I hate my front door! (vinyl, Home Depot, Lowes, windows)

[fierce_flawless]

How hard is it to replace it?

I hate the front door. Previous owners put it in right before selling. Probably tossed a perfectly good, historically authentic door to do it (the house was built around 1915)... since they did that sort of thing with the rest of the house (including removing french doors and the clawfoot tub)....

It's actually a rather expensive front door, I've priced it at Lowe's and such, but I cannot stand it because it has a decorative glass panel in front where the glass is cut in such a way that it's really super hard to look through. Looks like you're looking into a kaleidoscope. Because it runs down the center there is no peephole and I could put one in off to one side but it would look stupid (IMO, no offense intended if you have an off-center peephole on YOUR door )...plus it is just too modern for the look of the house. Ditto the modern storm door in front of it. I want something that people can't see shadows through (you can't pretend to not be home with this door, lol), and that I can install a normal peep hole in.

So I'd like to replace it but I don't want to pay anyone to install it or whatever right now. Is it something people can just do or does it require a pro? If so, I'll wait. I've dealt with it for almost 2 years now anyway...

I also found an old wooden screen door that I'd like to put up instead of the storm door so the same question applies there.

[jimboburnsy]

Replacing a door slab is a fairly simple operation. There is no reason you couldn't do it yourself. It just takes a bit of careful measuring and even more careful mortising. If you are talking about replacing the door frame, that's still something you can do yourself but it's a real test of carpentry and I would recommend contracting a pro unless you are a seasoned handyman.

Take a peek at www.hammerzone.com to get an idea of what is involved and if you think you can do it.

[fierce_flawless]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

Replacing a door slab is a fairly simple operation. There is no reason you couldn't do it yourself. It just takes a bit of careful measuring and even more careful mortising. If you are talking about replacing the door frame, that's still something you can do yourself but it's a real test of carpentry and I would recommend contracting a pro unless you are a seasoned handyman.

Take a peek at www.hammerzone.com to get an idea of what is involved and if you think you can do it.

Thanks for the link and the reply. I will check it out.

I don't think (??) I need to replace the frame, if the replacement door fits and is the right size..... right? I have no problem with the frame. Just the door.

If I get stuck I can always call in my mommy. LOL. She's the handiest handy-person I know! Woman puts me to shame....and half the guys in her neighborhood as well. It's just that she always wants me to have tried it first before I ask her to help since she lives an hour away. lol.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by fierce_flawless

Thanks for the link and the reply. I will check it out.

I don't think (??) I need to replace the frame, if the replacement door fits and is the right size..... right? I have no problem with the frame. Just the door.

If I get stuck I can always call in my mommy. LOL. She's the handiest handy-person I know! Woman puts me to shame....and half the guys in her neighborhood as well. It's just that she always wants me to have tried it first before I ask her to help since she lives an hour away. lol.

I would be completely amazed if your front door isn't a standard size that you could replace at any big box store. It's probably a 3-0 or a 2-8 (36 or 32 inches) and you should be able to take your pick of any inventory anywhere. Just make sure that all the dimensions of the replacement are the same (i.e., height, width and thickness).

I'm sure some others will have store suggestions, but I generally use Bison Building Materials (they have a number of locations in Texas) as their selections are of much greater quality than anything you will find at a Home Depot or Lowes.

[Coldjensens]

Hanging doors that do not come pre-hung is an absolute nightmare for amateurs. I am very handy and I can build walls, install electrical wiring, plumbing and insulation, but when it comes to hanging doors, I hire someone. They have the right tools and experience and can knock it out in an hour or so. I have to buy tools or spend hours finding tools that I never use otherwise, spend hours and hours trying again and again to get it hung properly and finally get frustrated and hire someone anyway. It is not worth it. There are about ten things on a house that I just will not do. I can and do do anything else. Hanging doors is one of the ten. Let someone else have the frustration.

It seems that about $150 is the standard price to hang a door that is not pre-hung. It is well worth it.

You may be able to find a door at an antique salvage supply place. It can take months to find one the right size, but it is worth it. Do not be concerned about doors that need replacement glass, or refinishing (as long as they are cheap). You will pay anywhere from $75 to $500 for a nice antique front door. For something really spectacular (like leaded or stained glass) you may have to pay $1,000 to $5,000 Don't foreget to buy salvaged hardware to for your door if it is not already installed. Older doors use mortise locksets, not the round kind that we have now. It is not as strong as the new type, but if someone is going to kick in your door, using a different type of lockset will not help you. They can always just break a window if they are that desperate to get in.

