Fiberglass door with wood sidelight

JimV

I am replacing a 3/0 entry door plus a single 18" sidelight. I would like to go with a fiberglass door from Therma tru and pair it with an 18" sidelight from Simpson. No one makes a fiberglass 18" sidelight, except maybe Jeld-wen/IWP, but I don't like the look of their doors and I have heard they are really expensive.
If I go with continuous sill, I can get the Therma tru door hung with an empty 18" sidelight opening and then get the sidelight slab and install it in the opening on-site. There are door shops that would install the sidelight too, but I would like to make sure the edges are primed first.
Has anyone installed something like this? Is this advisable? Would I be better off getting the Therma tru door hung as a single unit and having a boxed sidelight frame made to match?
I live in Massachusetts, any comments on who does the best job hanging these doors?
I am considering getting the sidelight slab with the Simpson water barrier, performance series options. This is an Medium density overlay that they put on the exterior and they have composite in the bottoms of the stiles like frame saver jambs. Anyone familiar with this? Is it worth the added cost?

thanks,
Jim

Just Bill

All building items can be joined in some fashion, though they may not look good. Best to use components from the same manufacturer, if possible. If it will all be painted, chances are good it will look fine. But items from different manufacturers may have different wood or fiberglass components that do not/will not match.

kwikfishron

Therma Tru makes doors with sidelights that come as one unit. A can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t order it that way.

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JimV

Unfortunately Therma tru doesn't make an 18" wide sidelight. I considered going with a 14" and narrowing the rough opening, using a spread mull, or a combination of both. I would like to avoid having to piece in the shingles or using a really wide casing to make up the difference in width. I really don't like the little 7" wide strip of glass they give you in the fiberglass sidelights. The house is a split entry ranch and the sidelight is on the downstairs side of the entry. I am looking for a bigger glass area to illuminate the stairwell. I think a direct set glass sidelight wouldn't look right.

I am thinking of going with a full glass 18" wide wood slab. It will all be painted. I am concerned a bit with how they will look together, so I have been drawing up most of my ideas in AutoCAD to see how the proportions look. Asthetically, the biggest issue I can see is matching the top and bottom rail widths. I could probably get this customized on the sidelight to match, but not sure if it would break the budget. Custom quotes from Simpson take forever.

Gary in WA

I'd go with stock and spend the money saved on a light tunnel...

Gary

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