My parents are updating their house(originally built by my grandparents after the war from '46-50), and my mom just shared a few quotes to replace the front and back entry doors as well as two fiberglass storm doors. Nothing unusual about the storm doors--I think they were $1500 a piece installed--but the mahogany entry doors were $12k a piece installed. I am not denigrating any craftsperson's product or their right to make a fair wage, but $24,000 for two 36"x84" doors blew me away. I didnt get the details on the doors, but they were a mission style/craftsman style door with some glazing. I assume it was an engineered core with mahogany veneer. Naturally, the prices got me thinking about doing them a favor and making two doors. Ive only made two doors in my life, and i do not recall it being too difficult, but the bar was pretty low. They were 8' tall and 25-27" wide double doors for my timber frame shed. I made my own stavecore out of construction lumber, skinned the rails/stiles with 1/8-1/4" thick shop sawn poplar veneer, and took two old windows from a nearby flip's dumpster for the glazing. They are a year or two old now and work just fine. It doesnt appear like they have warped at all, but i noticed one of the panels cracked a bit. They are painted dark blue and have a 2' overhang above, but they get blasted with sun all day long, so im not surprised. They are south facing. Its one thing to make doors for a shed when the stakes are low and it doesnt matter if they warp or not. This is a different thing entirely, and why i want to ask for tips and links to additional information. Ive looked on woodweb and it seems a lot of people have varying opinions on entry door construction methods. Only do 1.75" thick entry doors out of solid wood, because its been done that way for centuries versus the other guys saying all solid wood doors warp and stavecore/engineered core doors are the only acceptable contemporary door construction. Ideally, i would do 8/4 sapele rails/stiles and separate interior/exterior panels with some form of insulation inbetween(if possible). Im not opposed to sourcing some engineered core product or making my own stavecore rails and stiles, however. Next, is it easier/better to make a new jamb and sill and prehang the door in my shop? Its more work, but im guessing it would make installation a heck of a lot easier. Lastly, what are new techniques/products of the last 30 years that i might not know about? I watched a few youtube videos last night, and this australian guy had a clever aluminum weatherstripping product that you put into a dado in the bottom of the door. As you closed the door into its final position, the spring loaded aluminum strip would pop out and go into a dado/rebate in the sill(i assume, i didnt actually see the sill in the video). Anything interesting on the hinge or hardware side of things?
Overall, id consider myself to be a competent builder. I have a felder saw/shaper and domino 700 for the shaping/joinery of the door. If i had some basic direction or guidelines, im fairly confident i can put out two quality doors that are maybe 8/10 as good as the aforementioned $12k doors. That could be misplaced confidence, which is what im here for. Is this best left to pro shops? Does anyone have a good source for door construction methods? I put a library hold on a few of the top rated amazon books on doormaking, but some critique them of being 30 years outdated. I tried searching for a paid vocational training online, but i cant find anything specific to entry door making. Happy to pay for good content and information if its available.