A New Front Door

For quite some time (like since we first put it in) we have wanted a different front door. The door we had was a solid door without any glass. We really wanted a door with glass in it to let in a bit more light. But, perhaps the biggest frustration was that the door couldn’t be opened all of the way back.

The door had been purchased for another application and just wasn’t right for the location we chose to use it in. The door was designed for a standard 4” wall (one using 2” X 4” studs) and our wall is a 6” wall. With the brick moulding on the outside of the house, as it is supposed to be, the door lacks 2” from reaching the inside wall. I was able to cut material to fill in the gap from the trim to the door jam but it was not possible to open the door beyond straight into the room.

In this photo, taken at Thanksgiving, of our daughter, Anna, and her husband, Jeff, you can see the old door sticking out into the room. We generally keep a chair back in the corner and anyone sitting in it had to look around the door.

We picked out a door we liked but it also was made for a 4” wall. We inquired and found that we could order one for a 6” wall BUT it was $100.00 more! The salesman suggested that I remove the brick moulding, set the door to the inside wall, attach the brick moulding to the outside, and then fill in with material. I had considered that but the problem was, as I saw it, the door had a 4” sill and that was a problem. He informed me they could order a 6” sill, which was less than $25.00. Needless to say, that is what we did.

In the above pictures you can see the door opened back and also with it closed. A feature with this door, that you can’t see, is a built-in mini-blind. The blind can be raised, as in these pictures, and is hidden at the top. It can be lowered part way, or all the way, and can be adjusted with the blinds opened or closed. We probably won’t use the blind all that often but it gives us the option if we choose to use it.