What Local Conditions Do
Most houses in Glastonbury went up between 1938 and 1990, with the median landing around 1973. That means a lot of openings were framed for doors and hardware that nobody builds the same way anymore - single-layer steel, narrower tracks, lighter springs sized for a different era of insulation standards. When you replace rather than repair, you're not swapping like for like. You're fitting a modern door into a 50-year-old rough opening, and that opening isn't always square anymore.
The cold is the other piece. This area sits in a severe cold climate band, which means winter isn't a one-week event - it's months of freeze-thaw cycling that works on weatherstripping, bottom seals, and any gap where the slab has settled away from the jamb. A door that seals fine in October can whistle by January once the concrete has shifted a sixteenth of an inch. If you're buying new, this is the argument for insulated panels and a good astragal, not a cosmetic upgrade - it's functional for where you live.
