[WGH]

A couple of years ago the back yard of my house was renovated in the thread How to Remove a Pool

I finally designed and made a new front door (my day job) for my house and installed it a few weeks ago so the next part of the story can be told:

My little 2 bedroom post-war house was built in 1950 and needed a bit of sprucing up. I bought it "as is" knowing that everything needed to be replaced. The house was pretty much gutted and is slowly being put back together. Below are a couple of photos taken in 2011 by the Google car just before I bought the house.





The yard was cleaned up, awnings removed, Marvin Integrity Low E3 windows replaced the original steel casement windows, a new roof with R40 insulation, high efficiency A/C, and a marble dust plaster over 1" rigid insulation makes for a very energy efficient comfortable house. The remodel cost much less than a new home and has no compromises.

The new Low E3 glass coatings are amazing, I originally thought the West facing windows would need awnings. I live in Tucson and a few days ago we had three 113 degree days in a row so there is a lot of afternoon heat gain but with the Low E3 coating I get practically zero heat gain and as a bonus almost all the UV is filtered too. Highly recommended!

The new Arts and Crafts style mahogany door ties all the exterior elements together. The door includes 40 bronze rivets, a hand forged wrought iron grill and custom stained glass. The entry handle is by Ashley Norton Hardware.









Wayne

[ArthurDent]

Quite the transformation Wayne.    The door is stunningly beautiful, and I'm guessing fairly secure as well. Nice job. 

JD

[Phil A]

Great Job!

[Guy 13]

WOW !

Nice renovation job you did there. 

Guy 13

[WGH]

... and I'm guessing fairly secure as well. Nice job. 

The jamb is bolted to the concrete block but the bolts will work loose over decades so I sprayed minimal expanding polyurethane foam between the block and the jamb, besides insulating it makes an excellent glue. The blacksmith and I came up with a 4' long steel reinforcing plate made from heavy angle iron and attached with 3" screws and a lot of 1-1/2" screws on the backside. The plate is recessed and the cutouts to allow the inside casing to be nailed on flat. The steel is completely hidden with the casing installed.

[S Clark]

Man, I always love looking at your work, especially since mesquite is common here in central TX. I'd love to have you build a door for me.  Maybe one day...

[WGH]

Man, I always love looking at your work, especially since mesquite is common here in central TX. I'd love to have you build a door for me.  Maybe one day...

Thanks, I have quite a few doors in Texas. I figure I have 20 good years left (it'll take 10 to pay off the remodel) so if you save a little each year I'll be around when you are ready.

[ctviggen]

That is an awesome door!  Have you built any energy-efficient doors?  Something like this one (sorry, I guess they don't show you the details unless you subscribe):

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/2015/11/11/build-a-high-performance-exterior-door

It's got dual seals, is fully insulated, and has a thermal break.   

[Odal3]

Nice job and especially the door! Do you have any  more examples of doors you have made?

[srb]

WGH Woodworking

[WGH]

That is an awesome door!  Have you built any energy-efficient doors?  Something like this one (sorry, I guess they don't show you the details unless you subscribe):

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/2015/11/11/build-a-high-performance-exterior-door

It's got dual seals, is fully insulated, and has a thermal break.

Looks like a good article but I don't have a subscription anymore. It would be interesting to see how the door was built. I have longtime customers and occasionally see doors I built in the early 80's and they are still in perfect condition so I know my doors will easily last for hundreds of years. The only time customer's need a new door is when they move and have told me they regret they can't take their old door with them so I build them a new one.

I haven't built any energy efficient doors yet but I could if asked. I have made many 3" and 4" thick doors but they all have been solid wood. The total estimated price for the Arts and Crafts door in my house would be $7362.00 including installation, hardware, inside and outside trim and tax. A 3-1/2" thick energy efficient door would cost more.

I order all my weatherstripping from Conservation Technology http://www.conservationtechnology.com/
Their silicon rubber seals stay flexible no matter the temperature and since I use an adjustable door stop I can get a perfect seal around the perimeter of the door without using European hardware.

Download Conservation Technology catalogs here:
http://www.conservationtechnology.com/building_documents.html

Wayne

[charmerci]

Cool! (Hopefully in this heat!) House looks so much better!


I hope to see it in person when I visit my friends down there.... sometime in the distant future.