Cherry Exterior Door

[julian abram]

I'm going into the second year on a compete remodel of our kitchen. I shared photos last fall of the cherry countertop built for our kitchen island. My wife thought the painted metal kitchen entry door was kind of looking ugly and suggested building a cherry door that matches the countertop. After a lot of shop hours, I got it finished this week and installed. It is 1-3/4"x 32"x 80" solid cherry. She bought an antique stained glass panel from Ebay last fall, so the challenge was to build the door around the stained glass panel. The tenons are pegged with 1/2" walnut dowels. It is finished with 5 coats of Original formula Waterlox. My first door, a lot more hours than I expected. The biggest challenge was fitting all the joints square and tight with no gaps. It was a good learning experience but I'm in no hurry to start another door any time soon.

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[Malcolm McLeod]

Nicely done.

As for the rotation, just invite short people to your parties. They can come thru the doorway 3 wide. Bet no one will notice.

[Patrick Walsh]

Very nice....

And fun to build right?

[julian abram]

Very nice....

And fun to build right?

You know this was a rewarding project once it was finished, but I really wouldn't put it in the fun category. I'm not sure I have ever had a furniture or cabinetry project that required such constant attention to accurate dimensions. It was challenging to cut and fit all the components so the final size fit in the frame. When installed it required no trimming which was what I was hoping for.

[Sean Nagle]

Superb work. Beautifully finished. Did you source a new threshold for the frame or reuse what you had?

[julian abram]

No just left the old threshold in place and added a 1/2" rubber weather seal to bottom of door.

[Carl Beckett]

I like it better than your old door... ;)


You must get a LOT of compliments, it looks great!

[julian abram]

I like it better than your old door... ;)


You must get a LOT of compliments, it looks great!

Yeah, the old ThermaTru door was installed 27 years ago when we built the house, so I guess we go our money's worth out of it. I was 38 yo when I installed it, now I'm 65, time passes.

[John TenEyck]

Beautiful work Julian. It goes great with the countertop.

I hope the outside of the door is protected by a porch to keep the sun and weather off it.

John

[julian abram]

Beautiful work Julian. It goes great with the countertop.

I hope the outside of the door is protected by a porch to keep the sun and weather off it.

John
Thanks John, I've enjoyed your postings of the many beautiful doors and projects you have built over the years. This door has no outside exposure, it enters into the kitchen from a 3 car insulated garage.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks John, I've enjoyed your postings of the many beautiful doors and projects you have built over the years. This door has no outside exposure, it enters into the kitchen from a 3 car insulated garage.

Thanks for the kind words Julian. In fact, I'm building some doors for my kitchen rehab right now. Not nearly as impressive in their design of materials as yours, though.

I'm happy to hear your new door is protected by the garage. It should give you trouble free service for generations.

John

[Arash Korangy]

Looks fantastic! Congratulations on the fine work!

[Neil Gaskin]

Beautiful door.

I can relate to your sentiment. I built two custom storm doors that were about 9' tall, 28" wide. I also did pegged tenons. It was not "hard" but it the attention to detail in exact measurements and keeping joints perfectly square over the 9' length was a challenge. I ended up needing to remake one mid-rail

[johnny means]

The wooden island top is a bold move. My kids would never let me have nice stuff like that.

[julian abram]

The wooden island top is a bold move. My kids would never let me have nice stuff like that.
Five coats of Waterlox makes a pretty hard finish. I think we finished and installed it July 2018, it hardly shows any wear yet. We are careful not to set hot pans or chop food on it. I'm guessing it will need a refinish maybe 4 or 5 years down the road but a light sanding and a couple coats of finish, should be good as new.