Front Entry Restoration

[Don M]

Wow, what an excellent job! I think your choice of a raised panel door is just right for your house; huge improvement! We have a slide bolt on our front door too. It does have a lock which uses a big old fashion key. The latch is surface mounted on the inside of the door & has brass knobs. Our door is original to our house & probably has survived for 180 years because it is recessed & has always had a porch as well! I also have side lites similar to yours; transom too! Don

[jharkin]

Thanks for the compliments. I cant wait to see it again once its painted and back in... So much work yet to do.

I have to cleanup/fill/caulk around the jamb.
I have to prime and repaint the jamb.
I have to weatherstrip (spring bronze form Killians)
The door needs to get painted. Simspson recommends 2 coats oil primer + 2-3 coats exterior latex. Fun

And then I have all the interior work left to do

But I think the result will be very worth it. For the door color we are sticking with Burgundy, but a slightly lighter shade than the old door. I was looking at bright colonial reds but they just don't go well with the Peach exterior.

-Jeremy

[Don M]

I think it interesting that you have a subfloor in a house as old as yours. My house; much newer than yours has no subfloor! Don

[cberhomengarden]

Love the door rotisserie idea! What a great way to work on/paint/stain etc. a door!

[jharkin]

I think it interesting that you have a subfloor in a house as old as yours. My house; much newer than yours has no subfloor! Don

Actually we only have the subfloor on the first floor. The second floor is just a single layer of boards that are rougher with pretty big gaps. That + the lack of second floor fireplaces tells me the uprstairs was unfinished attic originally.

I spoke to a bunch of the guides at Sturbrige and they tell me that was common in capes back then. The attic was unfinished storage space or the kids slept up there. no heat, no wall covering and they used the rougher leftover materials for the floors etc. Touring the houses there you see that in a number of them. There is also a saltbox that has a couple of finished rooms on the second floor but the back of the house, above the leanto is unfinished. When you go back there the finished front rooms look like a box inside the attic. Its wierd. There is even a ladder to climb up on top for more storage.

-Jeremy

[melissakd]

Cool! I want to know, where's the indentured servant boy to turn the rotisserie?

MKD

[jharkin]

The indentured servant (me) has been hard at work.



It was a bit damp last night but I took a chance at another caot this morning since its forcast to dry out by lunch time. Anyways oil is a little more tolerant of humidity right? ....

[jharkin]

I could not resist taking a look at what the door will look like with the hardware on. This is the inside of the front (will be white to match trim, outside red). Those 6" throw bolts should keep the redcoats out.



I also did some more research on my interior doors. I found this interesting doc on the Alabama Historic Commission site that tells you how to rate a door from the style and construction methods.

http://preserveala.org/pdfs/ESSAYS/DOORS%20AND%20HARDWARE.pdf

My interior pine 4 panel doors are only 1 1/8 think and the pegged mortise joinery does have exposed tenon ends, which according to the docs dates them as pre- Civil War and likely pre-1830 because of the thickness. Cool.



That's all for today...

-Jeremy

[Don M]

Looking good!

[melissakd]

Kick those redcoats in the shins, and tell 'em I sent ya!

Thank you for the door essay. I've squirreled it away with my collection of reference materials.
MKD