So we're one step closer to replacing our exterior doors. We got a ridiculous quote from Pella, and after that got another much more reasonable quote from a contractor recommended by one of DH's coworkers/friends that is using him currently. He came out and was great - very familiar with old houses and talked specifics about which trim he would remove and how to replace it easiest to maintain the look of the house. We're waiting for clarification if the number he wrote on his business card for install is total or per door (cross your fingers for total!) before making a final decision, but either way he was at least 50% less than Pella.
Anyway, assuming we go for it, we need to pick new doors and hardware. And I'm having an awful time. They don't make doors like our current front doors - a horizontal panel at the top, square window, 3 lower horizontal panels below. Our back door doesn't match the front. None of the hardware matches each other.
We want the new doors to "go" with the old house, though. Specifically, we like the window that's eye level - not a full half window and not just a little dinky decorative thing at the top. With new doors, this limits us to Craftsman style. This is ok, right? The house is a Victorian farmhouse, but really more farmhouse than Victorian. I can't picture the ornate glass Victorian doors on this place, and it's not really our personal style either.
So, I'm thinking a basic Craftsman door, plain glass window, and a dentil trim detail below the glass. Does this sound ok? We're also leaning towards painting the doors, and not doing a stained fiberglass. We love the wood look, but I don't think light wood is too close to the yellow trim and dark wood is too close to the purple house. I think I prefer the look of the mid-tone green on this house. Am I nuts?
And lastly - we are planning on 1-lite glass on the front 2 doors, since they have storm doors with fake divided lights in front of them that match the windows. But the back has no storm door. Should we do the same 1-lite as the front, a 3-lite to match the rectangular shape of the windows (requires buying a more expensive door to get this option), or 6-lite squares because the top of the window is also a 6-lite?
Personally, I would not do Craftsman on your house--especially not with the dentil detail. Craftsman was a reaction against the heavy, bulky, manufactured Victorian. Since I'm saying it's a bad idea, I should list other options, but I don't have any (right now). Let me think about this.
Is there a specific reason you are replacing the doors? I would look for something that is as close to what you have already or, if the doors are in good shape and they are the same measurements, why not move the unmatching door to the front and have the back and side match?
Is there a specific reason you are replacing the doors? I would look for something that is as close to what you have already or, if the doors are in good shape and they are the same measurements, why not move the unmatching door to the front and have the back and side match?
The doors are not in good shape. They are warped, the frames are warped, and the mismatch is up to half an inch. The bottom of the back door is rotting away. We have layers of weather stripping, but it doesn't keep out all drafts. Also, the hardware is all mortise lock set skeleton keys and they are barely functional and leak a lot of air as well. I'm tired of plugging the holes with cotton balls all winter and tired of having 3 different huge, heavy keys on my key ring. We have used all the replacement parts we have in the house, and the next time something breaks we'll be forced to search for $$$ replacement parts to fix them, and there's no one local that will make skeleton replacement keys anymore. They're also easy to pick, so added security of a normal key is a plus.
We have looked for something like what we have already, but they just aren't made. We'd have to go a completely custom route with another solid wood door, and that is way overpriced for our neighborhood. The house isn't a registered historic home, so while we do our best to maintain the integrity of the house, we are not going to sink so much money into something with no chance at return. It's a money pit enough already. The closest we can get to match are the Crafstman doors that have a similar proportionally sized window, just with vertical panels under the window instead of horizontal. The only horizontal panel doors I have found are 1/2 or 3/4 windows. We'd like to avoid a larger window because 2 of the doors face west and we bake in the summer time as it is. I'd love to find fiberglass doors like the front ones we have now, but we've checked every retailer we have found and no one has anything similar.
You may be better off ordering a more plain-looking style door with a single large lite and then buying a more Victorian-style screen door from someplace like Vintage Woodworks if you want it to look more in line with the style of your house.
I agree w/ munkii. When I was looking at the close-ups of your doors, I thought ok, maybe with the craftsman/dentil idea, but then I saw the whole front porch and thought NO, definitely not. Especially the dentil molding. It would look so inconsistent with the detailing on your porch.
We recently put a craftsman 6 pane front door on our 80's colonial, and I like it, but I'm glad I decided against the dentil molding below the glass:
I think the dentil molding really only works on a craftsman style house.
I don't love the victorian ornate glass look either, so I might look for something more neutral in style. I don't know, maybe something like...
Post by InBetweenDays on Oct 30, 2014 11:55:00 GMT -5
I agree with the others that I wouldn't do Craftsman on that house. Do you have any architectural salvage yards around? They may have a doors of that style - although it may be prohibitively expensive to have them cut to fit your frames.
Post by mrs.jacinthe on Oct 30, 2014 12:20:42 GMT -5
I adore that back door. And I agree with the others. The craftsman style and specifically the craftsman proportions of glass-to-wood would look wrong there.
Also ... I'd ditch or paint the storm doors. I realize that they "match" the windows, but they look very ... 80s. Maybe a coat of paint in the same color as the door would be helpful, or maybe not.
Also ... I'd ditch or paint the storm doors. I realize that they "match" the windows, but they look very ... 80s. Maybe a coat of paint in the same color as the door would be helpful, or maybe not.
Agreed.
When you replace the doors, too, I'd either ditch the storm doors or replace with ones where the window kind of matches the window size/shape/placement of the door behind it, or full glass, or something. Right now they look a bit added-on, and there seems to be a bit of door/storm door mismatch. I opted to just ditch the storm door on our front. I'm much happier, and I think it looks a lot better. I realize they have certain purposes (that I don't appreciate), but a big part of me thinks, what's the point of an awesome front door if no one can see it behind a storm door?
That first door you posted Susie is one of the ones we are considering in the Craftsman line - either that one or the one with 3 raised vertical panels and the window at the top. (I've been looking at a few different brands, so I think the 3 panel isn't Thermatru but some other company's door.)
Our porch has dentil detailing, which is why I thought about it for the door, but I will nix that from the plan.
Do you all like this door better, with the larger window? I really am not keen on bigger windows, but it does do the horizontal panel above and below at least.
We use the storm doors, so we're hesitant to ditch them completely although I'd love the look. They function fine, so replacement isn't in the cards this year although I can paint them. The opening would match up more with this door, at least... Or maybe we just see how obnoxious it is to leave them off. We bring in firewood from the porches 1-2 times a week all winter and it's in and out the door a lot, and the self-closing, open out hinges are much more convenient for that process.
I also put in a request for quote on the doors from Vintage Doors that InBetweenDays posted, but given the much lower energy efficiency I'm not sure it'll be worth it for us. I'd rather have the numbers, though, to be sure.
We also bring our firewood in through that door (the front) and I actually think it's easier without the storm door. It's not like just letting the storm door swing closed in the winter is sufficient, and I get my heel scraped up a lot less often without a storm door swinging shut on my heel while I go through the entry door. But YMMV.
I like the door you posted, but my concern with that would be security. Our old front door had a big window, and I never liked the fact that someone could break the glass and reach through to the tumbler and unlock the door to let themselves in. I feel more secure with a smaller window that is not w/in arms reach of the lever/lock.