Saving One Penny at a Time: A New Front Door!

Some projects are just better left unstarted. :)

One of the best traits of a 1939 home is the woodwork throughout the entire home. I have original hardwood floors, wood trim where the ceiling meets the walls, HUGE oak planks for my floorboards, and gorgeous window trim throughout. There is not an ounce of plywood to be found, and I love it. They just don't make houses like they used to.

The front door is no different. But from mid-afternoon on, the sun just beats through the half-glass screen door. Over the years, the protective finish over the stain gave in to the elements. Once that was gone, the stain itself started giving way to the UV rays. When I purchased the home, I found a beautiful walnut-stained door on the bottom half (where the sun couldn't hit), and a very faded and weather-beaten wood door on top where the sun pounded its rays for half a day every day.

The front door. Notice the sun-beat faded wood on top.

The wood was lookin' bad on top...but beautiful on bottom!

Can you guess where my glass stormdoor window started?

So being the foolish man that I am, I decided to tackle this "little" project one day! I simply pulled the door off its hinges and took it out to the front yard. I grabbed a couple of pieces of sandpaper and started sanding. Much to my belief, the wood sanded BEAUTIFULLY...sort of. The part that had been sun-faded was so easy to sand. The parts that still had the gloss finish on them...well, not so much.

The faded wood sanded oh so easily!!! The rest? Not so much.

Gorgeous wood was exposed beneath! But the lacquer on bottom was nearly impossible to sand through by hand.

So here I found myself with a door that was sanded down to bare wood on top...and a urethane finish on bottom. What to do, what to do. Well, my little "sweat equity" only project turned into a little bit more of an expense. After numerous painful sanding, I gave in and went and bought a power sander from Lowe's.

I came back and wondered why I had never puchased this hours before. What a tool!

I still ran into the problem of breaking through the protective finish on the lower half of the door, though. So I painted some paint remover over the surface, but that didn't work too well, either! It did the trick on part of the door, but I think the best option was to let this door just sit out in the sun IN FULL for a year or so! I just didn't have that option! I sanded and sanded and sanded...

The door after using the newly-purchased power hand sander.

Closer and closer to a coat of stain!

After much work, lots of sanding (crevices are difficult), using abrasive chemicals and finally a power tool, I was ready to re-stain the door. I had chosen a walnut color from Lowe's, and it was pretty close to the inside color of the door (which was still in great shape). I put in a couple of coats, and the wood drank it up in full.