Screen and Storm Doors for Colorado Homes: 8 Types Compared

The right screen door for a Colorado home is a retractable screen on a west- or south-facing entry that bakes in afternoon sun, and a full-view storm door with a wind chain and a closer on a north- or east-facing entry that takes the winter. Both cost $350 to $1,200 installed on the Front Range, and both keep out the miller moths that sweep through the Denver metro every late spring.

This guide compares the eight door types against the four things Colorado throws at a door: miller moths, chinook wind, hail, and ultraviolet light that runs about 25 percent stronger at 5,280 feet than at sea level. It also covers HOA approval, what each type costs in the Denver metro, and which ones help a home sell.

The 8 screen door types, rated for Colorado

Miller moths: the reason Front Range homes need screens at all

Miller moths migrate from the eastern plains to the mountains from late spring into early summer, and the Denver metro sits in the flight path. They come in through any gap around a door at dusk, drawn to indoor light. What works:

• A screen with no gap: retractable screens seal against a magnetic strip at the frame; sliders need the felt pile replaced when it wears.
• Mesh size: standard 18-by-16 fiberglass mesh stops moths. "No-see-um" 20-by-20 mesh stops the gnats along the South Platte and Cherry Creek trails as well.
• Porch light off during the migration: or switch it to a yellow bulb for the four to six weeks the moths pass through.

Wind: what a Colorado door has to survive

Downslope winds off the foothills hit Boulder, Golden, Louisville, Broomfield and the west side of Arvada with gusts of 60 to 100 mph several times each winter. Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock and Parker sit on open ridges and take 40 to 60 mph gusts most months. A storm door caught by wind rips its own hinge screws out of the jamb and cracks the frame.

• Wind chain plus a closer: every storm door on the Front Range needs both. The chain stops the door at 90 degrees; the closer keeps it from slamming.
• Retractable screens: retract them before a wind event. The housing takes no load when the mesh is rolled up.
• Sliders: a screen that jumps its track once will keep doing it; replace the rollers ($20 to $60) and add a track cover.
• Motorized screens: spec a wind sensor that retracts the screen at 25 to 30 mph.

Hail and UV: what fades, dents and tears

Hail season on the Front Range runs from late spring through September, with the most damaging storms in June and July. Denver, Aurora, Centennial and Colorado Springs each take stones over 1 inch most years.

• Mesh: standard fiberglass mesh tears under 1-inch hail on an exposed door. Vinyl-coated polyester (pet screen) and aluminum mesh survive.
• Storm door glass: tempered glass survives nearly all hail; the aluminum frame dents on a west or south face. Insurance covers a storm door with the rest of the hail claim if it is in the estimate.
• UV: at 5,280 feet, black fiberglass mesh fades to gray in 2 to 3 summers on a south or west door. Powder-coated aluminum frames last 15 to 20 years; painted frames chalk in 5.

The west-facing door problem

A west-facing front door in Colorado takes direct sun from 2 p.m. to sunset with almost no cloud cover. Put a glass storm door in front of it and the air between the two doors reaches 150 degrees or more on a July afternoon. That heat warps fiberglass doors, peels paint and stain, and cracks the sealant around glass inserts. Door manufacturers exclude that heat damage from the finish warranty when a storm door sits in front of the entry on a west or south face.

On a west door, use a retractable screen, or a ventilating storm door with the glass panel removed from April through October. On a north or east door, a full-view storm door is fine year-round. Storm doors earn their keep in Colorado only where the sun does not hit them.

Retractable screen versus storm door: pick one

The retractable screen doors sold on the Front Range mount inside the jamb and retract into a 2-inch housing, which is what lets a new front door stay visible. The guide on how to choose a screen door walks through frame material and mesh choices in more depth.

HOA approval in Colorado

Storm doors and screen doors change the exterior, and most Front Range HOAs list them as an improvement that needs a design review request. Under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, the association's design guidelines control color, style and glass, and the board has to respond within the time its own rules set. In Highlands Ranch, HRCA's design review committee handles the request; in Denver's newer communities such as Central Park and Green Valley Ranch, the master association does. The common rules: full-view glass, frame color matched to the entry door or trim, and no ornamental grilles. Submit the request with the manufacturer's photo and the color name before you order. The Denver HOA rules and fees guide and the Highlands Ranch HRCA guide explain how the process runs.

Does a storm door help sell a Colorado home?

A new full-view storm door on a north or east entry photographs well and reads as a maintained house, for $350 to $1,000. A sun-baked storm door with a foggy glass panel, or a screen door with torn mesh, shows up in the first listing photo and in the inspection report. Before listing, either replace the door or remove it and fill the screw holes. The preparing and adding value before selling page ranks exterior fixes by return, and our post on why windows help Colorado homes sell faster covers the glass next to the door.

Where to go next

• Preparing and adding value before selling
• Weatherproofing your home for the Colorado climate
• How to repair garage door rust in Colorado
• Denver HOA rules and fees guide
• Homes for sale in Highlands Ranch
• Kenna Real Estate Group agents

Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group

The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC tells sellers which exterior fixes pay back before photos and tells buyers which doors, windows and roofs to check on a Front Range home before the inspection period ends. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Or search every home for sale in Colorado.