I just called Lowes up and they came back with price of
$2058 for those doos $1243 for the doors instead of the $558,because the the high price is that i have 2X6 Jams???
And the install went up too $815 from $475.......Are they jerking me off?
I called homedepot and they have no price increse in their Masonite doors,even if its 2X6 or 2X4 the price is the same....
Just wondering is Lowes Ripping me off?

Wow!! They doubled the price for 2x6 jambs? That's not right. Sounds like they made a mistake the first time, and now they are trying to cover it up. 2x6 walls will add a little in most cases, but not nearly that much. And the install labor wouldn't change because of the jamb, unless the extension needs to be applied in the field, but that's not worth an extra $340!!
Hinged doors with both panels operating usually have an astragal in between the doors, attached to the passive panel. As long as you can lock the panels in place, and they are weatherstripped properly, you shouldn't have any problems. I'm not familiar with Atrium, but you should be able to find some other options. Look around.
Ultimately, you will get what you pay for. So for a better performing unit, you will end up paying a bit more. In some cases, the hinged doors will outperform the gliding doors, so long as they are installed properly.
Good luck.

This is quite a thread, lol.
I'd say the Lowes installers didn't want to tell Lowes to stick it so they gave you the "get lost" price. Especially since they commented that 8 of their installations turned into complaints.

Good thing you went somewhere else besides Lowes. I am going through the same thing. The installers where I live are too busy to be bothered with a job with a single installation.

-terri

Yea need to shop around a bit.
Funny the Blinds inside the door is a great invention that many companys are picking up on.
I would never have known about the Blinds inside of the door unless I seen them at lowes...JohnnyT

We purchased a Reliabilt door with blinds between the glass from Lowes (not a French door though) and had it installed by them as well about 2 years ago.

We have had ZERO problems (operates fine, no bugs, etc.) with the blinds and door.

However, the initial Lowes installer they sent did the worst job ever. I had to go back to Lowes with pictures of the crummy work. After a bit of wrangling (they wanted to send out the same guy to fix the problem and I refused), they sent out another installer to inspect the work. He came and recommended the door be removed and replaced that's how bad the first install was "completed".

Therefore, I believe the doors are good, but as usual, it comes down to who puts it in for you and how good they are at their trade....watch this closely.

Yea I knew when the Installers said that they have installed 8 doors and 8 compained about the crummy doors...
I called a few other Lowes dealers and NONE said that they had problems and they all said that it must have been the installers....
I am glad where I bought mine from(a small floor and window store).
I even gave them business to do my Hardwood flooring on the same day as when they put the door in.Screw Lowes...(2 weeks from now,they called and have everything ready)
Cannot Beleave Lowes wants around $9 a foot installed for Bruce Hardwood flooring and my Local guy wants $5.50 a foot installed...
And Lowes wanted around $900 for the door install but my local guys wants $200 and he will take the old door away for free,,,Homedepot wants $575 fora Basic install and $30 to take away old doors..
Glad you are happy with your Jeld-wen door.
The Blinds are a COOL feature inside the doors...JT

I don't know what part of the country your in, but your Lowes pricing seems a bit high. I happen to install for Lowes here in MN and find them very thorough and fair. The big box stores are having a tough time with hiring installers. Home Depot has destroyed any good installers coming to this area and installing in a huge way. They've literally scared all the good installers away. I gave Lowes a chance when they came to MN 1-1/2 years ago. They've had their share of bumps in the road, but any big box company would fall on the same hardships. Since Lowes only has three stores in the Twin Cities area (with five more by years end). They have weeded out the bad installers and kept the good. With my business and one other, we handle all their doors, windows, shower doors and garage door operators for all three. The other installer also does plumbing and kitchen remodels. Since both of us are upper end installers Lowes gets a premium price for our services. They know they have good installers with a very low callback rating. This keeps their customers happy and they come back to buy more. Remember, your products are only as good as their installer. The most expensive and best products can be considered junk if their installed wrong!!!

