February 24, 2010

The Front Door

Does it seem to anyone else as though the big parts of a project seem to go a whole lot quicker than the nitpicking finishing up stuff? We've been working on the finishing details of our dining room, but it's the little things that seem to have gotten us bogged down. Even so, the dining room to-do list however, has gotten mighty short:
  • put hinges and knobs on cabinet doors & hang
  • paint and replace vent cover
  • hang decorative stuff on walls
Seems like we ought to be able to knock that out in a day!

Along with finishing the dining room, is finishing the living room, because we sanded, stained, and finished both floors together. Considering the rooms are visually connected, the projects do go hand in hand somewhat.

Besides the floor, the other thing the living room needs is paint. It was painted the same stark white as the kitchen, hall, hall bath, and dining rooms. I can only live with so much whiteness.

In contemplating all that, we made an observation about the front door.

Our ugly ol' front doorThe strips of white you see on the left is daylight! And this is with weatherstripping. When the wind's blowing, guess what. We can catch the breeze from the discomfort of our own living room. No wonder our house has been so cold this winter.

Well, we went out and bought a new front door.

Our new, to be installed, front door.The good news about this one is that it's Energy Star rated and qualifies for an energy tax credit. I like it because it will not only stop drafts and breezes, but allow some much needed light into the room as well as. I do not like dark rooms.

Installing it will be a real job of work though. Our front door is smaller than the standard size, measuring 34 by 79 inches. Most new front doors all measure 36 by 80 inches, and this doesn't include the framing, which will necessitate making a larger opening to install it. This creates a couple of problems.

One problem with putting in the wider door are the light switches. The switch box is too close to the door and will have to be moved.

The other problem is the fact that in the living room walls are 3/4" cement board. All of them. While it's not impossible to cut cement board, it's not as easy as drywall not to mention makes a heck of a lot of dust!!!! :(

We'll need warmer weather before we can work with a big hole in the living room, so as soon as we finish up the dining room, we'll get started on the bathroom. Expect to see more on both of these projects sometime this summer.

The Front Door copyright February 2010
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

place while researching my own tiny bathroom renovation.
http://www.signaturehardware.com
No affiliation, just found lots of interesting options for small bathrooms.

Anonymous said...

Hi Leigh,

I found this place while researching my own tiny bathroom renovation.

http://www.signaturehardware.com

No affiliation, just found lots of interesting options for small bathrooms. Thought you might find it useful for idea-generation!

Anonymous said...

Yikes -- sorry, don't know what happened!

Benita said...

It's a lovely front door - what color are you going to paint it?

Look on the bright side - next winter ought to be warmer in your living room with a door that seals well.

Theresa said...

Leigh, I think remodeling is a slippery slope! But what a beautiful door. If it's metal, and you go to paint it, no matter what they say, buy special primer for metal and prime it before you paint.
We had our front door made because I insisted on a wood one and wanted a certain layout for the windows in it. In the old MA house it had the original doors (2) with beautiful oval windows so instead of replacing we had someone come and rebuild the frames so weatherstripping would work properly. Cost a small fortune because the wood doors were much thicker than what they build now but so worth it. Good luck with all the work around the door, it WILL be so worth it with the energy savings and the joy that lovely door will bring!

maggie said...

The new door will be wonderful. The thing I like most about my front door is the amount of light it lets through. But gosh, why were the walls done in cement board? Moisture issues? I'd be tempted to replace the sections involved if the thickness and finished surface would be the same.

Over here, I'm trying to psych myself up to learn how to replace a floor board thanks to a very naughty girl dog and a boy dog who really needs to learn when it's appropriate to tattle.

Julie said...

Love those tax credits we got one on our pellet stove!

The door is going to look great!

bspinner said...

We have matching front doors. Ours started out with a brown wood grain over the summer half of it turned completely black from the sun hitting it. It's on the west side and gets direct sun nothing else we could do but paint it white which looks nicer anyway.

Renee Nefe said...

oh burrr! If you aren't using the front door, I would tape the cracks shut until you can get to installing the new door. If you are using the front door, I would consider not using it until you get it replaced.

I think it doesn't matter how old your house is, the little projects seem to keep coming. We have all these long term goals and then we have something just up and break. DH replaced the thermostat just the other night...but it is so much nicer now. ahhh!

Leigh said...

Ali, looks like Blogger wasn't cooperating, *lol. I just ordered our corner pedestal sink from Signature Hardware so I am very happy to hear you give it a good recommendation. It's nice to know we're doing business with a reputable company.

Benita, I think the outside will be brick red, assuming I still follow through with my same house color scheme. Inside will be a lighter off white to coordinate with the dining and living room colors.

I'm definitely looking forward to it's better insulation. Not only for next winter, but for this summer too.

Theresa, thanks for the tip on priming it. It is steel, so that's helpful. I admit that I would have preferred a Craftsman style door, but they were just too expensive, so we agreed on this one. Of course, we've already given up on true renovation. We're just going to make it a home we're happy with.

Maggie, I have no idea why they put cement board in the entire living room and actually dining room too. I can understand the wall the fireplace was on, but the rest of it? For the moment we're just going to make do with it.

Julie we got one for our woodstove too! They are kind of like a pat on the back for good choices.

Barb, curious about your door blackening in the sun. I think white would be a good color for a sun exposed door anyway.

Renee, you're right about those projects. I guess that's just part of home ownership. :)

Robin said...

Hmmm, I don't know. I think the whole project goes long for us, not just the last finishing touches. Once Lee has done something before then it goes a lot faster.

I had to smile at the gap on your door. You don't want to even see our gaps. I'm really looking forward to replacing our doors but it is a bit down on our list. We have so much to do inside the house still that we don't want to accidentally bang up a brand new door while carrying things inside.

Once you get your new door installed it will be so nice. I am in agreement with you in having a window in the door for light. I hate dark rooms.

Sharon said...

I just noticed your new header photo - very cute. Are pullets the sweetest?? Love the front door for the same reason as you. We have sidelights by our front door. Must have light!

Flower said...

You found a great front door!! It will be nice to have that light and no draft!!
My stove just bit the dust....it's a slide-in downdraft Jenn-air. It's not a strong stove...no canning and the self-cleaning throws the electronics into stop mode. I wish we could find a simple electric stove with no electronics. Do you have any ideas?

Leigh said...

Robin, considering what you've shown us about your house, I can only imagine what the gaps in your door look like! Sounds like that will be one of your finishing touches!

Sharon, Thanks. Those little chickens are sweet, and they grow fast!

Dan really wanted sidelights but there just isn't enough room to put them, unless we replaced the living room windows with the door ensemble. But then I couldn't figure out where to put my couch! So, no sidelights.

Flower, I haven't researched new electric stoves. I absolutely hate the electronic ones, not only for the reasons you mention, but because once electronics and computers are involved, that's something more that can go wrong with them. Maybe a good quality used one?

Spindrifters said...

I like your new door - I like doors with windows in them because you can see who is on the other side - very pretty - good luck with all your projects! T.

Leigh said...

Thank you! Good point about windows in doors. Those little peep holes don't often show too much. It'll be a chore to get it installed, but I will like it so much better than the old one. :)

Life Looms Large said...

That is a gorgeous new front door!! We have a similar one actually - with an arched glass window. I love it!!

It's true....those millions of niggling finish details can really chew up time!

Sue