Few architectural features signal “This is a home of distinction” more than an 8-foot entry door. The majestic size hints at the grandeur within, helping to score a winning first impression with home buyers.

That curbside magic also comes with a less desirable characteristic: callbacks for door slab warping, twisting, and bowing.

The building science is clear: Securing an 8-foot entry door with a single mid-rail latch point puts exceptional stress at the header and sill. Wind, moisture, and temperature extremes exert forces that often deform those vulnerable areas. It’s not unusual to see 8-foot entry door manufacturers and pre-hung shops note warranty exceptions or mandate multi-point locks as a tall door solution.

If you feature 8-foot entry doors on your properties, you know the risks and limitations. If you’re considering adding a larger entry door, it’s good to know a simple preventative measure dramatically mitigates callbacks.

“Eight-foot entry doors are becoming commonplace,” says Steven Bayer. Bayer and his family own and operate Bayer Built Woodworks, a 40-year-old company that manufactures and distributes pre-hung wood, fiberglass, and steel entry door systems throughout an eight-state region in the upper Midwest.

End Exposure Risk

“A single mid-rail latching point leaves lots of exposure in the top and bottom door corners. That risks the door going out of square and performing poorly. If you want any sort of warranty that works for an 8-foot entry door, you have to have a multi-point lock on it. I know some folks try to get by without one,” Bayer says. “Believe me, they’ll wish they hadn’t.”

Bayer says his firm receives far fewer warranty claims with a multi-point lock on the door. “We won’t back an 8-foot entry door without one. It’s not performance-certified for bowing, twisting, and warping. A multi-point on the door is performance-certified,” he says.

If all a multi-point lock did was safeguard door performance, that would be one thing. But next-gen multi-points now redefine the category, putting to bed concerns over installation, cost, and hardware compatibility. Bayer points to Panolock+ Multi-Point Lock from building products manufacturer Endura as the industry breakthrough, citing:

• Security. “Three latch points beats one. It’s valuable extra security, especially for families,” says Bayer. For example, impact/forced entry resistance is tested to grade 40 for the Panolock+ system.
• Energy Savings. Three secure latches across the slab plane secure the door tight against the frame, weather sealing outside heat and cold like no single lock can. Air infiltration and exfiltration is tested to A2 with Panolock+.
• Home Design Flexibility. Electronic deadbolts? Off the shelf hardware? Knob, lever, or thumb press handset? Bayer says the Panolock+ Multi-Point Lock is compatible with all the top hardware styles and brands, including Schlage, Kwikset, Emtek, Defiant, Reliabilt, among many others. No dedicated hardware required.

You could risk 8-foot entry door performance on a single lock system. But why would you when there’s a proven, adaptable multi-point lock solution? Consider a Panolock+ system on 8’ entry door systems.

Learn more about multi-point lock 8-foot entry door resilience, security, energy savings, and design flexibility with Panolock+ Multi-Point Locks from Endura.