Entry door design ideas and help!

[Gene Collison]

My house will soon be in need of a new front entry door. I have gotten estimates on replacement and most commercial door installers get about $2000 for a new 40" wide door. I looked at a few at some of the home centers and think that duplicating some of the designs would be fairly easy. I am thinking I could make a door frame using stub tenon joints with an arched rail at the top another rail at the bottom and in the center. The stiles and rails would be routed or dadoed to accept a 1/2" panel made from baltic birch. The panel would be decorated with small panels with a decorative edge. The door is not in the weather.
I would make the frame by gluing up 4/4 hardwood lumber for a total thickness of 1 1/2". After completion, I will skin the frame with 1/8" sheeting to get a thickness of 1 3/4" and trim up and finish as necessary.
Does this design seem feasible? What kind of wood should the hardwood be? I am thinking poplar, maybe mahogany would be better.
Am I all wet with my idea or? I am hoping Todd Burch will chime in here and give me his thoughts. Please feel free to throw all the stones you want .

Gene

[Todd Burch]

First, I am flattered. Second, I don't want to preclude anyone else replying.

I'll have to reply with my thoughts later tonight - got to spend some time with the family right now...

[Todd Burch]

Gene, I think that will be a fine design. I was concerned with the insulation aspects, but you live in sunny California, so never mind on that one! Stub tenons or loose tenons or dowels would all be fine. Since you are gluing up stock, you could actually use 3 layers of 1/2" thick stock, and both create a tenon and create a mortise by shifting the middle layer of wood accordingly.

Mahogany is a great door material because of it's stability. Since you are going to skim it over, you could get by with a lesser grade of mahogany. Vertical Grain Douglas Fir (VGDF) is also a good wood to use, and you probably have reasonable prices on it out there. Oak would be good too (quartersawn more stable that rift sawn, rift sawn more stable than flat sawn). Not sure I would use poplar, but if you are going to skim it over anyway, it probably would not matter. Poplar is a good stable wood too.

Last suggestion: make it a tad oversized and trim it to fit.

Lastly - most 1/8" sheeting is really only about 5mm, so check your sheeting material first if you are concerned with hitting 1¾" dead on.

Todd

[Walt Pater]

Gene, I'm going to try to send you an article on entry doors. PM me if you get it. Todd is right about VGDF. I know that Poplar is, well, popular, but I, at least, have not had good results with it, even in interiors, with heat/humidity changes. FWIW, Walt.

[Gene Collison]

Gene, I think that will be a fine design. I was concerned with the insulation aspects, but you live in sunny California, so never mind on that one! Stub tenons or loose tenons or dowels would all be fine. Since you are gluing up stock, you could actually use 3 layers of 1/2" thick stock, and both create a tenon and create a mortise by shifting the middle layer of wood accordingly.

Mahogany is a great door material because of it's stability. Since you are going to skim it over, you could get by with a lesser grade of mahogany. Vertical Grain Douglas Fir (VGDF) is also a good wood to use, and you probably have reasonable prices on it out there. Oak would be good too (quartersawn more stable that rift sawn, rift sawn more stable than flat sawn). Not sure I would use poplar, but if you are going to skim it over anyway, it probably would not matter. Poplar is a good stable wood too.

Last suggestion: make it a tad oversized and trim it to fit.

Lastly - most 1/8" sheeting is really only about 5mm, so check your sheeting material first if you are concerned with hitting 1¾" dead on.

Todd

Todd,

Thanks for putting your seal of approval on my design. You gave me some other ideas though. I am only adding the skin to build to the 1 3/4" dimension, that's what the present door is. Your 1/2" middle layer does my mortices for me by shifting as you say. That would aslo permit me to reveal the beautiful mahogany instead of the skin. I could plane the inner and outer lumber before glue up to attain the 1 3/4", what about that idea?
Would my whole plan of attack be similar to how you would do it or am I out of the loop so to speak? Thanks for your comments....

Gene

[Gene Collison]

Gene, I'm going to try to send you an article on entry doors. PM me if you get it. Todd is right about VGDF. I know that Poplar is, well, popular, but I, at least, have not had good results with it, even in interiors, with heat/humidity changes. FWIW, Walt.

Walt,

I would love to see that article on doors if you can send it. I will stay awa y from poplar.

Gene

[Todd Burch]

Gene, personally, I don't think I would fuss with the multiple layers myself. I'd buy 8/4 stock and just get after it. I would do the layer thing if I was working with an exotic and couldn't get thicker wood, but 8/4 mahogany is probably the most easy 8/4 to find. Either way you do it, you'll have a door you can be proud of for the life of the house.

[Chris Padilla]

Gene,

Here are a couple shots of my door. I am pretty sure it is straight-grained fir. The bottom finish has worn away a bit and it needs some TLC. Hopefully I'll get to it this summer.

Hmmm, maybe you'll inspire me to build one!

[Jim Becker]

Here are a couple shots of my door. I am pretty sure it is straight-grained fir. The bottom finish has worn away a bit and it needs some TLC.

That's a beaut, Chris.

[Gene Collison]

Gene, personally, I don't think I would fuss with the multiple layers myself. I'd buy 8/4 stock and just get after it. I would do the layer thing if I was working with an exotic and couldn't get thicker wood, but 8/4 mahogany is probably the most easy 8/4 to find. Either way you do it, you'll have a door you can be proud of for the life of the house.

Todd,

The only reason I went to layers is because several doors i looked at were made that way. But, with hindsite, they were probably hollow to save material. I went to the lumber yard today, they had plenty of 8/4 mahogany, that for sure would be easiest. Thanks.

Gene

[Gene Collison]

Gene,

Here are a couple shots of my door. I am pretty sure it is straight-grained fir. The bottom finish has worn away a bit and it needs some TLC. Hopefully I'll get to it this summer.

Hmmm, maybe you'll inspire me to build one!

That wouldn't be too difficult to make either, thanks for posting.

Gene

[Robert Ducharme]

Here are some more door concepts you could use.

These are solid oak.

The first (exterior) is about 9' wide - 2" thick.

The second is 6' wide - 1.75" thick

The third only 3' wide - 1.75" thick

[Gene Collison]

Here are some more door concepts you could use.

These are solid oak.

The first (exterior) is about 9' wide - 2" thick.

The second is 6' wide - 1.75" thick

The third only 3' wide - 1.75" thick

Robert,

Awesome, now that's a front door!!

Gene

[Alan Turner]

I am no door pro, but about 5 years ago I built 3 pairs of french strom doors, exterior of course, from mahogany, and even at a finished thickness of 1.125", they are still stright and true. And, they were a bit taller than standard. All 3 pairs were different sizes, ranginging from 7"-2" to 7'-4". There are 4 "panels", the bottom of which is 5/4 mah,. raised, and the top 3 are glass (the 2 middle ones are temered). Even with a southern exposure on 2 pair, in SE Pa., they have not needed any further finish work. I used Potasium dichromate for color, and three coats of a good spar varnish, but I can't recall the brand (McCloskeys, perhaps). Mahogany is always a pleasure to work with, and not terribly spendy, as such things go.
Alan