ProVia Solves “Nearly Impossible” Door Project
Frank McKenna, owner of Nye Apartments in Painesville, Ohio, was frustrated. He wanted to replace the entry doors at his 66-unit complex, but the situation was complicated – all the front doors were encased in cement. The apartment buildings were precast structures built in the 1970s by setting the steel door frames in place and pouring concrete around them to form the walls, a low-cost, low-maintenance approach. But fixing or replacing the doors was nearly impossible since the frames are essentially part of the structure.
“They are a mess to repair,” McKenna admits. “I would have to beg someone to come out, hammer the door out and get a new frame. I was never satisfied with the way the repairs looked.” A typical replacement option would have been to install a standard steel frame inside the existing door openings, but that would have reduced the size of the entryway, causing problems when tenants moved large furniture in or out.
After striking out with a half-dozen door manufacturers who couldn’t provide a feasible solution, McKenna posed a question to one of the contacts he had consulted. “Who’s your best competition? Who would give you a run for your money?” he asked. It took a while, but McKenna persisted and got his answer — ProVia.
Non-Standard? No Problem
McKenna wasted no time calling ProVia. A tour of their state-of-the-art door manufacturing facility impressed him. ProVia representatives, including Conrad Mast, director of installation support, visited the Nye Park apartment complex to assess the situation. They developed a creative solution that took advantage of ProVia’s custom capabilities: Cut the steel stops off the old door frame and install a new 6-panel 20-gauge smooth steel pre-hung frame over top of the old one. The result would be a non-standard door slab size, but that wouldn’t be an issue since ProVia manufactures custom-size doors on the eighth-inch.
“This was a problem waiting to be solved,” McKenna explains, “and no other company offered the solution that ProVia did.” To prove it would work, the company offered to retrofit one unit gratis. McKenna was so pleased with the results that he ordered entry and storm doors for all 66 apartments.
ProVia dealer Hartville Hardware provided support throughout the project – placing the order, inventorying the doors, and releasing them to McKenna’s designated installer in batches of 10 as the work progressed.
McKenna hired a local contractor whose three-person team installed two doors per day, half the time repairs alone would have taken in the past. McKenna points out that without the bull nose thresholds on the doors, the door installation time would have been even quicker. The cost, including labor for the installed storm and entry doors, was less than previous repairs.
The Professional Way in Action
Much of the success of this project is attributed to the clear communication between McKenna, Hartville Hardware, and ProVia. Teamwork and outstanding customer relationships are fundamental at ProVia; we want customers like McKenna to be satisfied with ProVia products and our service, not just one or the other.
“ProVia could not have been more responsive,” McKenna says. “They were knowledgeable and always got back to me if I had any questions or concerns. Everything about ProVia is professional, thorough, and personal. A project like this with so many unknowns demanded the kind of attention that ProVia provided with its in-house expertise and flexibility.”
“ProVia stands behind their product, which says a lot, and their pricing is fair,” McKenna adds. “I would recommend ProVia’s products and processes to anyone. In my opinion, for situations like ours there is no better solution than ProVia’s.”
Curb Appeal Plus
McKenna is pleased with the finished project. “I like the fact that the doors were factory-assembled, precision-made and airtight,” he says. “The quality of the 20-gauge 6-panel doors is excellent. ProVia did it the right way. With their solution I lost only one inch on the doors, which allowed them to remain within code and commercial standards. With a traditional overlay I would have lost more.”
How do the tenants feel about the new doors? “They love them,” McKenna reports. “The tenants couldn’t be happier. The doors provide curb appeal-plus. Tenants tell me they make the apartments feel like home.”
ABOUT PROVIA®
ProVia is a leading manufacturer of professional-class entry doors, storm doors, patio doors, windows, vinyl siding, manufactured stone, and metal roofing. The professional-class designation reflects the company’s high level of quality, service, and customization. Professionals also appreciate ProVia’s unique ability to customize many products as needed. Equally important is the personalized treatment they receive after an order is placed or the product is installed. While many of ProVia’s manufacturing processes are state-of-the-art, human craftsmanship is also involved, to ensure product quality and high-end aesthetics. ProVia’s mission is “to serve, by caring for details in ways others won’t.” Each employee continually strives to put these words into action by providing unmatched quality and service, every day. ProVia.com
Last Updated: March 18, 2024
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