Beware Andersen/Emco screen doors
Last fall I bought a new screen door at Home Depot for several hundred dollars. The door was made by Emco, an Andersen subsidiary, and was one of the new kinds that allows you to slide one of the glass panes over the other as it unfurls a screen. After the company installed it, the door rarely shut tight unless I pushed it in, but overall I was very pleased.
Then a couple weeks ago on a blustery spring Sunday I came home to find the door swung fully (180 degrees) wide. The door closer (the small metal tube that slides out of the larger tube when the door opens) was actually bent and couldn't shut. The bracket and pin that held the closer to the door were also bent. When I called the company to use the warranty, I was told that that is wind damage and they don't cover it...that they were getting a lot of calls about "wind damage" and they would not cover the damage. I said that that was indication of inferior parts, which they should cover; basically they're trying to charge me $22 for replacement parts that are only going to bend again. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was met with resistence and ultimately promised a call back which never happened.
The upshot is, these screen doors aren't quality products. They've used aluminum where they should have used steel, and there's no component that catches the door before it swings beyond the extension of the closer.
Comments (70)
Scott Lewis
8 years agoJoanne6, I had the exact same thing happen to my new $500 Andersen/Emco 4000 series storm door. (My door was higher priced because I had it custom sized to fit my non-standard 78" doorway height.) The door itself was very high quality; its only weaknesses were 1) there being no safety chain, 2) Andersen/Emco not warrantying against "wind damage", and 3) Andersen/Emco automatically voiding the warranty if a wind chain were installed. The two (upper and lower) door closers that are included with this door are simply NOT enough to protect against strong stiff winds. My door was destroyed in two seconds when a strong wind caught it as I was leaving the house one day. It caught it like a ship sail causing it to swing backwards with tremendous force, bending and wrecking both door closers, crashing back into the doorway pilaster, and putting a plum-size dent into the upper hinge-side corner of the door. It also racked and permanently bent the entire door panel making it impossible to ever close properly again. What is the solution to this terrible vulnerability? -- a safety chain, obviously. I have replaced my ruined door with the same Andersen/Emco door again, but this time I've added a $5 aftermarket safety chain to protect the door against the same thing from happening again. The Andersen/Emco warranty is now voided as a result, but what does it matter? There was no warranty in effect without one given damage from wind is not covered under warranty. It's a real catch-22 situation.
Irwin Asher
8 years agoHow do you attach the wind chain without interfering/damaging the roll-up screen?
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8 years agoIts important to keep in mind that something like a wind chain will generally only void a warranty if it is the cause of whatever is in need of warranty service. I have never heard of any company offering a warranty against wind damage.
Regarding how to attach it, I can't respond with detail about a specific model, however most "roll screen" style doors have the screen in a cartridge, and there is plenty of area above that to mount a chain.
My comments are generally speaking, as I don't handle the model mentioned by the OP.
Judy L'Etoile
8 years agoThe screen slid down inside the door and I can't figure out how to get it out...help!
Amanda Husberg
6 years agoMy contractor installed a series 100 screen and storm door. It is the worst door I have ever seen. It has three tracks, but the top glass is permanent, cannot be moved, and the screen is permanently in the bottom position which is worthless to me because I have a cat and he will claw it to pieces. I would never buy this door again!!! The one class that moves will cover the bottom screen in the winter which means in the summer you are looking through two panes of glass on the top. Terrible design!!!
sweetestangel3
6 years agoThere doors are junk my handle on mine fell off after a year and they want to charge me 80 bucks for new handle garbage quality
dciesielski
6 years agoI'm about to buy a series 100+. the plus means it is an aluminum clad door and has a raised panel on on the panel beneath the windows. I am protected (yes I am, barring hurricanes) from wind gust catching the door. However, what about epoxy? So you can't secure the chain at the top of the door cuz the screen rolls up. I'm assuming that means you can't screw into the door with a hook. Is that correct? If so, Couldn't a good epoxy glue like JD Weld be used?
David Tarsia
6 years agoI like the epoxy idea but if it bends the top cover it may effect screen operation. The frustrating part is I had a 2000 that went bad, they honored the warranty right away and I was really impressed. The 2000 is a full screen and glass. with pets I never put the screen in. I figured i would take the hit and upgrade to the 3000. It was a mistake 2000 uses 2 closers, 3000 only 1. 2000 has room for wind chain , 3000 as mentioned does not. It's a shame it is basically a door you know will have an extremely short life due to wind, and as stated earlier , wind damage is not covered. My brother in law but the Pella equivalent and what difference, 2 closers room for the chain and smooth operation of the screen. I guess I'll use this until it self destructs and buy the Pella.