Just a note on your cost for the double doors. If you were getting them here the cost for putting them in with jamb extensions for your 6-3/4" walls would be around $575.00. There would be an upcharge for storm doors and disposal of the old materials if required. Sounds like someone doesn't want to do your job. So it's better for you that you chose another avenue. Good Luck!!!

Thank you for yea time.
Even after I called the installer up and ask him that i hardly ever will use the door except when i want to grill.
But he kept saying that I will get COLD AIR in between the doors,and for me when I look at the doors is to get on my knees at the store and look at the bottom of the door and I will see a small opening at the bottom....I said what about the BUGS and he said he does not know about BUGS Thats not what he said when he was at my house).
He really pushed me into getting Sliding doors,but I am glad I shopped around a bit,people like that give a bad name to Lowes and Homedepot.I needed to waste $30 to get 2 Jerkoff installers at my house and laughing......JT

I purchased the Reliabilt french doors with the blinds inside to replace a set of sliding doors aprox. 5 years ago.
I had my brother and a carpenter friend of his help me install the new doors.
Have had absolutely no problems with air leakage, bugs or water intrusion.
The blinds still work as well as when I got them.
Sorry to hear you have had such a hard time with your local Lowes, it is unfortunate that alot of times they only get average to below average installers.

Your installers from Lowes really are giving them a bad name. Their job is to measure the opening and that's it. It's up to the stores sale staff to do the selling. If I'm measuring an opening and feel something should be different I'll note it on the measure sheet for the salesman. Otherwise it's stupid to try and change the customers mind. If the installer is more educated in the sales of these products that's different. Then he should only give you some other options to consider before you make your final decision. If any of my staff did that I'd send them down the road with a pink slip in their hand. You never slap the hand that feeds you!!!
As for the comments on the air blowing through the doors it's poor installation of the doors that makes this happen. Most the time the installer forgets to install the rubber boot on the bottom of the Astragal (this is the wooden bar with the weatherseal on the inactive door). Then they also forget to install the self adhesive pads which make the final seal after the doors are installed. It's all installer related unfortunately.

Thought the installers sucked
Glad I found a little Windows and Flooring Store that sold the Therma-Tru doors with the Blinds inside of them...
And glad that the Little store can install and remove the old door at $200.
I just gave the little store the Lowes measurements that i paid $30 for and they ordered it.
funny Lowes calls a Basic Install is $450 and the installers wanted around $900 for the install
and on their list they say the Dump is $47.72 Extrea labor,
Remove Existing Kick Plates $47.62 Extra Labor
Extend Jamb and custom Make oak interior saddle $142.86
Custom make exterior Case & Cap in standard color coil $102.04
Basic install $475.00

Now if that sounds right let me know,,,,,they did lots of writing and didnot say anything about the extra fees...
My local dealer didnot say anything about extra fees and if there are I am sure that they will be alot less....JT

This is an area I've been on them about for some time now. I've told them they need to advertise the basic install STARTS at $475.00. I hate to say it, but I would be very leery about anyone installing a double door for $200. The fees you have above have some concerns with me though. The kickplate removal & the oak saddle I've never heard of. The exterior casing is already attached to the new door and capping is an optional item most the time. 90% of the time we reuse the existing interior trim. The jamb extension is a must so the door fits the wall. We always have the store order the jamb extension applied from the factory, which only cost you around $35. I would be interested to hear how it ends up when your new company finishes the job. Sometimes customers get so angry with one company they get scammed by the other. Make sure you get all the little extra's covered by your new installer in writing. This is only for your own protection. The minimum I could ever pay two of my installers for a job like yours is around $250 per man. So $500 is a big jump compared to $200. Something seems a bit out of whack here. I hope it really goes your way though. I've always lived by "If It's Free It's Me" so getting a great deal is something we all strive for. Just out of curiosity if you don't mind. What state are you located in? I'm always interested in the pricing around the Nation for comparisons.

