Simpson Doors - Water Barrier Technology?

[Peter]

Planning to install a new wooden front entry door. Contractor wants to use Simpson, and they are recommending their 'water barrier technology'. This is essentially a thin layer of waterproof material that overlays all the flat surfaces of the door.

We're a little skeptical, since the existing wooden door has been there for 30 years and is still in good shape. It's not an issue of money, since the add-on is not expensive.

Anyone know anything about this product?

 

[Sunset]

How would this be better than any other coating like paint/marine varnish/oil stain ??

Sounds like a way to upsell to the customer, and they only warranty it for 5 years.

Ok I had to go look
Performance Series Wood Door Protection | Simpson Doors

It looks to me like you will have a nice wooden door inside the house, and an Ugly plain door outside. Why not get a Steel door for uglyness or fiberglass door that looks like wood ?

Examples: https://www.doors4home.com/c-1-entry-doors-exterior-doors.aspx

 

[wmc1000]

Had not heard of this before so I checked it out on the Simpson website. Looks like it doesn't affect the natural wood look of the door just improves its water permeability so if it were me and the cost upgrade is rather negligible given that your previous door showed no problems after 30 years I would say yes.

http://www.simpsondoor.com/

 

[CitizenK]

Do you have a front porch or overhang above the door? That would lessen the need for this product. At my house, the front door is flush in the plane of the facade, with no overhang for protection. The door takes a beating from rain and sun, and snow piles up against it in the winter. If your door is very exposed like that, I'd probably opt for the added protection layer. Note to self: For the next house, make sure there's a protected front porch.

 

[samclem]

Planning to install a new wooden front entry door. Contractor wants to use Simpson, and they are recommending their 'water barrier technology'. This is essentially a thin layer of waterproof material that overlays all the flat surfaces of the door.

If the door you are buying is similar to the illustration they provide here, I don't know if it is right to consider it a "wood door." The exterior flat surfaces are made of medium density overlay (MDO), which is fine wood bits glued together with a water-resistant resin.

I'd be a little worried by the short warranty.

 

[W2R]

I don't know a thing about doors, but just had to chime in. (Feel free to skip this).

I had two metal exterior doors installed at my old house, and I am wildly enthusiastic about how they turned out. They DO THE JOB - - they are very secure, and they do not warp and they open and shut easily and without sticking.

As far as the appearance, well, paint is paint. I had them painted and they looked fine to me. Maybe I am not picky enough.

If/when I ever need a new exterior door again, I'll get a metal door.

 

[Red Badger]

Prior one good for thirty years? Stick with wood, pocket the savings and celebrate with dinner out (or in).

Skip the up-sell with a lousy warranty.

 

[Peter]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies! I should probably have mentioned that the door will be painted, not stained, so the appearance of the painted overlay wouldn't be too different from painted wood. But then, neither would painted fiberglass or even metal.

The existing door is solid wood, and there is quite a large overhang. In fact, it only ever gets sun in the late afternoon, and is generally sheltered from rain. I'm sure that's why it has lasted so well. I looked again at the Simpson web pages, and it appears that their doors consist of an inner core (plywood maybe?), with veneer on the inside, and the water barrier on the outside. The more I think about this, the less happy I feel.

Looks like further research on door types is needed. Thanks again for all the comments.

 

[braumeister]

they are recommending their 'water barrier technology'.

Same as car dealers recommending dealer-applied undercoating, IMHO.

Just say no.

 

[OldShooter]

... The exterior flat surfaces are made of medium density overlay (MDO), which is fine wood bits glued together with a water-resistant resin. ...

If that's right, I wouldn't even consider the thing and I would look askance at the vendor overall. The only reason to use something like this is to make a cheap door.

Our front door is wood-grained fiberglass with beveled glass panels. We had it finished to be a sort of light-oak-like look and after 25 years it still looks great. It was not cheap ($1200 IIRC) but have learned the hard way that buying garbage is never a good idea.

 

[samclem]

The more I think about this, the less happy I feel.

Looks like further research on door types is needed. Thanks again for all the comments.

If you are going to paint it, I would give strong consideration to a metal door. Very secure, dimensionally stable (so it will seal well for years) and they can be very reasonably priced. At the risk of appearing to be a shill for Menards, you might go online and design a door for yourself, see what their Mastercraft (their company line) doors would cost (they also have other materials), the options you might consider, etc. Many styles of lites, etc. I've installed 3 pre-hung doors from them. It was easy and they look good. At the very least, you'll get good exposure to what is available and have a price you can use for comparison.