Choosing doors

[oaktree]

This is good to know....

These hand painted faux wood grain doors are just incredibly intricate...no way to match a strip to the finish on the door. I have got to get pictures next time. It's an art.

If I get the other doors without that fancy finish, I can definitely add a strip and avoid making the door openings smaller.

I'm very curious about how those raised thresholds look. Thank you, Mick!

[Mick_VT]

This is good to know....

These hand painted faux wood grain doors are just incredibly intricate...no way to match a strip to the finish on the door. I have got to get pictures next time. It's an art.

I wasnt suggesting you make the added strip disappear, just not draw the eye - if it is under a couple of inches you just need to paint it a similar shade, if you see what I mean. Picture of a threshold coming up!

[Mick_VT]

Here you go, excuse the scratched up old poly floor!

IMG_3989 copy.jpg (99.15 KiB) Viewed 465 times

[oaktree]

Hmmm....that might work actually. Or I could be very courageous and paint the strip a contrasting color and not even pretend to hide it.

[oaktree]

This is great! I will show it to my contractors because I have a few issues like this that we haven't solved yet where I have different heights of flooring. This looks like an excellent solution. It looks like a good solution to the door issue as well. Thank you!

[Mick_VT]

The key with them is a wide chamfer on each side so they dont become a trip hazard.

[jharkin]

I forgot i had this doc about door styles through various periods. It was written for Alabama but Ive found a lot of the general details roughly match what we have around here also.

[Mick_VT]

I forgot i had this doc about door styles through various periods. It was written for Alabama but Ive found a lot of the general details roughly match what we have around here also.

That's a great reference, thanks for sharing! It would probably be a good thing to have in the Library <hint> <hint>

[phil]

its possible to make a left opening door right opening but it isn't just the hinges. The latch needs to be the right way as well and You'd think you could just flip the latch over but you may or may not find that is so easy or possible. ( you could check with others? )

I'd much rather add a strip to the bottom even with the issue of matching the faux wood. also check the height of the lockset. Its likely you'll have to move the pocket and striker plate, again easier than relocating the knob.

I wonder if some fancy brass weatherstrip might help hide the patch at the bottom of the door? some commercial doors have brass kick plates? maybe you can do a creative cover up?

I have a latch that is one of those commonly added for a second lock. it screws to the door but has a hole in the door for the lock part.
It is a nice old stock one but when I went to fit it I came to the realization that the latch is for a door that opens inwards and there wasn't really any easy way to flop the latch over to make it work. the curvey tapered part of the latch faces the wrong way. I took it apart but it isn't made to just flip over so I fixed up the old one and called it a day. maybe some are though?

[oaktree]

Phil, thanks so much for the extra info!

I found two perfect doors for my downstairs (where they should probably match). I'm not sure if they are Greek Revival or not, but they in really good shape and are the right size and swing. There's too much paint to see if they are pegged together but they have the exposed tenon on the sides. It seems like the 2 vertical panels could have also been found in an Arts and Crafts door. But I think they will look appropriate....there is no beveling of any kind. They are recessed without the middle raised panel. Nearly all the doors I saw were too narrow and short for these two openings (32x81"). The few definite Greek Revival doors that did work didn't match each other. I will post pictures when I go pick them up this week.

Upstairs, I have narrower doorways, which is easier, but I can't find a pair of doors where both have the correct swing. I am going to do more research on reversing the swing. Or I could buy two that are not quite the same, but maybe painted they will feel cohesive enough. I wouldn't mind to wait with these but my trim is going in, and it would have been nice to get these now.

In general, I was a bit torn about finding amazing doors I wanted to buy that didn't match. I thought maybe painting them the same color would work even if they are not a match.

I really had fun...I saw one door exactly like my milk house door (which does have some very simple beveling on the raised panel) but I had nowhere it fits! It is a beautiful hour drive through the the countryside full of historic farmhouses to get to this salvage place from my house, and I have this feeling I will be spending many, many Saturdays there. I wish I had the time to build custom kitchen cabinets all from salvaged materials from there. Also, I befriended the people there who are currently salvaging a Greek Revival farmhouse and are now going to keep an eye out for what I need.