customizable options, all designed for peak curb appeal and many offering the very best in energy savings, strength and return on investment.
Blue Nail’s final recommendation only comes after an in-depth discussion with our customers about their domestic needs, their design goals and their budget. Only through this communication and a thorough examination of a home can our team offer the right suggestion. Ultimately, the door we prefer is the one that best matches the unique requirements and vision of the homeowner while offering them maximum efficiency in performance, protection and price.
Choose Blue Nail as your doors and windows experts
Our team is made up of Marvin Authorized Replacement Contractors. This means we have unique knowledge and expertise with the brand that other contractors simply don’t possess. However, you can be certain Blue Nail brings the same dedication and craftsmanship to every installation, no matter which brand you settle on. Choose an Andersen or Therma Tru door with full confidence that Blue Nail will fit it as expertly and carefully as any other name.
Our customers benefit from a free consultation to clear up every question and make the process and associated costs of new doors transparent from the beginning. We offer financing alongside our insight and quality craftsmanship, so you don’t have to wait to get the best doors for you. Connect with us if you’re considering new doors now or in the future. Blue Nail will help you make a grand entrance.
Working with Blue Nail Roofing means coming home to craftsmanship. From first call to final inspection, we’re with you every step of the way to ensure you benefit from our experience. For more information or a free consultation, drop by our contact page or call 973-937-8876.