It was a double-Dutch-door week with the install of Mendi and Mike's door... and now Monica and Ron's. Interestingly enough, they were coincidental and also identical — Monica and Ron's actually served as a template for Mendi and Mike's since theirs was an entirely new creation (new post, etc.). We scheduled the install for Tuesday and I finished off the painting yesterday.
Monica and Ron started with a solid enough door... which is unusual. They had it replaced 8 or so years ago but when it came to priming and painting the door, the top and bottom edges were left raw and unpainted and the elements degraded the door and it began to delaminate. Ron also really, really, really wanted a doorknob with an escutcheon.
[Before]
The color is Behr's "Inferno" (likely the first question on people's minds) which was a tough color to apply. It's so bright that it doesn't cover terribly well and it took multiple coats to get a solid opacity. This was the direct opposite of the "Belini" color that Chris picked which covered in one coat. The color really can make a difference insofar as coverage... and so can weather insofar as application. Coupled with the day's high winds and high temperatures, the coating was drying almost as I was putting it on the door resulting in far more texture than many of the doors we do (In Chris' case, it was in December and it took the paint for-ev-er to dry). Typically the Behr Premium Plus "Ultra" (matte) flattens out into a smooth matte sheen which is one of the reasons it's a (surprise*) go-to favorite. I'll be going back in a few weeks after the paint cures a bit to sand it and give it one more, smoother top-coat to make the texture a good bit more smooth. I'll also be installing a top and bottom cap for future protection... something that I expect I'll be adding to more and more doors as the edges tend to be a bit tender and are too often abused.
(*typically Behr isn't go-to paint, but this formulation has proven itself among a more pedigreed set. However, not all sheens are made the same. The semigloss version is terrible.)
This is the 3rd Dutch door we've installed and like each door, we learn something new. Geometry is always a bit of a challenge with these, but with shims and chisels, we got everything mortised well and leveled out.
At some point in the history of the house, the electric/piezo door opener (buzzer) was replaced with a newer unit, but it fits and works as original. I was able to re-sculpt the area a bit here and around the deadbolt plate for a cleaner look. The deadbolt now also has a metal security cup which makes the commercial lock even stronger.
To secure the "Dutch" part of the door, I installed a more attractive slide bolt (previously, they had a gate latch) and mortised the retaining ring into the top lip of the door for a cleaner finish.
Tomorrow, ironically, I'll be installing a regular door for our Dutch neighbor, Judith...
Can you point us to where we can buy 'plain' doors like these?
They're so simple but I can't seem to find them!
Thanks,
Shige
Posted by: Shige Abe | June 24, 2016 at 02:23 PM
it's not buying the doors as much as fitting them correctly. you can buy them at the big box stores through the millworks desk (we purchased all of our interior luan doors through lowes, for instance). what happens after that is what matters. ;)
Posted by: Hunter Wimmer | June 24, 2016 at 02:44 PM
I agree with what you say about the installation, but I'm still having trouble with finding exterior doors such as that at the big box stores.
I'd really appreciate tips on particular item items or what to ask for when ordering.
Could you give the specs for what you look for?
Thanks a bunch! You do such nice work.
Posted by: Shige Abe | June 29, 2016 at 05:21 PM
the basic specs are: solid core // exterior // 1-3/4 // slab (plain - no panels) ... past that, if your door/window salesperson isn't helping you enough to get the order completed then you need to talk to a better salesperson. ;) ... it'd be like walking to a Honda dealership saying "i'd like a sedan with 4 doors" and the salesperson not being able to help you. (i know, it's hard to work with people wearing orange aprons, but there are a few good ones).
(you're in SJ, right? that's not too far...)
Posted by: Hunter Wimmer | June 30, 2016 at 04:03 PM
Yes, I'm in San Jose.
This was extremely helpful. I had been doing the searches on-line and never actually asked anyone yet.
I don't have an Eichler (yet) but I really enjoy your blog and the care you take in your work and explanations of said work.
Thanks again!
Posted by: Shige Abe | June 30, 2016 at 11:45 PM
"I had been doing the searches on-line and never actually asked anyone yet." ... wait, what!? well, yeah. the thing about DIY is there's actually a "D" to it. you'll have to get out of the chair, meet some people, get your hands dirty and make some mistakes... all before asking the third question. and you'll make a /lot/ of mistakes. you will definitely not have all of the answers lined up before you start and if you try you'll likely be spending a lot of time compiling non-applicable information. this is a "trust me" moment from the POV of someone with dirty hands.. and from the POV of a college design professor with a classroom full of students often looking for instruction on exactly /how/ do to something when the process involves taking that first step of self-exploration. you'll get there, but trying to monitor the battlestations from behind a high-speed connection isn't going to yield the results you're looking for... like your rogue trip to concord, you'll need to get out of the house and explore a bit and talk to a lot of different people -- generally in person (and often one tiny question at a time to various people... because, especially with salespeople, unless you have a credit card in hand, there's a three question limit). one of the ways i've been able to learn is a balance between doing/trying and diversifying my exploration (wide ranges of questions from tiny to a bit more complex and from various types of people: tradespeople, DIYers, salespeople, etc). this yields a few things, but namely it builds a bit of cred when asking that next question because you come to the engagement with a bit of knowledge that you can share back (that you picked up from the previous encounter)... but it starts with getting out of the chair. and with that, I'm in North Carolina visiting family and -- believe it or not (actually, probably no surprise) -- I'm headed to Home Depot before everyone wakes up to see what kind of stock they have in the gutter/downspout department as on the west coast, they've changed distributors and the merchandise is crap. And somewhere on aisle 14, I'll probably ask another random redneck a question. ;)
Posted by: Hunter Wimmer | July 01, 2016 at 05:52 AM