terrymeacham628
6 years agoWe recently purchased a home that was built in the 50's. Our front door has an Emco storm door, but full-length glass is missing. We have the screen but no glass for the winter. My husband went to Home Depot to get a replacement, but the company no longer makes the size we need. The door is apparently an odd size, and difficult to replace. We are concerned that it will cost a small fortune to have a storm door custom built. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
millworkman
6 years agoGo to a local glass shop. The extrusions for the glass suuround are available and they can order a pc of tempered glass exxactly the correct size and fabricate a new panel.
terrymeacham628
6 years agoThank you so much, I hadn't even thought about that. I truly appreciate your reply!
jseeley
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI've had NOTHING BUT ISSUES with the hardware of the Emco 400 storm door. Andersen continually replaced parts while under the lousy 1 year warranty but now that the warranty expired, the latch bolt itself fell out onto the porch!!! Is there any way I can re-attached the latch bolt to the rod directly behind it?? Thanks so much. John
Ken Gilbertsen
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoSame exact experience as jseeley . A great idea, but a flawed design and inferior materials. I've got to replace the entire door.
Wayne Vitale
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoWe have the very same door with the very same problem. The closer on this particular door has broken at least 5 times. Any time there is anything more than a mild breeze, the door will be caught by the wind, damaging the closer. Andersen sent us one new one and has made us pay over $28.00 for each one since. The problem is a basic design flaw in this particular line of door. The door has a rollup screen which retracts into the door when the window is closed, much like a window shade would. When you open the window, the screen unrolls and fills the space where the glass was. The problem is that the screen rolls up into the door right at the very top into an empty cavity, just below the top of the door. While this makes the screen as large as possible, it also makes it impossible to install a 2nd closer, or a spring loaded chain, to prevent the door from being grabbed by the wind. Any attempt to install either would cause the screws to be driven into the screen roller, effectively destroying it and making it non-functional. Andersen is very aware of this design flaw. They screwed up royally here, yet they refuse to make any recompense to the owners of these nightmare doors. The bottom closer is totally insufficient, both the close the door reliably or to keep the door from being blown by anything but a very mild breeze. To wit: One the newer doors, they have moved the screen roller assembly down, making the screen smaller, to allow for installation of a 2nd closer and/or chain. Every one of these doors should have been recalled. Andersen should be ashamed of themselves. I just got off the phone with them for the 7th time and they've screwed us over yet again. I suggest nobody EVER buy another Andersen / EMCO storm door until the Company owns up to its mistakes, treats its customers with respect and honors their warranty. They are a disgrace!
Matt Foster
5 years agoJust bought a new house that had Anderson storm doors with roll up screens already installed (not very well I might add). We had problems with the doors blowing open because they wouldn't latch. The best thing to do is fix the door so it latches on it's own (adjust the strike plate, adjust the piston, etc). Next, if you want to install a wind chain you can't screw it into the top rail because it will damage the roll up screen. But there's a way around it, at least I've found with the model I have. Unscrew the top rail from the door, this exposes the roll up screen. Attach the bracket for the wind chain to the top rail piece you took off, from the back side, using pop rivets. They sit flush enough that it doesn't interfere with the screen at all.
HU-593605903
5 years agoMy advice. DO NOT buy a Anderson/EMCO storm door with the roll up screen. My roll up screen lasted less than a year and started coming out of the track. Was sent two tracks and the roll up screen. No instructions. Was sent an email with installation instructions. 8 pages (excluding the Spanish version). Listed 3 items needed to install. Were not included. Also needed a 7/64 drill bit to remove rivet. Went to Youtube. Helpful but showed a zip tie needed which was also to have been included. NOT! Got to the point of installing the new slide rails for the screen. THEY SENT THE WRONG SIZE!!!! I am now proud owner of a all class storm door which will be handy for the winter months. When I asked if I could speak to a customer service rep "on shore" close to Wisconsin I was told that's not possible???? Totally frustrated in Wisconsin!!!!
Maggie Westmacott
5 years agoSo very glad I read this. Shopping for new storm door & the displayed door had a ripped screen.
sewexcited65
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoAndersen Doors are junk! I’ve had nothing but problems with my door since the day it was installed. Very disappointed with my Andersen Emco storm door as well as the company itself. This door was poorly designed and does not perform as expected. There is no latch plate, only a latch rail. The latch rail retracts in cold weather and expands in hot weather. In hot weather, the door sticks a bit and in cold weather the latch does not hold within the latch rail. On windy days, the door swings open even when in the locked position. Already had to replace the “closer hardware”. I do NOT recommend Andersen Emco doors and I am disheartened that Andersen does not stand behind their products as there has been NO satisfaction with repeated contact with Andersen. Andersen has just lost a former loyal customer.
