Seeking suggestions on upcycled front door project
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:51 pm
As many of you know, I love restoring stuff, giving it new life, reusing materials. Keeps stuff out of the landfill, and is relaxing/enjoyable and creative.
Material cost on this was under $20. A lot of labor, but of the enjoyable type.
New project and suggestions sought:
Seeking suggestions on what to put on the top corners. They are about 6"x6" or so. I'm thinking blocks of polished aluminum, maybe gargoyles or lions or heads thereof, or fancy stone squares... thoughts or suggestions?
I picked up a very ugly door painted puke green on one side, water damaged on the other. But the door was solid wood, perfect glass, and plenty of restoration potential. Free. I picked up a pile of free PIF fruitwood/cherry reclaimed molding off some expensive furniture. I had some nice brass hinges looking for a new use. And a gallon of wood colored stain, I think was a mistint gallon - a good tip to swing by the paint sections at HD/Lowes if you are not picky on a paint/stain color. I had some short 4x6 beams left over from my shed build project last summer. I had a nice stainless matching deadbolt and handle from a garage sale for a few dollars several summers ago, that I had no use for. I had some leftover cherry flooring that matched the color very well, so I used that hardwood around exposed framing areas to really make it look great and a layer of hardening/insulation and security.
There was no room to install a storm/security door against the front door due to the door design, so I removed the molding and framed the storm/security door out about 3" with 4x6 beams. Hung the door. Used the fruitwood moulding around the door frame. I didn't have quite enough to go across the top, so I left the corners open for something creative to be determined.
Sanded and stained the door. Stainless hardware doesn't match the brass hinges, so I'm going to replace the brass when I can with stainless hinges. I think I have 3 around here somewhere in a parts drawer, but I just put the brass in as it was handy and I was needing to get it hung fast.
I installed the door right before winter, and there was a drastic improvement in insulation. It also provides another layer of security to the front door, which is a comfort. And I can leave the steel door open during the day, and allow natural light in, and still have a layer of security. All-in-all I'm very happy with the results for under $20 in materials.
Material cost on this was under $20. A lot of labor, but of the enjoyable type.
New project and suggestions sought:
Seeking suggestions on what to put on the top corners. They are about 6"x6" or so. I'm thinking blocks of polished aluminum, maybe gargoyles or lions or heads thereof, or fancy stone squares... thoughts or suggestions?
I picked up a very ugly door painted puke green on one side, water damaged on the other. But the door was solid wood, perfect glass, and plenty of restoration potential. Free. I picked up a pile of free PIF fruitwood/cherry reclaimed molding off some expensive furniture. I had some nice brass hinges looking for a new use. And a gallon of wood colored stain, I think was a mistint gallon - a good tip to swing by the paint sections at HD/Lowes if you are not picky on a paint/stain color. I had some short 4x6 beams left over from my shed build project last summer. I had a nice stainless matching deadbolt and handle from a garage sale for a few dollars several summers ago, that I had no use for. I had some leftover cherry flooring that matched the color very well, so I used that hardwood around exposed framing areas to really make it look great and a layer of hardening/insulation and security.
There was no room to install a storm/security door against the front door due to the door design, so I removed the molding and framed the storm/security door out about 3" with 4x6 beams. Hung the door. Used the fruitwood moulding around the door frame. I didn't have quite enough to go across the top, so I left the corners open for something creative to be determined.
Sanded and stained the door. Stainless hardware doesn't match the brass hinges, so I'm going to replace the brass when I can with stainless hinges. I think I have 3 around here somewhere in a parts drawer, but I just put the brass in as it was handy and I was needing to get it hung fast.
I installed the door right before winter, and there was a drastic improvement in insulation. It also provides another layer of security to the front door, which is a comfort. And I can leave the steel door open during the day, and allow natural light in, and still have a layer of security. All-in-all I'm very happy with the results for under $20 in materials.
