Shoppers comparing First Impressions Doors with a local St. Louis door shop have a real choice to make. Here is an honest look at the differences.
A lot of St. Louis homeowners searching for first impressions doors are comparing two very different ways to buy an entry door. One is a national custom door maker. The other is a local door shop that measures, quotes, and installs with its own crews. We are the second kind, and we have been doing it in St. Louis since 1953, so here is an honest look at how the two compare.
Who makes first impressions doors
The name most shoppers run into is First Impression Ironworks, an Arizona company that builds custom wrought iron entry and security doors and ships them across the country. The doors are ornamental, heavy, and made to order out of state. For the right house and budget, a custom iron door can be a striking choice.
What a local St. Louis door shop does differently
Penny Window is a St. Louis door company with a real front counter at 9910 Halls Ferry Road. We install steel and fiberglass entry doors, storm doors, and sliding patio doors, and the process starts with a free in-home estimate: we come to your house, measure the opening, and give you a straight price.
- Our own crews install every door. We never subcontract, so the people who quote the job are accountable for the finished work.
- Free in-home estimates with real measurements, not a catalog guess.
- Brand-name steel and fiberglass doors that insulate well and shrug off St. Louis weather.
- A limited lifetime warranty behind the work, from a shop that has been here since 1953.
Iron versus steel and fiberglass, honestly
A custom iron door is a statement piece, and it is usually priced like one. Steel and fiberglass doors cost less, insulate better as a rule, and need less upkeep, which is why they are what most St. Louis homes carry. The right answer depends on the house, the budget, and how you want the entry to read. We will tell you honestly if what you want is not something we sell.
The install is half the door
Whoever you buy from, the door only performs if it is set square, sealed, and weatherstripped. That is the part we control completely, because the same local crew that knows our doors is the crew on your house. It is also the reason a door from a maker across the country still needs a good local installer before it works the way it should.
If you are weighing first impressions doors against a local option, the shortest path to a real answer is a free in-home estimate. We will measure, talk through steel, fiberglass, storm, and patio doors, and give you a price the same way we have for St. Louis homeowners since 1953.