HU-764337662
5 years agoI have the same door and the same exact problem. Not sure why but the door latches sometimes, but not all the time. I guess it must not have been closed all the way, and the wind caught it and same thing happened, the door stopper was pulled and bent out of shape. It was less than two months after it was professionally installed. Was told by the installer that he doesn't cover wind damage.
millworkman
4 years ago"Was told by the installer that he doesn't cover wind damage."
Honestly you would be hard pressed to find anyone that would warranty wind damage.Jonny Quest
4 years agoHoly cow. I have an older Emco, door possibly from 80s or 90s. It doesn’t have roll up screen just the replacement screen panel. I’ve not had problems with it other than dirt. It’s a dirt magnet.
This door is sand in color but was absolutely filthy. I tried everything I could to get it clean. Unfortunately what got it clean likely destroyed the finish on it. I used Spray Nine and it appears as if I’m rubbing off paint.
Any ideas on what I can do to turn this around? I’d like to keep this door since it appears some of the newer doors are crap. My newest front storm door is a Larson. The road salt corroded the latch handle after one winter. I will need to replace the mechanism soon. The upside? The Larson door is easier to keep clean.
I’d really like to keep this door because it’s in good shape otherwise and I don’t want three different door styles. I also don’t want to spend a lot for poor quality which it sounds like what’s out there in my price range. Any help would be appreciated.HU-768854336
3 years agoI refused to pay Anderson's rip-off price for a replacement latch assembly (which wore out because of a cheap China-made latch spring, apparently designed to last maybe 3-4 years at most). I ripped the whole damned assembly out, threw it in the trash, and attached a simple "pull knob" in the old holes. Then I put a super heavy-duty closer spring to pull the door shut, and several small magnets on the door frame to hold the door closed. It looks red-neck but, hell, it's worked fine for 3 years now. Anderson/Emco do basically make junk.
Jonny Quest
3 years agoYeah I agree with you on the door handle/latch assembly. I replaced it once and it lasted maybe 10 years. But from some reviews I gather the newer handle/latches don‘t last as long. Sigh😔
thanks forvrespondingHU-7462261719409380
3 years agoI just bought two Emco storm doors and am very disappointed with them. For one, the glass pane doesn't go all the way to the top on either door when I raise it. There's a 1/4" gap. Now, I'll have to stick something in the locking slot to try to raise the window to the top so it won't have this ridiculous gap.
The other thing is that the handles aren't spring-loaded. I can't believe that they would sell a $250 door that doesn't have a handle that goes back to its original position. I have to manually move it into place every time I open or close the door.
Had I known about these two flaws, I would have gladly paid more, as I just paid a handyman more than $400 to install these sub-par doors.
Very disappointed!HU-513056090
3 years agoSame experience with me. After making additional adjustments today, I'm about ready to just throw the damn thing in the trash and call it a $300 lesson learned to skip Anderson.
toddinmn
3 years agoThe Emco and Larsons are pretty similar in quality and installation, both get better the higher up in there series you go. Pro-Via and Gerkin are better but you can’t get them at a box store and you have to pay. Most problems here seem to be install related.
Jonny Quest
3 years agoMy Emco full views doors are fairly old and are actually quite heavy and sturdy compared to the Larson door. No problems with either the door or the screens that can be changed out and I don’t use. My problem is with the replacement lock mechanism. They are absolutely awful. I guess I’m lucky I got 10 years of service out of it before it broke. It still locks but the key wont unlock the door.
At some one point I will likely change them out because the cost of replacing the locks can go towards a security door. I checked out Pribis and HMI but not sure about cost of HMI delivered to my area and someone to install it.HU-76066457
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoDoor got stuck open when installing it and the closer will not retract. BUTTON IS STUCK - Had to remove from the door. Followed instructions to get rod to retract using Anderson on-line info. Rod is still stuck and will not retract. Door is beautiful - CLOSER IS AWFUL - So far, this morning, I have been on hold for two hours. NOT IMPRESSED WITH CLOSER - NOT IMPRESSED WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE. I see some comments that say you should have a professional install the door. This is the third screen door we have installed on this house and they are all fine. We know how to install a door - It is the CLOSER THAT IS AWFUL.
HU-733460664
2 years agoI also had a problem with one of these 3000 series andersen storm doors. it cost several hundred dollars and came defective. the roll down screem was broken. After finally gettiing the replacement screen which we were told we had to install ourselves. they said to would be easy. it was not. finally we had to hire some to have it fixed. Beware theae cheaply made Andersen products
toddinmn
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoHaving installed many I have yet to encounter these problems.
