Not too long ago, we made the decision that we were going to get a storm door with pet door for our bulldog, Max. Well, to tell the truth it was more for us really. We like not having to stop what we’re doing at awkward or inconvenient times to let Max out to do his business.
Buying A Storm Door With Pet Door The Right Way
- Buy the storm door separately from the pet door
- Important Tip!
- Take your pet door with you when you shop
When we first began our search for such a door, we were thinking of ordering one already pre-assembled. However, we soon discovered that many companies had stopped selling storm doors with pet doors already installed.
It seems that these companies had run into a problem of shipping damages, because they are large and until they are installed somewhat delicate. They are also difficult to handle. The upshot of all this is that we chose to buy a storm door, and have it installed, and we added the pet door to it after it was already in place.
Perhaps a word about why we decided to have a storm door with a pet door in it in the first place would be appropriate at this point.
Why A Storm Door With Pet Door
It’s really simple really. We are planning to leave our storm door in place most of the fall and winter. We want a storm door for the colder months to help keep out energy costs down. As an aside, we have already upgraded our insulation and put in double pane windows. We’re trying to make our house much less energy expensive. Anyway, for the warmer months we are using our faithful old screen door with pet door.
We like the idea of being able to open the back door when the weather is pleasant during those occasional warm spells that happen in the fall and winter, but we want to give Max and ourselves the freedom to come and go when the weather is nice.
By the way, here’s a tip for when and if you decide to go shopping for a storm door for which you plan to install a pet door. Take the pet door with. Not all doors will accommodate all pet doors, and you want to be sure the thickness of the door matches up with your pet door. Shopping this way will save you a major headache later, as we found out the hard way.
More Pet Door Options
- automatic doggie door, a.k.a. electronic pet door
- pet doors for screen doors
- pet doors for patio doors
We chose to use a standard pet door for our storm door. But you don’t have to. There are several alternatives that work well for this use. If you have raccoons, or toddlers, you may want to consider buying an automatic pet door, which is also known as an electronic pet door, or automatic doggie door. This type of pet door uses an electronic key (which your pet wears on his collar) to identify your pet and unlock the door when he gets within a range which you set (usually within 3 feet).
In addition to using a pet door in a storm door, there are doggie doors which are designed for use in patio doors and even pet doors for screen doors. The type designed for screen doors, come in two types. Those built to be suspended by the screen itself, and those designed to attach to the screen door frame. Of the two, I would personally choose the latter variety. They are much stronger and can accommodate larger animals, plus they often come with a cover which snaps easily into place to keep bad weather out. When you know a thunderstorm is on the way, for example, you just snap the cover on, and when it’s clear, you take it back off to give your pet access to the great outdoors once again.
Once you have the right storm door with pet door combination, it’s really not hard to switch over between the warm weather screen door with pet door, and the storm door.