Custom Wood Screen and Storm Door

Dry fitting doors
Making A Wood Screen and Storm French Door
A storm door is very much part of a home’s curb appeal. We were recently asked to replace an existing combination screen and storm door on a client’s house. The existing door was constructed out of pine and had metal clips that held the screen or storm panels in place. Both screen / storm panels would overlap the opening and protrude from the door’s edge. Needless to say, this was not an attractive solution. There was a better way!

Accoya wood
Choosing Door Materials
An attractive and durable storm door needs to be able to withstand the toughest conditions: heat, cold, wind, rain, snow and sun, not to mention humidity. As a result, when considering which material to use, we were concerned with two factors:
- Durability
- Stability
To ensure you’re building a strong door, make sure to use mortise-and-tenon joinery and weatherproof, water-resistant glue. Also make sure you’re using a rot-resistant material. First, we looked to use rot-resistant wood, such as red or white cedar, teak, mahogany, or white oak. With any species, look for rift- or quarter-sawn boards, indicated by straight grain running end-to-end. Rift-quartered boards are most stable.

Selecting best boards
For this project, we ultimately chose Accoya® wood, based on a recommendation from a friend at our local mill shop. Accoya® wood is the result of decades of research and development that has brought together a long-established, extensively proven wood modification technique and leading-edge patented technology – acetylation to create a high performance wood, ideal for outdoor use and challenging applications.