Are there safety bumpers to prevent it snapping back in the housing too fast.Does it bind if a child tries to open the door down low ? Pay attention to the glides at the top and bottom of the movable bar. Check the demonstrator model in the store to see how well it slides.With the increasing popularity of these doors, more local glass shops may take an interest in stocking parts and taking on repair jobs for them. This could be a problem if the manufacturer is not local or worse, goes out of business. One drawback to these doors is that if the cloth ever does get ripped, you generally have to return it to the manufacturers premises to get it repaired. So long as you have a door for which the retractable door was designed, you will be fine.
Retractable doors are held on by only a few screws and they are not a difficult project to install by the do-it-your-selfer. So long as fido does not see a squirrel and blast through it like an express train the retractable door will spring back into place. In normal use these screens will work fine Since the screening is held tight by spring pressure they can tolerate a person or a pet walking into it without breaking. They lock closed with a magnetic catch so you can leave the main door open and allow air to come in. Retractables pull out from the side just like a window blind. Retractable screen doors are a great choice for main entrance doors where you dont like the look of a storm door but still want to have air circulation during the times you leave the door open.