I am from the Poconos Pa.
It seems there are many deals around...
I had a concreat walk way about 75 feet at $600,I know in NYC it would have cost many more dollars,alway had a large driveway paved 200 feet for $2900...
Well the Floor and Window store said that they have installed many Therma-Tru doors.And the Company thats puting in the doors is listed on the Therma-Tru doors WEBSITE....So I am going with that,and the $200 is a great deal and would hope they do a good job and by being on the
Therma-Tru doors Website I hope I am not going wrong lol.
I will let yea know when they are done on Monday.Thanks JT

Ok the Installers came too install the Therma-Tru doors French doors with Blinds built into them,,,
1st day they had a problem,the old door was smaller then the one I ordered.I guess he called his boss up and instead of reordering it ,they had to make it fit(door was special ordered).Well it took much longer with making the opening larger,about 3 1/2 hours.But so far the door looked ok and it looked like it fit well.
Then they could not finish my Hardwood flooring because it took them so long in putting the door in.
They came back early today to finish the Flooring up,and it looks GREAT,Then molding looks great too and when they put the molding around the door it was day and night from the day before.And they had to put molding around the outside of the door too and that made the door look great.
For all the work that they did on the door and the install price was $200,I think i got a great deal.
I was going to buy pergo TYPE flooring but glad i got the Bruce (armstong)hardwood flooring at $5.50 a foot installed.
Lowes wanted $9.00 afoot for the same flooring installed.
Glad I shopped around a bit and very happy at the deals that I have got....Thanks for all of yea help and hope a few people will get just as a good deal as I have...JohnnyThunders

What fits for now and looks good may not turn out that way a year from now.

My crews have been tearing out 5-7 year old patio doors and entry doors. Bad installs covered by trim and caulk. Rotted jambs and subflooring, wet insulation, etc. I've yet to find one with flashing tape around it!

Last week we found 3 entry doors without a single bead of caulk under the threshold. A builder's laborers...no doubt.

It's good for our business though. I'd follow those $200 guys around all week.

Michael

Who know what happens in a year or 2,Maybe I will get lucky and the French door will last a tad longer lol.
I saw when they put the door in,fit like a glove but they did have to cut a bit to make the opening bigger so the door can fit...
1st guy was doing installs since he was 17 and now hes 51 and he looked it lol.
and the other guy was doing installs for 7 years.
As you said maybe I might have problems in the near future but I hope your wrong........Jt

I hope you weren't dealing with the Lowes in Matamoras, Pa. I have been looking at reliabilt windows and doors at that store. In addition to product quality a major concern is customer service. That is why I am also checking out the local mom & pop hardware store that has been around forever.

Steve

I live in the Poconos and went to the Easton area Lowes.
The installer suck and you are better off looking for a small mom and pop store...
I am sure if you look at a few there might be one the will give yea a great price.....
I think I got a great deal on my french doors with the Blinds built into them...
It looked like the installer knew what he was doing but I am no contractor,Even if you buy your door from lowes they only give a ONE YEAR labor on the door...JT

I want add my two cents to the post. I was looking for french patio doors to replace my old slding door from my study to my patio. I first looked at the Pella at it cost 3500 dollars plus most people i talked to stated that it is build good but it has too many moving parts that lead to problems down the road. I next looked at the anderson door. Anderson makes a good patio door but again the price was 2500 dollars. The door itself doesnt cost much but anderson charges you for everything, like 400 dollar hardward and 500 dollar screens and more if you want both doors to open all adding to the base cost of 999 for the door. I next looked at the jeld-wen fiberglass patio door. After adding all the extra i was told it would cost 1800 dollars. This was still more than i wanted to spend on the door, so i decided to check lowes. As i was looking at the reliabilt patio door i noticed that sticker said built by jeld-wen company. So i sat down with the guy at lowes and built my door. I got a price of 1079 which included the brass hardward, the screen, both doors opening with the oak finished on the inside. This was the same door i built for jeld-wen with a price of 1800. I could believe the differences in price so i ask the guy at lowes if i was build by jeld-wen and he said yes and the copy of the printout he gave me also stated the same, but i was still not sure this was true. So i contacted Jeld-wen and asked them if they made the reliabilt patio doors for lowes and the lady did confirm that they did indeed make the doors. I then questioned her about the differences in price fearing that i was getting a less quality door. She told me that the door is the same as the jeld-wen fiberglass door and there was no differences between the two. She told me that lowes was cheaper because in prices because they sell a large volume of the doors and jeld-wen discounts the price to lowes therefore saving the consumer money. She also stated, that not all the highend options are avaivable on the reliabilt patio doors like the 400 dollar harward and 400 dollar screens. The hardward and screens are the standard but you still get a nice choice of brass and stain nickel on the hardware. I then went on the Jeld-wen website and the pictures and options they were showing was the same as the brochure that i got from lowes for the reliabilt patio doors. Finally i was convinced and special ordered the doors. When they came in, they were very nice and since putting them in, i had no problems with them. So the if you are looking for a good patio door built by a good company with a good price buy the reliabilt patio door.

