An Exterior Door Project

[John TenEyck]

I built this exterior door and frame for a friend of a friend.



It's 38" x 84" x 1-3/4". The 3/4" thick raised panels are independent inside and out so each can move independently with the seasons.



The lockset is from Craftsmen Hardware Company Ltd.. The escutcheons are hand hammered copper; the deadbolt and latch assembly are Baldwin. Very nice stuff.



I used Q-Lon weatherstripping around the perimeter of the door frame and a hidden bottom seal that fits to an ADA compliant sill screwed to the concrete threshold. My pro friend felt that was the best solution for dealing with the threshold which runs downhill on the lock side about 1/4" compared to the hinge side. I think it gives a nice, clean look compared to an adjustable sill.



The bottom of the frame and brick mold were coated with 5 minute epoxy before we set them in place to help protect them against the weather. This door faces due West and gets direct exposure to the elements.

The door is a LVL core with Sapele skins and is finished with Cetol Door and Window finish, done with a brush. The panels are removable from the inside for maintenance or if they ever need to be replaced. Rather than seal them into the frame with silicone to keep water out, which would make removing them pretty difficult, I omitted the silicone and drilled weep holes in the reveal of the bottom molding. I figure those can be cleaned out as needed with a pipe cleaner. Time will tell how this all works out. At this point, the owner is pretty darned happy with the new door. This is what we replaced:



John

[Jim Becker]

Really beautiful!

[Darin German]

Stunning. A truly beautiful door. Good job!

[Mel Fulks]

So well thought out. I especially like the moulded frame, existing situation is deserving of it. I would prefer a four panel door for better verticality. Think it would be more in keeping with the stone work. But sometimes they won't listen! Old door looks like a most inappropriate replacement .

[George Bokros]

Beautiful door. Great work John.

[Andrew Hughes]

Super nice John thanks for sharing.

[Jason Roehl]

Okay, I just went to the National ADA Symposium a month ago, so I have to ask--why did you use an ADA-compliant threshold?

Beautiful door.

[Art Mann]

I am impressed!

[John TenEyck]

Okay, I just went to the National ADA Symposium a month ago, so I have to ask--why did you use an ADA-compliant threshold?

Beautiful door.

I used the ADA compliant threshold and automatic door bottom because it looks better than an adjustable sill and would make it easier to walk over. The concrete threshold is too high and wide to step over as you enter or leave the house and you are pretty much forced to take a step on it to pass through. The low profile of the ADA compliant sill makes that easy to do.

John

[Metod Alif]

I met John about a year ago, thanks to this forum. We became good friends. I have seen this door 'gestating' in his workshop. The attention that he pays to his work is truly inspirational. I also have been watching the installation process (only a few houses from mine). The design was customer's but but the rest was John's. The door not only looks great but also operates flawlessly with a nice thump when it closes. The customer is beaming.
John, great job.
Metod

[John TenEyck]

[QUOTE=Mel Fulks;2701529]So well thought out. I especially like the moulded frame, existing situation is deserving of it. I would prefer a four panel door for better verticality. Think it would be more in keeping with the stone work. But sometimes they won't listen! Old door looks like a most inappropriate replacement .[/QUOT

Thanks very much everyone for the kind words. And a special thanks to Metod for all his help in installing this door as well as the arched French doors I did last Winter. As Metod mentioned, we've become good friends in a short time and owe our meeting in the first place to this forum.

Mel, I really liked the two panel design I was given to work with as the arch follows the arch in the stonework above the door. The old door was original to the 1920's house, but the original panels or more likely lites had been removed sometime along the way and the outside covered with some sort of cheap Masonite type product. On the inside a cheap 1/4" plywood panel had been installed and finished to sort of match the door frame. We were pretty surprised how light the whole thing was when we took it off the hinges. You know how you expect something to weight a lot and when it doesn't it feels really cheap. That was how this door felt. The new one has to be at least 120 lbs. and was the primary reason I didn't install the door panels until after the door was hung. And Metod is right. The new door has a very satisfying "thump" when it closes, the result of being very particular to make sure we got the lockside of the frame perfectly parallel with the door so the door hits the seal perfectly flush as it closes and adjusting the latch strike plate retainer for just the right amount of compression of the seal.

All in all this was a great project. I'm ready to tackle a new front door for my own house next Winter.

John

[Mel Fulks]

John, it's an excellent design and I did notice and admire how it blends in with the top and makes an urn out of the light. It's a long standing prejudice of mine probably caused by clock spandrels !

[Scott T Smith]

Very nice John (as always!)

[Jason Roehl]

I used the ADA compliant threshold and automatic door bottom because it looks better than an adjustable sill and would make it easier to walk over. The concrete threshold is too high and wide to step over as you enter or leave the house and you are pretty much forced to take a step on it to pass through. The low profile of the ADA compliant sill makes that easy to do.

John

That makes perfect sense, and I applaud the foresight--I see too little foresight in new construction projects sometimes. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why you would want an ADA-compliant threshold at the top of some steps (not to mention the door knob...).

[Patrick McCarthy]

John, as always, beautiful work and a nice photo commentary. Very much appreciate you sharing this with us, as it inspires me and, I'm sure, many others here as well. Patrick