I recently installed a new Pella back entry door and storm door. My problem is the storm door only closes correctly as long as the interior door is open, or partialy open. If the interior door is closed, the storm stops before it latches. The storm has a top and bottom closer on it, but no setting, or combination of settings seem to work. I called Pella's customer service and a recording directed me to their web site. That was no help....so if anyone can help me with this it would be greatly appreciated!
What you are experiencing is the presence of a vacuum created between your storm door and interior door. That's what it's supposed to do as odd as it sounds. As you walk into your house, let the storm door close and latch first (it should do that once the interior door is open, as there is no longer any vacuum pressure to prevent the storm door from closing). Then close your interior door (you'll probably have to 'push' it closed due to the 'vacuum' created). When exiting the house, you close the interior door, and you'll have to push the storm door closed. This tells you that you have a good seal between the doors providing the insulation value you are looking for. This is also all proven by the fact when you put the screen in the door, there is no vacuum produced, and the storm door should close easily. The only way to relieve the pressure while the glass is in, is to raise the bottom door expander (I'm assuming there was one), allowing for air to escape when the doors close. This of course also results in lost insulating value in the winter. It's a trade off.
I have kids who constantly slam thier bedroom or bathroom doors, is there anyway to quiet the door slamming noise ? Your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated! Thank You for your time.
walterjackson, you should install a spring like system which will prevent the doors from being slammed with wall or anything else. It'll be better if you check
a contractor soon.
a contractor soon.
My new Pella Venetian storm door has two closer units, one at the top and the other on bottom. The bottom one has the new feature "one-touch" closer that is suppose to be better than the older versions. It was at first. After two months of use it would catch randomly and not allow the door to close. Or it would "pop" on the closing swing and put stress on the hardware, causing the hardware to loosen due to vibration. I returned the closer unit to Lowe's and the removed one off of an unopened new door unit. That closer is of a newer design, with a larger housing and a ratcheted actuator arm (the silver arm that comes out of the unit when opened). So, if you have the earlier version of the closer mechanism, it will probably need replacing. Don't let Pella off the hook. For that amount of money for a storm door, it should work correctly for a long time.
This is to ID BV004651 - I have been thinking about getting this door. When did you purchase the "older" version? Have you had any other problems? I plan on buying two for our home and I don't want to get stuck. Did you have their techs install them?
how do you unlock the latch on the door closer? I opened my storm door and locked it open and now cant get the lock to release. it has the latch on the top on the cylinder. thanks
I have a 2 bolt pella storm door handle I can unlock and lock it by hand but cannot unlock it by using the key. Was it installed wrong?
I have a Pella French Door; I cannot open it as the bottom latch seems to be stuck in the transom. I have tried spraying WD-40 on the bottom latch to no avail. I fear forcing the door open will damage the lamination.
Well, this could be because of two reasons. One, the hinges of your storm door has become imbalanced. Two, its the air compression that has been formed between the doors. Providing a little ventilation to release the pressure might help. Give it a try.
My new Pella storm door doesn't latch properly when closing. I read about the vacuum problem, but has anyone thought about using some kind of magnetic strip to help with that last bit of oomph needed to get it properly closed? Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a thin magnetic plate that could be attached somewhere on the door?