Sunday, January 18, 2009
Au Revoir, Frenchies!
Those of you familiar with my house have seen the bain of my existence on multiple occasions. I thought these would be the first thing I'd change in my house. Alas, 3.5 years later and they were still here.
A front door says a lot about a house. I think that's one of the reasons why many folks are willing to part with thousands of dollars for a door they may only walk through several times per year.
Well, the practical side of me is unwilling to spend thousands of dollars on a door I only walk through a handful of times per year. Not when there are concrete block walls, patios, and bathrooms to spend that money on. As my basic carpentry skills have improved, I've been more and more willing to try making customized things. And here's the result:
Before
After
Is it perfect? No, I think it's a little overscaled (but that will change with the addition of other landscape elements). I can also now say the doors are no longer the worst things in my front yard. Anyhow, here's a breakdown of the costs:
A front door says a lot about a house. I think that's one of the reasons why many folks are willing to part with thousands of dollars for a door they may only walk through several times per year.
Well, the practical side of me is unwilling to spend thousands of dollars on a door I only walk through a handful of times per year. Not when there are concrete block walls, patios, and bathrooms to spend that money on. As my basic carpentry skills have improved, I've been more and more willing to try making customized things. And here's the result:
Before
AfterIs it perfect? No, I think it's a little overscaled (but that will change with the addition of other landscape elements). I can also now say the doors are no longer the worst things in my front yard. Anyhow, here's a breakdown of the costs:- $6, In-N-Out for my friend Dan, who lent his truck and helped with sawing
- $20, two 4x8 sheets of 0.250" Luan plywood
- $5, 1x2-8 select pine for gap trim piece
- $11, custom-mixed quart of Behr exterior flat paint in red
- $2, tube of construction adhesive
- $7, Blu-Mol 2.125" hole saw drill bit
- $52, new Schlage deadbolt and "Orbit" knob in Satin Chrome
- TOTAL: $103 to not be completely embarrassed by my front door
