A New Door For An Old House

After we ripped out the concrete porch which I mentioned in my April story, we started to think about getting a new front door. The door we have right now is an old French door that sticks when you try to open it and once open is nearly impossible to close again. It doesn’t help matters that Lynn broke one of the panes last winter and stuck a piece of cardboard on the bottom to keep out the critters and the cold.

Above the door was also an old transom with what originally might have been delicately etched glass but over time simply looked dirty. On the outside of the French doors were some screen doors that wouldn’t properly close and during quite a few wind storms would rattle and bang about.

We knew we wanted to get rid of the French doors and the screen but really tried to save the transom. This didn’t happen. First and foremost, we couldn’t find anyone to build us a custom door in this size. Why I don’t know but it wasn’t an option. Second, even with ripping the doors and the transom out, a new door and two new side panels cost nearly as much as a couple of used cars I’ve seen for sale in the area.

So we ordered a new door May 30th and nearly 7 weeks later it arrived and was ready to be installed.

Here’s what the outside of the house looked like before the new door.

Here’s what the front of the house looks like now with our new door installed.

We hope to have new siding by the end of the year and plan to get rid of the ugly white shutters and replace them with a few black ones on the first floor. This I think should bring the look of the house together.

We also need to figure out how one would get into the front of the house if one had too.  Obviously we need some stairs but is it stupid to think about having a porch or small deck built especially when we just ripped one out?

Inside the house, with the transom gone, the installers left us with some plywood that needs to be drywalled and painted and moulding needs to be added as well. Since Lynn is still working on the wainscoting on the other side of the staircase, this area will probably be his “office” for the next week or so.

While I know some people might have attempted to try and salvage the appearance of the house as it was forever and ever, I’m glad that we are totally changing the way the Red House looks both on the inside and the outside. There were too many families before us that neglected this wonderful old house and at this point I think we can do whatever we want to in order to make the house reflect us.

While I do miss the original columns that were in the front of the house (even though one of the columns at the end didn’t match), I definitely don’t miss the broken concrete, the peeling paint and the strange oversized pediment the columns were supporting.

I saved two of the columns anyway – maybe one day they can be artistically “arranged” for a Red House sculpture garden!

The meadow (freshly mowed no less) is just waiting for them…