Doors galore!

I met with New Guy contractor Thursday. He finished the foundation work, as previously posted, and we had about an hour and a half walk through of the house, talking about the projects that need to be done next, and in what order. He'll have some estimates for me on Monday, and hopefully will start work then, too.

Yesterday I got off of work early and went to an independent hardware store here in town to (window) shop around for a few things, like kitchen and bathroom counter tops, light fixtures, interior and exterior doors, bathtub units, etc. I basically need everything except kitchen cabinets. I spent about an hour there, but right when I walked in, I saw these:

Two craftsman-style fir doors, new, but weathered a bit. These sat in a warehouse for a while, and have a bit of water stains, but it all can probably be sanded out. I immediately pictured one as my back door, and one as the door between the to-be-added foyer and great room. These doors distracted me the entire time I was in the store yesterday and last night, afterwards. I knew they were perfect for my house and I really was drawn to them. So today I went back and bought them both (one was a belated birthday gift).

This one shows more storage-wear than the other, and the middle pane up top may need to be replaced since it's vacuum seal has been compromised, but what was cloudy in the hardware store cleared up when we brought it inside the house. Maybe it just needs a more temperature-controlled environment. It might be fine, without repair, to be used as the foyer door.

And its perfect twin shall be the back door off of the kitchen. These pictures were all taken at my parents' house, where I am keeping the doors until hopefully next week, or the week after, when they will be installed. I like the fact that they match and will both be visible from the great room, and they are correct for the style of my house. So much better than what I thought I would be able to find or afford.

And that's not the best part. These are heavy, new, insulated glass doors. They were on sale and I got ten dollars off the asking price, because we asked for a better deal. You can't do that at a big box hardware store. The back story is that one manufacturing company was bought by another, and this is part of the smaller company's excess inventory.

I bought these doors at $75 a piece.

But that's not the best deal.

Up front, across from the two fir doors sat this monster, partially hidden by other inventory:

This is a custom door. I believe it was part of a show room display at one point, but has lived its life inside. It, too, is from the same company's inventory. It's a mahogany door, and has a little wear and tear, but that just makes it look old and adds character to me. The glass insert is 15 beveled panes set in a grid pattern with nickel-colored solder lines, sandwiched between two plates of glass. It has a panel across the bottom and has already been drilled for a lock set and doorknob. This is a heavy door. It was hung with four hinges, but I think I'll go with five.

It's my new front door. I bought it today. Click on its picture to make it bigger and see the attached price sticker (green star) to see what I paid for it.

I'm closing in part of the front porch (it's L-shaped), to make a foyer, and this is my statement piece. This door never sold because of its dimensions. It's 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide, which is gargantuan, but it's actually a little shy of my current front door's height, with transom. And since I'm having the new opening built, I can make it whatever size I want. I want it this-sized. It fits my ceiling and porch height, will actually be a little shorter than my windows, which are double on the front.

My house may not be fancy, but it's just been upgraded.