The front door... where it all begins!

Welcome! Check out the entrance to our fabulous "new" abode! We lived in the house for nearly a year before attacking this project, even though the old door had cracks in the window, and a huge doggie door big enough for a man to crawl through. The reason we waited? Front doors are friggin' expensive!

We finally got the motivation for this project  after the junkie/ former owner showed up at our doorstep, twice, and asked when we changed the locks. After parking in our driveway and trying to open the door, he informed me that he used to be able to pick the lock with his thumbnail.
Old yucky door

After that episode, we also got a dog. Anyway, I wanted a solid wood door--and they are not so budget friendly. I kept thinking I'd stumble upon a Craigslist beauty, but that just didn't happen. I decided against a steel door because it can dent, and a fiberglass one with a fancy glass insert just doesn't go with the rustic facade of the house. So I scoured Craigslist for weeks... not wanting to spend hundreds on what was basically a piece of wood. Besides, I could easily refinish an older wood door in good shape. But, being that we have an older house, the frame is not square. Buying a used door without a frame would be much harder to fit into the space, we decided we needed a door that came with a frame, so in this one case, new was the way to go.

Sweeet new door.
New wood doors on a frame can cost thousands! I had no idea. We opted for an unfinished big box store special order in alder. We paid $399, which was a bargain. Sanding, staining and finishing it was a super pain-in-the-ass. All the nooks and crannies hold stain and polyurethane, and it is super heavy. We still don't have sawhorses, so I did it all while it was lying on the floor of the garage. I used Minwax Early American, and an outdoor urethane.



Front door with icicles!


The hardware is from handlesets.com. I tried two different sets at Home Depot and Lowes that didn't fit. I really really suggest NOT buying the "Smart Key" technology from Kwikset. After installing it, we proudly opened and closed our door for a day or so when it seized up and locked us out! Good old Google revealed that we were not the only ones with this problem. It is made for landlords I guess, who want to change the keys occasionally. It is faulty, and I boycotted Home Depot for at least a day for selling such crap.

After installing two sets of doorknobs, we had "extra" holes. My poor husband, expert driller of holes, was so ashamed. So much for DIY-- there is a very big learning curve to all this! We had to special order a handleset that has a big back plate to conceal our boo boos. In this case it definitely could have been done more cheaply, but we love how solid the iron looks and feels, and how beefy the door is. Finally we have a custom-looking door, a new lock, and peace of mind, all for around $600.

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