The Door Installation Is Finished, And I’m Pretty Happy With It
The guys finished up the door installation yesterday, and I have to say, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But there’s no way to get a door perfectly installed in a house that’s almost 80 years old and built on ground that is constantly shifting and moving. That has been one of the most frustrating things for me, as a perfectionist, to deal with when remodeling this house. I like things to be perfectly square, plumb, and level, but that’s almost never possible in this house.
It took me years to be okay with “close enough”, but I had to learn to be okay with it long ago because the only other option was to let those imperfections drive me absolutely bonkers. And it’s a very unpleasant and peace-destroying mindset to never allow yourself to be satisfied. I can’t live like that, so I have to live with the imperfections.
Anyway, the last time I showed y’all the door, I wasn’t quite there yet. I was trying to make peace with the imperfections, but I hadn’t quite attained that “it’s close enough” mindset yet. That’s when it looked like this…
I just couldn’t imagine how that would end up looking nice. But I have to tell you, those guys were amazing. When I told them I wasn’t pleased with how it was looking, and that I had an idea about how to make it look better, they were willing to redo it.
The main thing I didn’t like was how the whole area around the door (especially that Hardiboard) was inset. In my mind, that needed to be pulled out so that it was more even with the stone, leaving only the door and the brick molding around the door inset. So they pulled those pieces off, built that area out, and reinstalled the Hardiboard so that it was more in line with the stone. The stone is so rough, so there’s no way to really make it flush with the stone, but at least it’s more in line with the stone.
I plan to paint all of that Hardiboard the same gray as the stone, and now the only part that is inset is the door and the brick molding around the door. All of that will be painted white.
You can also see that there’s a pretty significant caulked gap above that top board between the board and the stone.
They originally installed that top board so that it was right under the stone, and then they had installed the brick molding so that it was right up against that top board. That made the brick molding very obviously out of square with the door by about 3/4″ on the left side. There was no disguising that. In my mind, the brick molding needed to be square around the door, and any disguising and camouflage that needed to happen needed to be on the stone side.
So I had them lower that top board on the left side, kind of splitting the different on top and below that board. In other words, it’s not right against the brick molding on the bottom, but there was a caulkable gap that wasn’t significant enough to be noticeable at a glance. And then it left a very large gap on top that could be caulked, and I’m hoping that once it’s all painted gray (the Hardiboard, the caulk and the stone above it all the same color), that will just disappear.
I’m also very pleased with how they did this part. I was so concerned about this because the stone was originally the same height as the threshold of the door, and it was also very obviously unlevel. But they used a grinder to cut the stone down so that this board could be placed under it. I’ll be painting this the same gray as the stone, and I think it will also disappear once it’s all painted. They made sure that everything was caulked with silicone caulk so that no water can seep through there.
On the inside, I can tell that it’s not level, but it wasn’t nearly as noticeable.
So overall, I’m very pleased. I think they did a great job with what they had to work with.
The bummer is that I was kind of hoping that the tree limbs would hide and disguise any imperfections. But two nights ago, we had a massive limb come down from our huge oak tree.
I mean, this limb is massive. And it took another pretty big limb down with it as it fell.
So my tree guy is going to come take care of these limbs, and then give our oak tree a much needed trimming to make sure it stays healthy. That means that I’ll probably lose this camouflage around the door. 😀
Oh well. It’ll be fine. I really do think that once everything is painted, with the door and brick molding white and everything else the same gray as the stone, it’ll look nice. It actually turned out so much better than I thought it was going to.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Oh yeah, once that’s painted it’ll be completely fine. In the further away photos they already almost melt into each other, despite colour differences. Very good call on having them build it out, that made a massive difference!
My thoughts exactly!
Which part is the brick you are talking about?
I think the door looks really good. I’m sure the paint will make any imperfections disappear, at least for anyone who didn’t know it wasn’t level. Hopefully with time you will forget about the imperfections. I’m a perfectionist and know that over time I think less about things that aren’t perfect.
To my built in exacting level and perfectionist eye, it is pretty much invisible from a slight distance. I’m sure you are the only one who will ever notice, and in my experience, perfection is just a target! My own house was built wonky and any built ins I have done required clever fixes and are still more visible than this is. Your fix worked amazingly well and I’m so glad your subs were so willing to follow your ideas. That is near miraculous itself! I don’t comment often but like so many, eagerly await your posts and greatly admire and enjoy your work and thought processes! May God bless you and Matt!
That looks SIGNIFICANTLY better than the previous install. It was immediately obvious to me before that the door was wonky (or it appeared the door was the issue, I know it wasn’t). But now you kind of have to look for it. It’s not something a passerby would notice. Whatever ramp you put in place later will also help camo any imperfections. The venting brick really bothers me, it makes the door seem like it’s floating to me. But the ramp will address that I assume. Good job Kristi and crew!
The second go around looks amazing. With paint, all things are possible. Our saying here on the farm is measure once, cut thrice, and paint to cover. It works. Sorry about the tree limbs, as with anywhere, it’s always something. I can’t wait to see what the patio off the bedroom will look like.
Cheers to you and Matt!
It looks way better than it did before. You barely notice any imperfections, and to passersby who did not see the install, they would not even see anything but a new door. I would try to find some sort of less obvious grate to cover the vent as well as to keep critters out of the crawl space. It could be attached with masonry screws in case you need to remove it. (And I would get that done ASAP before critters have a chance to invade!) So sad about the tree limbs, but from the wide photo, it looks like a heavy trimming is long overdue to thin out the large limbs’ branches within those main limbs. This will reduce their weight and make them less likely to break off during winds.
I think it looks fabulous considering all the issues surrounding the whole thing! Press on. 😁
Pulling everything forward was a great call. It looks good! 👍
What a difference! Kristi, it looks great! I thought you were going to paint the french door in the pretty coral color, but white will look really nice, too. You are going to love that door bringing in more natural light into the bedroom.
I had considered the coral since all of our other exterior doors are coral. But after seeing it in the white (primer), I think I’d rather keep it white, in keeping with the windows on the house, so that I don’t draw unnecessary attention to it.
Yes, it looks much better! I think once the porch/ramp/steps are there it will distract from the actual door. Plus the paint will over a lot of it and make it disappear. You made the right call having them redo it. I also think that once you do plantings around the foundation, that will also camouflage some if the imperfections. If you’re putting up molding inside around the door, I’m sure you can also adjust it where it will be more even overall so it’s not so noticeable.
The door looks nice. Once you get the landing poured with the ramp made, it will look nicer.
It looks pretty good in the photos and of course we always see any imperfections when something is new. Then you get used to it and don’t notice anymore.
That oak probably needed to be trimmed near the door anyway. It’s hard to tell from the photo how close it is to the house but where I live, when they get too close it’s just a means for termites to get into your home. I wouldn’t trim more than necessary right now. The heat of the summer is not really the time for trimming most trees including oaks or so says my arborist who is one of our state’s arboriculture instructors. Oaks are normally trimmed late November to early March to reduce the risk of oak wilt disease.
Your carpenters did an AMAZING job! I agree that once it’s all painted, it will blend in and be much less noticeable. And when you get the stoop built, you can rest easy at night knowing that you have a way to get Matt out if necessary. Project well done!
Oh, your way of pulling the frame forward is SO much better! What magic words did you say to make the guys happy to redo it? I’m sure knowing how to build things yourself made your plan clearer than a basic “I don’t like it, bring the frame forward somehow.” Good looking door addition for sure!
Any chance of just painting all of it–even the door–gray to make it all go away? Or are you wanting it white to make it look more like the windows? Just curious…