What is going on here with my storm door?

[5030]

Just replaced one, same scenario. I believe Larson uses the lowest priced aluminum sheet and it's not clear anodized on the back side. It's white rust.

No more Larson doors for me. Very poor quality control on the structural components.

Must be domestically sourced aluminum sheet.....

 

[JDgreen227]

Just replaced one, same scenario. I believe Larson uses the lowest priced aluminum sheet and it's not clear anodized on the back side. It's white rust.

No more Larson doors for me. Very poor quality control on the structural components.

Must be domestically sourced aluminum sheet.....

Thanks for your input, but I just did a Google search for "white rust" and the term generally applies to galvanized steel, not aluminum. A magnet shows no steel on the door aside from the screws on the outside edges, and the closest steel screw to the corrosion on my door is about 6 inches away vertically. After doing a Google search for "storm door corrosion" I located something on a consumer forum, someone had the same problem on a 3 year old Pella storm door, and they learned the door was actually a Larson brand product. It went on to say that the filler used between the aluminum cladding and the wood core is corrosive to the aluminum.

 

[bigtiller]

I have replaced three Larson doors that were new in '98. I don't know why it happens but that is how they all degrade.

 

[reb]

Sounds like a few other folks have had problems with Larson doors. Has anyone found a better replacement? It looks like I will be searching for a couple before too long. I replaced one with a less expensive aluminum storm door, but it seems a bit flimsy.

 

[JDgreen227]

Sounds like a few other folks have had problems with Larson doors. Has anyone found a better replacement? It looks like I will be searching for a couple before too long. I replaced one with a less expensive aluminum storm door, but it seems a bit flimsy.

Weird thing is it took my Larson 20 years to begin decomposing...as I noted earlier, Pella storn doors may also be made by Larson. Home Depot sells Anderson and Emco, and we have an Anderson storm door that has an Emco label !!.. I am leaning toward Chamberdoor (sold at Menards) for our next house storm door. We currently have an Anderson fullview type, looks great, no corrosion issues after 8 years, BUT the heavy safety glass insert gradually makes the entire door frame sag.

 

[Fixemall]

I've changed a ton of those things on my rental units, I think it is a chemical reaction from the adhesive used in bonding the particle board, it does not take much to corrode thru as they are about as thick as paper.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Weird thing is it took my Larson 20 years to begin decomposing...as I noted earlier, Pella storn doors may also be made by Larson. Home Depot sells Anderson and Emco, and we have an Anderson storm door that has an Emco label !!.. I am leaning toward Chamberdoor (sold at Menards) for our next house storm door. We currently have an Anderson fullview type, looks great, no corrosion issues after 8 years, BUT the heavy safety glass insert gradually makes the entire door frame sag.

Like anything, the more you sepend the better the product. We switched from Larson to Emco for our basic storm door we installed on jobsites because we had way too many problems with Larsons. The aluminum was better then the vinyl clad doors as the vinyl doors would swell and deform. They looked terrible after a year or two even if the doors are protected from direct water/elements.

Buy a high quality door and you will be surprised at the difference in quality. 90% of the storm doors we installed are the self storing style with glass covering two thirds of the door.

 

[RobertBrown]

Well if it only lasted 22 years I can see where you would be dissatisfied.
Good Post!

 

[clemsonfor]

How about a vinal door? I have vinal that i got onsale for about $80 at lowes, the bottoms are vinal a bit of the way up so that when you trim it you dont get into the wood. I still have 2 to put up that i still havent got around too from about 2 years ago. They were on sale at the time and i bought 4, i have put 2 up so far and not the other 2 still in the box. The ones i do get wind blown rain but still look fine.

 

[Pete Judd]

I smell a class action lawsuit right about now. Might be able to get 5 bucks to put on a new door. :laughing: