Wanted to share my experience in buying an Energy Star qualified entry door for my house from Lowe's. I thought this would be a good time to share since this weekend is tax free on Energy Star appliances. A door isn't an appliance but I found some quirks that seem to save the tax anyway. At least for me in Charlotte, I assume it is the same in all of NC and maybe further.
The second reason is that there is a federal tax credit of 30% for these doors if installed before the end of this year.
Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency : ENERGY STAR
It's also possible that Home Depot has the same quirk and the tips might work there too if using their install services. I didn't check because I had a Lowe's Gift Card and bad memories from more than a dozen years ago with a storm door that I was never satisfied with but was too young back then to actually get it taken care of. It literally fell off the house a couple of weeks ago which brings me to this saga.
QUIRK:
First, the sales tax quirk. For some reason if you get the installation and the door on the same sales ticket their system won't charge sales tax on the door. I went with something real basic (fiberglass) costing only $170 but since there was no tax on labor the system didn't charge tax on the hardware either. The associate knew this and used it as a selling point.
TIP ONE: Tax Credit
As I said above follow the link to the .gov website for the details and instructions for the 30% credit. This is only on the door itself and not the installation fees. That's only $51 for me but still I'll take it. You can go crazy and spend a lot more. I plan on replacing my storm door soon and that's where I'm going to invest my money as far as features.
TIP ONE: Military Discount
I didn't know about this discount being year round but next time I'm in I'm going to see if I can get that $17 back
.
TIP TWO: Haul-away
The standard install fee is $250 but good luck with that depending on the dumping rules in your county. My fee actually shot up to $390 partly because of trim work and the blasted left over parts of the storm door.
But, I pressed on the price when I went in to pay the balance and get the door ordered. Here in Charlotte there is a $40 dump fee for the old door if the installer hauls it away. The haul-away is included in the install fee but if the county charges a dump fee then that's passed on.
Here in Charlotte there is no dump fee for residential customers using curbside pickup. We have a cool website that we can go to to request the pickup. You put in your address and select "door" and the site schedules it and tells you when to take it to the street.
Savings: $40
TIP THREE: I hate wood
This is just a personal preference. Wood doors look great and all but this door from circa 1989 just didn't hold up all that great. I'm talking warping and some mysterious damage to the bottom that caused rotting. All of this has caused drafts which I tried to cover up with the storm door which I know was just being lazy. Ends up the storm door had a wood core, it rotted and the bottom literally fell out.
I went with fiberglass instead of steel because the sun bakes this side of the house and it shouldn't dent. When I replace the storm door I will do it with one that doesn't have any wood inside.
SAVINGS CONCLUSION
OK, so the total looked something like this:
Door: $170
Standard Labor: $250
Dump Fee: $40
Extra Labor: $100
Total: $560
Savings:
About $13 in sales tax not charged on the door
$51 in tax credits
$40 in removing the dump fee
$17 in military discount
Not counting the tax that wasn't charged to begin with, that's a $57 immediate savings for a total installed price of $503.
Total cost after tax credit: $452 installed.
Considering the drafts coming through, I hope to recoup the total cost within a couple/few years in reduced heating costs and of course enjoy the benefit of proper insulation.
This door includes a replacement frame (pre-hung) and I wanted it professionally done and backed by a major retailer who I trusted to make it right instead of using friends or a contractor.
The next adventure will be the install itself and then painting. Once painted it will have a lifetime warranty from the manufacture and a one year on the install backed by Lowe's. THIS TIME I'll make sure it's right and if not get it fixed instead of stewing!
I hope someone finds this helpful and remember the deadline for the federal tax credit if you need windows or doors!
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