Sunday, April 20, 2008

Closing one door, opening another...

Having been in our house for ten years, we figure it's time to change our front door. The picture below sums it up pretty sadly, it's a 1959 door that is painted and (as you get ever closer) ugly. When we did our kitchen remodel, we replaced our side and rear doors with fiberglass ones and were pretty happy with them.

S
o we are thinking of replacing our front door with a Thermatru American Style Collection door with the natural oak stain on the exterior (and painted white on the interior since our interior trim is white). We won't get the optional dentil shelf since it won't go with the style of our house. And the glass would be clear (again because we don't want it to be too missionary).

A
ny thoughts out there? Do you think this would look bad? Should we make the exterior of the door white? We don't plan on putting on a storm door-- do you think we should? Do you think we should paint white the trim around the exterior of our front door?


Our house with our ugly front door...


6 comments:

Fratzels said...

ThermaTru doors are great. Are you just ordering the door slab or are you ordering the jambs as well? If you order the whole frame make sure you order a WOOD sill instead of the plastic and aluminum ones. You'll thank me later if you go this route. Best of luck and great choice.

Paul D. said...

Thanks for the comment. I was planning on the non-wood jamb (don't want to have to paint and such). Is there a reason why you recommend getting the wood sill?

Jennifer said...

That door looks an awful lot like the one we just got at the salvage yard! It's amazing how styles recycle. I personally love the door... we are so excited about ours (which is 80 years old or so.)

Lots of doors are different colors on each side, so I wouldn't worry too much about that... my only caution about the stain side being OUTSIDE is that you will have to take more precautions and more upkeep keeping the wood nice (stain doesn't protect as well as paint).

Good luck with what you decide!

Paul D. said...

Hi Jennifer:
Saw your door and it looks great. I think some styles remain classic no matter what...perhaps its their proportions and the detail they exhibit.

Good point on the stain. We're going with a fiberglass door and would have the exterior finish done by the manufacturer, so I'm hoping that it holds up fairly well. I figure worst case is we just paint it someday if we have to. Thanks for mentioning this...we'll inquire more on this from the supplier.

Unknown said...

Barnaby,

You've certianly got the right idea. Fiberglass doors are by far the best route to go. They offer years of less of maintenance, increased energy efficiency, and the aesthetics of real wood.

Before you commit to the craftsman like door from ThermaTru you might want to check out the Masonite website. They also offer fiberglass doors. The site has a configurator that allows you to upload a picture of your own home and drop in any one of the doors they offer. Pretty cool.

See here: MASONITE

As for comments on style, while I love the look of the 3 panel craftsman I'm not so sure a stained look is right for your house. I know Masonite offers a Belleville door with a smooth surface. Check out the 3panel door with rectangle lite. I could easily see that in your home. I'd probably paint it a nice bold color to help bring some additional character to the front of the house.


Click here: Belleville 3Panel with Rectangle Glass

Best of luck,
J

Paul D. said...

Thanks for the comments Jason. I'll check out the Masonite site. I also know that Pella makes fiberglass doors too.

Although the door is ostensibly craftsman, we want to allow as much light as possible in through the door without someone easily being able to see in from the street. The Masonite Belleville window seems a bit too small. We want clear glass.

The bold color idea seems to make sense. Though figuring out what color to use, well that's the tough part.