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Thread: Replacing a front entry door - build vs buy, what hardware, what wood species, etc

  1. #1

    Replacing a front entry door - build vs buy, what hardware, what wood species, etc

    My house has a pretty standard 68"Wx80"H entry door unit - 36" foam-core door and 2 sidelights.

    I'd like to replace this with something nicer. I have a set of Marvin patio doors, and another (unknown brand) patio door with 3-point locking - both have a heft and premium feel that is clearly lacking in the lightweight front door.

    So my goals are an aesthetic upgrade, an upgrade to a more "premium" feel, an upgrade in air-tightness, and an upgrade in security (replacing the cheap Schlage lock with something better).

    I'm leaning toward something painted, as I don't think wood will look good with the rest of the front facade.

    I'm surprised at how obscenely expensive entry door units appear to be, which has led me to think of building my own. I have built a single entry door, before, and am comfortable doing it, but never built one with a jam.

    Any entry door wisdom? Things you like, wish you did different, etc?

  2. #2
    If you have the time give building a shot. All you got to lose is the price of materials. I have repaired and built a few jams for existing doors. I think the door would be the harder part which you have already done. I made an exterior door jam from untreated yellow pine and it moved some. Maybe I would use White Pie if I did it again. That's all I got for this one.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    2,460
    Jam sham. If you have built a door, you can build a jamb to fit it. I strongly encourage you to do it. The satisfaction factor is huge. If you have the time (a key factor) and the ability, you can design and build something unique to you that will make you smile every time you open it.

    And close it.

    For heavens sake, you can also make the threshold from scratch from some 8/4 white oak. It's only woodworking.

  4. #4
    The jamb & prep can be 1/2 the cost. If you've got the wood, space, & time, then go for it.

    If you have to buy the wood, that might approach the cost of a door.

    It difficult to cut the slots for Q-lon weatherstripping, which is best IMO, so buying the jamb stock may be better.

    I scrounged up a replacement entry door for my son's house, and made the sill & threshold from teak that I had. It looks great!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    2,460
    Re your title, what are the specifics? Will it get wet every time it rains? Will the sun pound on it all day long? Will it never see the sun? Will it get soaking wet and then the sun will pound on it? Things to consider...

  6. #6
    Good point, Dave. Thankfully, it's under a deep overhang and behind a storm door, so it will neither get wet nor sun That definitely makes me more comfortable approaching this project.

  7. #7
    You could replace the side-lites with splayed panels . If there is enough room, a splayed piece across ,ties it all together. And some
    mouldings gives it a look “ found only in the most expensive magazines”.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,957
    I always use ball bearing hinges on entrance doors.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,811
    Male the side lights so they open for ventilation with bug screens.
    Bill D

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
    Posts
    2,271
    When building my house I just didn't have the time to build things like an entry door. I ended up buying an entry door where both sidelites open up as well as the main door. It's good quality but I think it could have been built beefier. The door jambs don't have the support like a normal door with sidelites would have. But I wouldn't replace it with anything but another door like it. Opening the two sidelites allows for lots of airflow without interfering with the door operation.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Inkerman, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,383
    Factories exist because it is easier and cheaper to mass produce things than to do one of a kind. Buying the material and hardware is expensive, building one is a lot of work, it takes a lot of time, effort and equipment. If you just want a door...buy one! If you want to build a door, build one.
    I have built a few.

    019.jpg21.jpg015.jpg057.jpg117.jpgDOOR2.jpg

  12. #12
    Like Mark said, A lot of work. The parts have to perfectly flat and joints square.

  13. #13
    Beautiful work, Mark!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
    Posts
    4,411
    Price out all the components and materials. New double pane glass for the sidelights will be a big part of the cost. Do you have the shaper tooling to do an 8/4 frame material? If you have to start buying tooling, purchasing the entire unit starts looking more cost effective. I've done mostly commercial doors, from churches to a strip club. You can skimp on any part of the construction or materials. Sapelle or white oak would be my two suggestions for material. Then silicone bulb weatherstripping and an automatic door sweep. Even though I've made many in my years, I'd never do it now based on the super high costs of the materials. I'm not a fan of refinishing either, so fiberglass would be my first choice.

  15. #15
    Around here a door like Mark's bottom right picture would have cost around $15K four years ago. Good lumber has tripled in price since then.

    My quote for 26 internal doors was $39,000 four years ago. I made them all myself for around $7,000. I imagine that my cost would be more like $20,000 now. It took over a month by the way. I would guess that a quote today would be more like $55K. This is why we can’t have noce things.

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