Homemade Storm Door

Wood

• Hardwood or softwood can be used to build a storm door. A benefit of using wood is its durability. Make sure you take correct measurements of your doorway before you cut out your wood door. Choose wood that's straight and flat with no knots or holes. Some types of hardwood are walnut, oak, maple, cherry and teak. Softwoods include pine, redwood, spruce and cedar. Hardwood is stronger than softwood, but softwoods are easy to build with.

Hardware

• Hardware needed for a homemade storm door consists of a handle and locks. A door closing device will shut the door automatically. Some door closers let you keep the storm door open. The type of closer you'll need depends on the weight of your storm door. Storm door locks include mortise locks or surface mount locks. A surface mount lock is placed directly on the surface of your storm door. A mortise lock fits into a slot in the door.

Window Glass or Screens

• Homemade storm doors often include a window glass or screen on the top half of the door. You can also use a window and screen which slide alongside each other. Window and screen systems are convenient to use when the weather changes. Some types of screens you can use in your storm door are galvanized steel, aluminum or fiberglass. Galvanized screens are the strongest screens but can get rusty and need to be sprayed with a household lubricant about once a year. Low-e, or low-emissivity, glass has excellent insulating properties which saves energy. You can also use full length screens or glass panels.