Thought I'd update the information posted here over the past year. Here's the scoop on the Reliabilt products Lowes sells. The Reliabilt name is an exclusive name Lowes puts on their inhouse items sold in certain areas. The Reliabilt products are made by different manufacturers across the nation depending on the market you live in. Here in the Upper Midwest & across the Northern U.S. the Reliabilt doors & windows are built by Jeld-Wen. Lowes has specific guidelines manufacturers must follow when making products carrying the Reliabilt name. No matter where you live in the U.S. the different product manufacturers are suppose to build them all the same way. Just like everything else we buy it's just some make their products better than others. It all differs from market to market.

The problems Johnny faced with his new door coming in the wrong size was probably related to a bad measure of the existing opening. One of the biggest problems in todays market is replacing an existing entry door with a Therma-Tru replacement. The standard door opening height since the cave days (just being funny) has been 82". Over the past few years some of the manufacturers out there, including Therma-Tru, decided they should change it to 82-1/2". This works fine for a new construction application but creates huge issues in the replacement industry. If you don't specify a unit height of 81-1/2", you'll be getting the 82". Some modifications will be in the cards on the day of installation. So make sure you specify your unit size or rough opening size when ordering replacement doors.

As for French Styled Hinged Doors, I'm sold on Pellas new style just recently put on the market. Both doors operate and lock by using their individual levered handles. Both doors have 3-point locking functions and come from the factory ready to go. There's no field drilling for manual flushbolts in the head or sill because there's no manual flushbolts anymore. The doors have mounting plates pre-applied already set to the right locking position just by a slight lift of the handle. This makes the installation much easier on the installer when they can latch the doors shut from the start. The old doors had to be set in place and then drilled for bolts afterwards. This was always a royal pain in the rear making sure you drilled properly for each bolt to work without binding. Then you had to make sure both doors sealed when closed. This could always be very frustrating at times during the process. The new doors make it much easier to install & even offer the normal DIY'er the ability to install them with ease. If you haven't seen them check them out. They are a little more expensive than the competitors. It's just the nature of the beast. You can always negotiate your pricing no matter where you buy your wares. So always take the time to chisel the price down.

UPDATED
Well its been 2 years and my
Therma-Tru french door with blinds are doing well.
I guess the contractors from lowes didnot want to put it
on my second floor off of the deck lol....
Well I want to buy another Therma-Tru with blinds for my downstairs,but the company that sold me the door and did the install for $200 is out of business.
I guess I will try another local store and see what they charge otherwise I will try Lowes again for their Reliabilt french door.I should have told lowes the first time they should have sent out another contractor at the time.......
But this time I know a tad more then last time.....JohnnyT

I am also looking to install the french doors with blinds to replace my sliding door. I can't afford to waste money with crappy installers. This is why it is taking me so long to do any updates to my home I am affraid I will be ripped off by crappy installers that overcharge and do poor work. I also want to install laminate floors. I look into lumber liquidators. The flooring price was reasonable, the install was more costly than all the material I would need to purchase.

Im also looking into Lowes for a set of french doors leading out to my deck. Im taking ALL of the advice
from previous postings to get the best quality door and intall for the price.