Projects That Are Best for Our IsoDoors
Before we reveal our limitations below, let's talk about why IsoDoor may be a great option for your project. Our short, and not necessarily exhaustive list, can be found below.
- Small custom shop. We like small orders and our IsoDoor SD and IsoDoor HD models can be built to fit your specifications. Email a large manufacturer about a single door order and you likely won't get a call back.
- Quick turnaround. Lead times are generally 3 to 4 weeks while competitors are generally 6 to 8 weeks. If our lead times stretch to 5 to 6 weeks, then it is likely our competitors are as much as 12 weeks.
- Wide range in performance. In general terms, our IsoDoor V is twice the performance of a solid wood door. Our IsoDoor SD is twice the performance of our IsoDoor V. Our IsoDoor HD is twice the performance of our IsoDoor SD. Combine different models in communicating assemblies to push performance even further. We have solutions for walls ranging anywhere from a standard 2x4 with drywall to double stud walls with multiple layers of mass on each side, and every wall in between.
- Accurate testing you can rely on. We only test at accurate labs and our testing was done in this century. Doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment, but compared to the rest, it is!
- Realistic installation requirements and easy to replicate results. Steel door manufacturers can create real high STC doors, for sure. They also come with requirements though like using steel jambs and back filling with concrete. This is not practical in many projects.
- Build and sell direct. We do not have a dealer network, we do not force installers on our customers. End result, each door is $500 to $1,000 less and you can use your contractor to install. Save your money and spend it on something else.
Projects That Are Not Best for Our IsoDoors
There is a laundry list of specifications that we simply cannot meet the requirements for, and we're okay with that. We fit where we fit and we don't where we don't. We like doing business, don't get us wrong, but we can't be everything to everyone. If your project requires any of the specications below, then we suggest you continue the search to another manufacturer. If your requirements are not listed below or above, then maybe you have special requirements that we have not even heard of. Drop us a line and we will let you know if we can do it.
- High quantities, volume discounts. Need 100 doors built? Great! Um, we can't do that. At least not without shutting down production on other projects for months. We are simply too small of a door shop for such projects.
- Fire rated doors. Our doors are 1-3/4" solid and use solid jambs, so there is an inherit 20 minute rating per IBC. If you require more than this for your project, then you will need to source doors from another manufacturer.
- Steel frames/jambs. Ours are made of wood, what else can we say? We can provide a door slab, which you can retrofit into your steel frames. This can be done with either our surface mounted continuous hinge or we can leave the slab entirely unprepped for you to prep on site.
- Concealed hinges. Our seals fit between the door and jamb, so concealed hinges are not a possibility unless you use a surface mounted seal system. It's not impossible, but you would supply the concealed hinges and the surface mounted seal system.
- Installation. Have you seen how heavy these things are? No way. Just kidding. We are a small manufacturer with no installers or dealers to assist in the installation process. Hire a good contractor and it will work out well. The only bad installations we have seen of our doors are installations done by cheap contractors.
- In-person Reps. We keep our costs down by building and selling direct. We start showing up to say hi and we will have to start charging accordingly. Phone calls and emails are quick and effective, but if your project requires someone in-person, then we cannot provide that under any circumstance.
- Large doors. Anything over 42" x 96" is simply too large for us.
- Shop drawings. We build things by hand. Draw it out, cut it, build it, and do so with the same guys for over a decade. Shop drawings are not required for the way we build and not offered to customers.