New front door

The home improvement projects at our house just keep on happening!

We had money left over from our Disney World trip (believe it or not) and we decided to use it for a project we have wanted to take on since we moved into this house nearly three years ago: a new front door. The existing door was ugly, had gaps all around it, was in bad condition and afforded no privacy. That last point particularly bothered me; I felt as though anytime I walked through the hallway at night, I was on display. If I did not want to answer the door, there was hardly any way I could avoid doing so without the person at the door knowing that I was ignoring them.

So we bought a new door and painted it a rich red that is slightly reminiscent of one of my favorite stores, and we also had enough to buy a good quality storm door. Two weekends ago, we started the installation process.

Note: In this case, and in any home improvement project, the pronoun "we" is really more of a royal we, since James really does 95% of the work. I only fetch tools, hold things in place, sweep up and ooh and ahh.

It is safe to say that James never wants to replace a door again! It was not a simple case of hanging a new door on the old hinges; he/we wanted to do the job right and replace the entire door unit, which meant cutting the old frame out of the house structure and installing the new one. What a task! What a mess! There was much swearing and sweating, but James finally got it done. Even though the project was not yet finished, it was already a 100% improvement.

Last weekend he finished the job. He installed the storm door, and finished cleaning/painting/installing the around the door trim. Every time I walk down the hall or the stairs, I admire the new front door and enjoy the privary it provides.

Good job, James!

Before: