What Part Do You Need for Your Storm Door?
Storm Door Parts Explained
Storm doors have been installed on homes throughout the United States for many decades. As such, many of them are old and in need of replacement or repair. While in many cases, replacement may be the best option, there are also many situations where replacing a part will make your door like new. The following overview lists all the different components of a storm door so you can identify the parts you need to bring your door back to its glory.
Handles
Handles are pretty straightforward and easy to understand, at least on the surface. If your handle is no longer working there could be several parts broken.
Latch Assembly
When a handle is no longer functioning, often the first place to consider is the latch assembly. These are the "guts" of the door lock that are not normally visible as they are hidden inside the door. If your latch is no longer retracting its likely an issue with your latch assembly.
Inside/Outside Handles
Since most storm door handles don't have moving parts, the inside and outside handle aren't often a problem. Some storm doors handles have a keylock built into them so if you lose the key the only want to replace it is by purchasing an outside handle.
Key Cylinders
For those handles that do have a removable key cylinder(the piece the key inserts into) if you have misplaced the key you might be able to purchase a new cylinder.
Strike Plates
On the other end of the closer is a door bracket which attaches to the door and connects to the closer, also typically with a pin.
Spindle
Spindles connect the inside and outside handles through the latch assembly. They turn a mechanism inside the latch assembly in order to retract the latch every time an inside or outside handle is pressed down.
Screws
Screws don't break often unless something with a lot of force pushes on them. However they may become stripped or worn out over time. Usually they aren't the item causing a problem but in some cases it makes sense to replace them if you are ordering another part for the handle.
Closers
Closers are the cyncdrical objects that attach the door to the frame. They are sometimes referred to as "arms" or "pumps". They help keep the door from flying open and also ensure it closes by itself. They are also often found on commercial doors including at instituations, apartments or any place where a door needs to close by itself without someone manually pulling it. Although closers are often tested to be opened and closed thousands of times, they do wear out over time, along with the parts that connect
Closers
Closers can be purchased seperately from a kit. Since they are the biggest and most expensive item in a kit in many cases you might as well purchase an entire kit. THen you will have extra brackets and screws should you need them. If you want the closer only, you can purchase it that way but its best to make sure you get the same strength closer. A heavy duty closer on a lighter door that was using a lighter closer originally may cause the door to slam.
Jamb Brackets
These pieces are mounted on the door frame (or jamb) and the closer connects to the bracket.
Door Brackets
On the other end of the closer is a door bracket which attaches to the door and connects to the closer, also typically with a pin.
Screws
As with handles, screws aren't often a piece that breaks off but given their low cost if you are replacing other parts of the closer it may make sense to purchase new screws too.
Decorative Molding
Decorative Molding is a part that doesnt provide any fuctional benefit. Its merely for enhanced design. Molding is installed on the surface of certain doors to give the appearance of a raised or embossed panel often found on entry doors. They are attached with screws that are then covered with screw plugs which are merely plastic pieces sized to fit in the hole the screw just went into. If you look closely on a storm door you can see the screw plugs.
Frame Parts
There are five parts of a storm door that are used to connect the actual door to the frame of your home.
Hinge Rail
Hinges are usually welded into a long metal piece that runs along with the vertical length of the door.
Latch Rail
The opposite side of the hinge rail, the latch rail goes on the side of the storm door which has the handle. It typically has a cutout where the handle latch can extend into, an area which is usually covered with a strike plate discussed above.
Drip Cap
The top frame of the door is known as a drip cap. It has a small channel which can catching any dripping water from above(as long as its close enough to the wall).
Screw Covers
In order to attach the storm door frame to the house, it needs to be screwed in. Screw covers are exactly what they sound like. They cover the parts of the frame where the screws go into the door. Most doors use two covers, one for the latch rail, one for the hinge rail.
Frame Extenders
Sometimes a hinge or latch rail might not extend all the way down. Frame extenders are a plastic piece that goes at the bottom of your rails so they will be full length.
Expanders & Sweeps
Screen and Glass
Miscellaneous