HU-929613190
2 years agoIts the crappy plastic catch on the inner handle . my 30 lb dog leans on door and it whips open any wind and it whips open . such a nice door and they put such crap plastic catch on the latch it screws up the hole door . don't buy them you will just need a new door in a year . or prepare to buy a Handel system separate.
toddinmn
2 years agoThere cheaper Emco/Anderson doors do have a plastic catch. Have not had a problem with them. They need to be set with minimal clearance between the strike and catch. I would suggest adding a safetey chain, a heady duty closer and longer screws for the closer bracket that go into the framing. The nicer Aderson/Emco doors are all metal and are purchased separately and latch into the frame of the door.
HU-678275
2 years agoI was able to install a chain even with the roll-up screen, but the wind pulled the chain spring apart. If the screen is closed, the door will never latch because of the air cushion created by the main door. The closer just isn’t strong enough to pull the latch shut even when adjusted properly. Next step is to install a stop on the door frame or ground so the door can’t possibly open past 90 deg.
HU-219039029
2 years ago2 years ago we purchased an expensive “special order” Andersen screen door and the roll up screen (self hiding) is already defective. I called Andersen and they were happy to tell me that since it was still under the 5 yr warranty, all I had to pay was shipping. I was ONLY going to be charged $8+ US shipping from Demoine Iowa! I balked at the suggestion that I had to pay an American price for a product purchased at HD in Canada. I balked at the suggestion that I should pay for anything knowing the mechanism is either a poor design or quality. Two minutes later, the rep returned to the phone and told me I would receive it for free. People!!! DO NOT pay for something that should be a given. Good try Andersen. The poor rep may not have been given points for my call but sad that she has to deliver such a ridiculous “good news” message.
HU-641943179
2 years agoSame issue..poor customer service…lack of ownership on defective product…totally disappointed
HU-369309063
last yearThe new door I bought from Home depot is missing an entire bag of screws, making installation difficult if not impossible. But MUCH worse -- the retractable insect screen (on this brand new door) is falling apart. It's not attached securely to its frame
Windows on Washington Ltd
last yearThe window and door items at Home Depot are mostly, sorry you are learning this, throw aways.
HU-646294570
21 days agoMine started bubbling after 6 months. Emco 10 year warranty is terrible. No labor
covered and they want you to pick up a core and you reinstall with the original
junk. All their cheap china screws will strip! If you try to upgrade they do not give
price you paid. Scam bull is all it is. They tell you not to take back to the store . Their
32” door only measures 31” and you will have to build out your frame, undersized
and false advertizement. They call it an Aluminum storm door but they are wood
core covered with vinyl paper. Junk. Do not buy and if you did and have problem take it back. Don’t listen to their warranty scams! You want an ALL true aluminum door and
if you want one that last buy a Pella . Emco/ Anderson is trash!
millworkman
21 days ago" No labor covered"
No one covers labor.
"32” door only measures 31” and you will have to build out your frame, undersized"
Standard on all off the shelf storm doors I am aware.
"if you want one that last buy a Pella"
Have you ever needed Pella customer service? Good luck, their quality is horrible as well.
Not sticking up for Emco/Anderson but these issues are far from only theirs.HU-196318589
12 days agoOnly installed three months ago , carpenter charged extra because door was not 32” but 31” Emco does not cover labor. Im a Senior and i no longer drive. Emco wants me to remove core and reinstall another with the existing old hardware. It is rotting from the inside. Emco knows its junk because they try to scam you from taking it back. Home depot
should be ashame for selling such junk. Take it Back ! Get a better door and deal at Lowes.
toddinmn is getting paid for his comments. What a Scam!
toddinmn
12 days agoNone of the standard sized 32” storm doors measure 32”. Shimming is typically included in installation cost and some doors even come with them. Pella storm doors are made by Larson. Larson has low quality storms on par with the Emco you bought. If you would have stepped up to the higher Anderson lines (made by Emco) you would have found quality on par with the Pella.
Julie Cornish
3 days agolast modified: 3 days agoI am a grandma and tried to install myself since the $ was the same to buy x 2. My brother helped and we got it up. I have had to replace the closer as it stuck and I had to take it off to close the door. The lock never came out on the door either. My closer (which I was soo excited I could put on myself) now is also bent when I was attempting to take the dam lock off and the top lil thing that goes in and out when you shut the door was locking. what?? I had to go around the house and keep forcing that thing down w a screwdriver. I thought I may attempt DIY's but I told a friend I just CANNOT complete this storm door nightmare.. I have a nail where I am using a twistie to keep it closed in the meantime. I guess I also need the Lock Replacement. argh
Julie Cornish
3 days agoI mean I called the 800 # and I had to cut in a 2" to 5"hole. I was like really? I did it and it's not pretty but if only the door worked. :(
Julie Cornish
3 days agoJust tell them your closer sticks...they will replace it w another crappy closer which mine is now bent and I am holding the door closed w a nail and some twisties.
millworkman
3 days agoSorry to say @Julie Cornish, this 100% is installation as opposed to product issues.
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