House in Progress Diary

It almost sounds as if he doesn't want to sell Lisa a door. Like, he figures if he asks enough she'll go elsewhere.

Reading this, I want to become a door carpenter.

How about a salvage yard door?

Yikes! Eeeek.

Believe it or not, i have a friend with same problem. She wanted just the screen door and just a wooden frame at that to put in a piece of decorative thingy from the side of the road(love garbage snarffing). She could not find anyone to do it so she bought herself a bicuit tool(dewalt) and made her own. Two weekends and second try she has a beautiful screen door custom made for her front door and to include the duck insert. Plus she picked up a vintage screen door knob at salvage yard.

Holy $%^&! You have got to be kidding! Tell me you are kidding PLEASE. Did you get your estimate as well? What about a different contractor? And what is this $3.50 a mile for delivery! Installation & Fixing up the jamb and moldings & finishing it sound like the same thing to me...but he's gonna charge her twice for it? I have to agree with Kristin...sounds more like he want's to scare you off than actually sell a door.

Believe it or not, I got the same quote. Craziness!

He's a very nice person and he seems to be very perfectionistic about his work. But...it's a screen/storm door! Not an heirloom sideboard!

Argh.

I recently installed a custom wooden storm door with removable screen and glass panels. It is very tall, 100 inches, so it had to be full custom. I thought the $611 I paid (primed, and completely installed) was a lot of money. But I love the door so much that it is worth it.

I agree that this guy was not interested in making the sale.

Hey,
That's really expensive. This month's This Old House has a piece on building a screen door from a kit. You might be able to find one of those that would also hold a storm.

dc

JM,
I looked up Vintage Doors web site and the prices are not cheap but way more reasonable than where you got a quote from earlier. I assumed you checked them out? I'd like to know if you or anyone else reading this has bought one of there doors or heard anything positive/negative about there products? I will soon be working on both the front and back doors of our 20's bungalow and would like to replace those ugly aluminum storm doors. I guess worst case is to make my own which means buying tools, hmmm come to think of it I have been looking for a good excuse to buy more tools. This would also keep me out of the dog house with my boss ( DA WIF as she calls herself)

Didn't Bungalow 1912 get a new screen door? Or was that part of the tv show they did? Maybe you need to get on a TV show and get one for free.
I was actually contacted by this one show and they asked if I knew anyone else interested. Guess where I directed them? Houseblogs.

This is actually a great opportunity for you! The $2300 price for a screen door is high enough to justify making one yourself. You can buy a nice tablesaw ($1000), a decent router ($250), a router table top ($100), and a couple good router bits ($100.) Build a router table for $50 in wood. Then you can build a storm door in a weekend for the cost of materials $100 or so. You will have a storm door, a table saw, a router table, router bits and $700 left over. What a bargain!

I'm also looking for a new storm/screen door. I just this second got home from a place near me. They sell doors from the Combination Door Company (www.combinationdoor.com). The manufacturer is in Fond Du Lac, WI. The doors are pine, and the model they had on display was incredibly solid and good looking. I had him price a Traditional style door for me. $390-410 (32" to 36") unfinished. This included the glass (12-Lite Grille) and the screen inserts. Hardware was separate, but I think he mentioned approx. $60. He charged $400 to install (this included everything to get the door in & working) - although I think this could be found less expensive elsewhere....

I can't believe it. I was searching for wood file cabinets tonight and ways to build a desk and ran across this post on "Building a Wood Storm Door". Wasn't sure if you'd seen it...so figure I would send it your way!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/furniture/1273106.html

Wow, these are great comments! I've been thinking since the day we bought our house that we should get rid of our ugly aluminum front screen door and get something nice and wooden.

The $2300 guy is totally trying to take you for a ride. 84x36 is a standard size and you should have no problem finding a nice, factory made, wooden storm door. The combinationdoors look great, but I'll be tempted to build one like the pop mechanics one...

jm,
I know you go to American Bungalow's site often from what you say here,but there was a question brought up in the exteriors about Coppa Woodworking and there screen doors. So if you have'nt already checked them out there might be some good info there for anyone looking for a screen door.
Bob

jm,
I know you go to American Bungalow's site often from what you say here,but there was a question brought up in the exteriors about Coppa Woodworking and there screen doors. So if you have'nt already checked them out there might be some good info there for anyone looking for a screen door.
Bob

After suffering sticker shock for my oversized porch door, I had a new storm/screen door (2 removable panels, one screened, one glass) made by a Canadian mill. For a price similar to the Combination Door ones, I was able to get custom size (taller) and a customized pattern (not just the mullions, but the width of the side, top, and bottom rails, too). Also, they made a matching transom. They were great to work with and do a lot of business with the US.

www.hoffmeyersmill.on.ca/

Oh, and they also made a window for the front gable of my attic that matches the original one on the rear gable. You can see some photos on my web site, but be warned that the paint job doesn't do it justice. I'm thinking of reversing the colors of the screen door this summer.

www.hitthenail.com/personal/bangla/

hey dan! want to buy a table saw and router.

JM
there are some people down the street that are "updating" their house. several times now I have gone and gotten permission to Dumpster Dive. for doors that match mine, trim that matches mine... some iron.. If i offered him a aluminum hidastorm for his storm he'd take it in a second. maybe you have a half daffed neighbor.

I am watching with great interest... not only do I need to replace my nasty aluminums with wood storms, but I have 5, yes 5, doors to do it with. And they all have transoms to boot.

Everytime I go to order one, I get overwhelmed by the sheer price and the transom issues. So, I've lived through a winter with my original doors, some without even crappy aluminum storms. I'm trusting you to get this figured out for us :)

Rant over.

We prefer wooden storm/screen doors over metal, as many who've posted here also do. But beware the dangers of deferring maintenance: wooden storm doors can take in water at their seams and swell, split, rot, etc. So keep the joints painted, esp. at the tops where water will get in. Also keep exposed grain (tops and bottoms of side pieces) sanded smooth and well painted. Mortise-and-tenon joints are probably longer-lasting than doweled or biscuit joints. If you build your own door, it might make sense to seal those hidden parts (but what will they do to their glueability?).
Our door that gave way was full-view, meaning that it has only 8-10 in. of joinery at the bottom and 5 or 6" at the top with nothing in the middle to brace it, so as joints weaken the door will sag. I thought about rebuilding it using brass kickplates on both sides to span all the way across and give at least a modicum of diagonal stabilization down at the bottom. (Probably a decent idea, but I never got around to it so can't report a field-test.)
I can report on one bit of customization that we tried and liked: Full-view screens have a vast area for dogs, children, and adults to poke into as they open a door (or try to). A piece of plexiglas cut to the width of the screen insert's wooden frame and about 12" high (could be more) can be attached with fairly small oval-headed screws and set in "rings." Install at about the height of an adult's hip. Should save replacing dented-up screens quite as often as one otherwise might.

P.S. Don't neglect to paint top and bottom edges of the screen door. I just today worked on reviving a screen door that was an off-cast at the landfill and found that its bottom edge had never been painted.