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Overall I would have to say this door is a well thought out design. That being said, I would like to meet the boob (engineer) that designed the thru-wall mounting screws!First off the threaded inserts that accept the thru-wall screws are only press fit into the frame. Mechanically, this is poor design, the inserts are only being held in by friction from a relatively thin piece of aluminum.It would be a much better design if each side of these pieces had a shoulder on each side of them. Two popped out during installation and had to be JB Welded back into place! The other brain-fart comes in the form of the actual screws. They are designed to be used on walls of different thicknesses so in order to fit it to your wall you may need to cut them to length, fine. The problem is the screw heads thread onto the rods, when tightening the screws the area with the least resistance is the screw heads. The heads actually spin instead of the stud spinning and threading into the other side, eventually the stud inteferes with the head causing your screwdriver to cam-out! VERY FRUSTRATING!!! This problem also can be easily solve if the company provided a thread locking compound. I was out of loktite so JB Weld to the rescue again. These problems, although minor, added a lot of unexpected time to the install. Please note, I am NOT bashing this product, I actually would recommend it. The design of the flaps is far superior to the standard Johnson type flap we had. I think the door will serve us well for many years to come, I just wish they would correct these minor flaws. If you do buy it make sure you've got some thread locking compound and an adhesive suitable for those inserts should the come off, good luck!
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I have used dog doors for many years, and have always installed them myself. This is the fifth different brand/style of dog door that I have used. It is not the easiest to install, nor the most difficult. I will say that it would be easier to install the door with a helper. I did it alone. Lining up the long screws proved to be quite a challenge, but do-able. You should be somewhat handy, or get the help of a freind that is.Once the door is installed it is truly the best. Mine has been in use for about a year now. Because of the location of my door I have always had problems with the wind blowing it open. No more. This door seals and seals well. Strong winds do not move it. It also insulates much better than any other door that I have had. 101 degree heat or below freezing, the door does not 'leak'. I no longer feel a large temperature difference near the dog door. In the past I have used single piece flaps and two part flaps, flaps with magnets, flaps with 'brushes'. None have sealed or held up as well as this door.
Other doors usually have screws holding the flaps in place. Over time the movement of the flaps causes the screws to loosen or fall out. The unique hinge system on the Endura door eliminates this problem. So far, the flaps are not showing the wear that I have seen in other doors: no warping, no cracking, no stiffening or discoloration.
Both of my dogs are used to dog doors. The double flap Endura did not take much adjustment. I removed some of the magnets for the first couple of days, to reduce the amount of pressure required to open the door. I quickly (day three or four) replaced all the magnets in both flaps and the dogs fly through with no issues.
Finally, I am impressed with the locking cover. I have had a dog open a 'locked' Johnson Pet Door in the past, the metal 'locking' cover just bent and popped out of the frame. Neither of my dogs have been able to come through the Endura when I put the cover on.
I have recommended the product to freinds, and will continue to do so.
The door clearly gets five stars for being the best ever door once installed. If I were to rate only the installation, it would get a three. Installation of this door is average difficulty compared to others that I have done. I can't let installation influence my overall rating, though, as I don't think you can find a better door for durability, insulation and security.
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We have large dogs along with cats. We do not want the cats outside. How do you accomplish this?I was resigned to complicated electronic solutions, which would require our dogs to each wear collars. We'd also have to maintain batteries in collars and in the electronic door system. And they are not foolproof, if you read the reviews. Some of these electronic dog doors cost over a thousand dollars! Yikes.
I resisted buying these things, and came across this dog door. Sounded great. The larger sizes with double flaps can be costly, but the medium to small size was more reasonable. In addition, the description promised a high-quality construction with solid materials. I've had other dog and cat doors, and this alone would be worth it; just tired of crappy plastic stuff.
This is a great door. Installation was a breeze. And the doors themselves are very solid. I would call them commercial grade. I was very pleased when I pulled them out of the box and saw how substantial they were. Any plastic is not structural.
We bought the double flap. This means instead of one frame with a flap and one frame without a flap, you get two frames with flaps, essentially duplicates except one side accepts the attachment screws, and should be used on the outside (you don't want a thief to be able to pry off the screw hole covers and expose the heads of the phillips screws allowing removal).
The door works great. The flap mechanism is substantial and effective. They secure with a firm "click" of the magnets. I feel like my door is still secure and weatherproof, even with these things on. And the appearance is of quality, not some cheap plastic.
About going in and out of the door: If your dogs are the least bit reticent, it will take some training. The magnetic closure is secure and it takes a significant push to free the flap. Twice that with double flaps. But with diligent training I think any dog will take to the door. Lots of treats and help until they go in and out without a second thought.
About cats: A big deterrent for buying those electronic doors, in addition to the collars and batteries and expense and maintenance, was the reviews that said smart cats still find a way to get out! Either they hang out at the door until the dogs go through and take advantage of the opportunity, or they learn to signal the dogs to open the door for them! Yikes again. Here I could have purchased an expensive plastic electronic assembly and found out it still let the cats out. Thank you reviewers for pointing this out.
Cats will not get out this door, unless they are tigers. It's just too hard to push through; especially the double flap. Indeed, the box or instructions state 'not for cats'. (Keep in mind we are using the large size 10 with double flaps. Your experience might vary for smaller doors with single flaps and single-minded, strong cats.)
Anyhow, our cat hasn't even attempted to get out. I am very pleased with this door and recommend it highly. Even without cats I would get this door. It sort of puts the others to shame.
Note: A reviewer said they had problems aligning the screws. Well, I've had to align screws hundreds of times, in more difficult scenarios; this one just wasn't a big deal. Put the door on a flat surface, like a workbench (not strung between two saw horses, which is how you cut the hole). Try using a flashlight, shining a light into the hole, adjusting so the screw hole appears lined up, and slide the screw in straight. We didn't even have to use the flashlight, just squared the doors more or less equally on the opening and the screws found their holes readily. It was straight forward.
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This was the best investment in pet doors we have ever made. We've had this door for almost 2 years now and I'm sure it has more than paid for itself in terms of energy savings as well as replacement parts.The door itself is pretty standard, I do like that it is metal and not plastic as it's easier to clean. The flap is still in great shape and we were going through flaps for the pet safe doors (several versions) about ever 6 mo as our dogs like to charge through the door. I was concerned about the wind, this was by far our biggest complaint in other brands, we get 60+ mph wind gusts regularly and it would always come open, not this one. Also we have not had a single mouse in the house since purchasing this door, which leads me to believe they were getting in through the dog door.
Instalation was not an issue for us, we had to re-cut the hole we had existing in our metal insulated door and it was all pretty easy, took about 2 hrs to get it re-cut and fully installed. It's taller and more narrow that most other doors so we specifically had to make sure this door would be larger than our existing hole. I think the only down side we've had is that my 2 year old (and 4 year old) can easily fit through the large size and often head outside to play without telling me first. All in all I would very much recomend this product.
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