How Chad Crenshaw Engineered a Better Iron Door
Chad Crenshaw
Most iron door companies don’t make anything.
They pick styles from a supplier’s catalog. They place an order. A container shows up from overseas. They slap their logo on it and sell it as “custom.”
Chad Crenshaw looked at that model and saw everything wrong with it.
The Problem With Most Iron Doors
- Doors that leak air because the frame tolerances are loose
- Doors that rust because the coating was done to save cost, not to last
- Doors that don’t seal properly because the astragal is an afterthought
- Hinges that sag within a few years because the weight wasn’t calculated for the frame
Chad's Approach: Engineer Everything From Scratch
- He designed his own steel and aluminum extrusion molds — the actual tooling that shapes every frame
- He developed patented construction methods for how the door, frame, and hardware integrate as a system
- He engineered the Double-T astragal — the component that eliminates the draft gap between double doors where other companies leave a weak point
- He specified 10-gauge cold rolled steel as the standard — not because it was cheapest, but because it was right
Why Patents Matter in the Door Business
From Engineering to Manufacturing: Owning the Process
Designing a better door is one thing. Making sure it gets built right every time is another.
That’s why Chad didn’t stop at engineering. He took ownership of the manufacturing itself.
- He maintains ownership interests in manufacturing operations — not supplier relationships, ownership
- Every weld specification, thermal break, and coating process follows his engineering standards
- The extrusion molds in the factory? Chad designed them. They’re his tooling, not the factory’s
This is the difference between a company that places orders and a company that controls production. When something needs to change — a tighter tolerance, a better finish, a new glass integration — Chad makes the call. There’s no negotiation with a third-party factory. It’s his operation.
What You Feel When You Touch the Door
Engineering specs are great on paper. But the proof is in the product.
Walk into any of Love That Door’s four DFW showrooms and do what Chad tells every visitor to do: touch the door.
- Feel the weight of 10-gauge cold rolled steel
- Run your hand along the frame and feel the precision of the fit
- Close the door and listen for the seal — no rattle, no gap, no daylight
- Look at the finish — triple-coat paint over galvanized, zinc-coated steel
That’s what 25 years of engineering gets you. Not a prettier brochure. A better door.
The Bottom Line
Most door companies are sales operations with a showroom. Love That Door is an engineering company with four showrooms.
The difference is Chad Crenshaw — the guy who holds the patents, owns the manufacturing, and still signs off on the engineering. When your name is on the product, you build it different.