[Uconn97]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Hanging doors that do not come pre-hung is an absolute nightmare for amateurs.

AGREE BIG TIME! I am actually pretty handy also and have done about 90% of the work on our home so when we decided to replace the older back door in our home with a full glass more efficient one I didn't think anything of it - It was a nightmare! It took me and my brother almost a full Sunday to get the thing in and closing correctly. I have 1 more door to replace and I will not be doing it myself. Time to hire a pro!

As a side note - why do people do that to old homes?? I actually think I can picture the exact door from lowes you are talking about! There is an 1850's house in my town that has gorgeous detail, etc and last year they decided to stick a home depot front door on it. Not only does it not go with the house, but it sticks out like a sore thumb! UGH!

[Padgett2]

Your biggest problem will be the hinges. A new door with hinges already installed, probably won't have a good fit with the old hinge area. Therefore, you buy a door without hinges and maybe get to use the hinges from your present door. Cutting out the slot for the hinges is a big pain and hard to do without a sharp chisel.

I can understand your feelings about your present door. I would just HATE it too.

[humboldtrat]

Go to a salvage yard and see if you can find an used door from that time period. You might find something that matches. You'll probably have to "clean" it up a bit (re-finish or paint it, patch up knicks and holes and maybe replace glass if needed). You should get a pro to hang it for you. Doors come in different sizes, so measure it before going shopping.

[fierce_flawless]

Thanks everyone. I'm pretty confident in my ability to find a door... it's the installation of it that I was wondering about. I see old doors on Craigslist all the time and I've seen some local places that have older style reproductions for not too much money.

So do the same issues apply to losing the storm door and putting up an original wood frame screen door?

As for why people do this sort of thing, I have my theories. I think people who've lived in old houses all their lives sometimes don't appreciate the "old stuff". I also think that SOME people over a certain age have a disdain for things "old" and want modern... like my Grandma and her hatred of stockings with garters vs. pantyhose.

My neighborhood is full of old, small houses, and is a low income area. It's not one of those areas that was once full of wealthy people.. it's always been working class. I think that there is some sort of status symbol around here in being able to replace wood porch columns with metal ones, turn the huge front porch into more living space by enclosing it, cover the wood siding with vinyl, and replace the old windows with their wavy glass....it says "look, I can afford to remodel" but to an old-house lover like me it's just a bunch of "remuddling"! I love to drive around and imagine the houses restored and kind of "see" them in my mind's eye as they once were... like I said, none were ever mansions but there's certainly a ton of charm buried under all that new fangled "stuff". Maybe someday.


I also think that there are a TON of Real Estate agents out there that don't have any appreciation or understanding of old houses and they urge sellers to bring things "up to date". I'm pretty sure the things done to my house were a combination of the two: senior citizen sellers and advice from their agent.

The bad part is, the previous owner did all of her "modernizing" around 1970 to 1980, apparently. Ugh. For someone like me who grew up in 60's and 70's style housing with harvest gold color schemes and "sponge" painting techniques and so forth it's horrid to be surrounded by it because the PO thought it was modern and trendy.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Padgett2

Your biggest problem will be the hinges. A new door with hinges already installed, probably won't have a good fit with the old hinge area. Therefore, you buy a door without hinges and maybe get to use the hinges from your present door. Cutting out the slot for the hinges is a big pain and hard to do without a sharp chisel.

I can understand your feelings about your present door. I would just HATE it too.

I salvaged no less than eleven beautiful 60-year-old 2-panel doors from a friend's house before it was torn down. Each and every one of those doors required the exact work you described above. Lots of measuring, pencil marks, manhandling and careful chisel work were involved. I was able to find new hinges that fit the mortise for the original hinges on the door frames, so I retrofitted the salvaged doors to fit the old hinge locations. Sometimes the door hinges needed to be shimmed, sometimes they needed to be further gouged, sometimes they needed to be reversed. They ALL needed finish work and re-painting after the operation*. It was definitely a large time investment and a true PITA, but I prefer to spend time rather than money when given the opportunity. There is nothing about the work that precludes DIY (understand that there will be moments of bitter frustration, but it is all balanced out by the sheer joy when everything finally fits), it's just a matter of whether you would prefer to have time or money.

*Don't try to wood putty any hinge gouges if you undertake a similar project at some point. Get the wood epoxy putty that comes in a tube and needs to be kneaded to activate. It's much easier to work and sands/paints better, IMO.